King Street wharf is home to some fairly overpriced restaurants but it’s undeniable that the view from most of the restaurants is gorgeous and sometimes worth the premium. One of the longstanding restaurants on that strip is Casa di Nico, which has been a bit of a hit and miss during the few times I’ve been there, but it seems like they’ve improved their offering lately.
We gravitate immediately towards all the seafood based dishes on the menu and order the daily special of mussels steamed with chilli, tomato and white wine as well as prawn fettuccine and homemade gnocchi with scallops.
We found that the mussels were actually great value; there was quite a generous amount of mussels in the pot and they were well-sized (not the mini ones you get sometimes). The soup that they had been steamed in was slightly different from the conventional Belgian sauces usually offered with mussels – there was more of a kick to it with the chilli and we lapped it all up, wishing that there was some more bread to dip it in.
Mussels steamed with chilli, tomato and white wine – $22
The prawn fettuccine lived up to the high bar set by the mussels and featured fresh and juicy de-shelled king prawns (a godsend for us lazy people), tossed in a tomato sauce with garlic, basil, extra virgin olive oil and chilli. There was plenty of flavour in the pasta thanks to the delicious sauce and the fettuccine itself was nice and al dente.
Prawn Fettuccine – $28.00
Our final indulgence was the homemade gnocchi with Queensland scallops and smoked salmon, rocket and red onion. The succulent scallops were lovely and smoked salmon always adds a welcome hit of savouriness to any dish, especially when paired with red onion (one of my favourite flavour combos ever). Overall, the gnocchi was very appetising and filling.
Homemade Gnocchi – $29.50
We really enjoyed the food at Casa di Nico on this night and will keep it in mind next time we’re thinking of going to Darling Harbour/King Street Wharf area, if we’re feeling like some hearty and tasty Italian food.
Casa di Nico Italian
The Promenade, King Street Wharf
Sydney, NSW 2000
View Comments (7)
ooh love gnocchi!
The scallops were divine in this version. I have a newfound appreciation of gnocchi after this weekend making it from scratch myself!
Glad you enjoyed it here. Last time I went here, the Vongole was positively full of grit.
Oh dear :( yeah it has been a bit hit and miss over the years I've been, just lucky that this visit was a big hit!
I LOVE the sound of that scallop dish! If there are scallops on a menu, I'm probably going to order them. The places on King St Wharf are usually so overpriced, so it's great that you had fun and got your money's worth of good food!
Actually we went with an Entertainment Card! So it was even better value :)
There is not value for money at Casa de Nico.