Best Italian food with Enrico Paradiso - International Traveller

The master of casual but sophisticated Italian dining, Enrico Paradiso has a soft spot for some underrated Italian restaurants and fine ‘free wines’.

Here, he shares his secret Italian eat and drink spots with International Traveller…

IT: What’s it like going back to Italy for a restaurateur. What do you see as trends or fresh ideas?

I don’t think Italy really runs by trends; it’s not the United States, it’s not England, it’s not Australia. History, tradition and places that are iconic are basically what going back to Italy’s all about.

I don’t go back to Italy to check out the latest restaurant or newest trend in food. I see London and New York as places where Johnny, or maybe Marco [Enrico’s brother Giovannni and business partner Marco Ambrosino], and I go back to see what the latest trend is, what the latest design is, or where the hottest restaurant area is. Italy is going back to feeling what food’s about.

That’s one thing that I find important when going back to Italy – it’s getting back in touch with being a restaurateur, because in Italy places are still run by the restaurant man. Front of house is still really important. And that, to us, is the true sense of being a restaurateur, which I think has been lost, been blurred and greyed over lately.

IT: So, if you were speaking to some mates and they were going to Italy and they asked: What are the restaurants that you think everyone has to have a meal at? What’s your pick?

There’s one that we go back to time and time again: Rovello 18, on Via Rovello Milano. To us it is the quintessential Italian restaurant. It is driven by a front of house husband and wife team, Gualtiero and Cinzia. Cinzia used to be in the kitchen but now the son Bikelle runs the kitchen. Gualtiero has the most infectious laugh and an amazing palate when it comes to wine.

You get food on a plate which has been derived from whatever you think Italy’s about; produce, gardens, flowers, smell, touch, feeling, character – all those five senses, are on that plate. Rovello is not fine dining, it’s Milan. Anybody who’s anybody in Milan will go to Rovello 18, for not only what I think is some of the best food, but also for the best risotto in all of Italy.

There’s a pizzeria, Cave Ox, in Sicily, in a town called Solicchiata, which is up on Mt Etna, probably about 400 or 500 metres from the summit. It is one of the best experiences you will have eating a pizza in your life, and it’s all vegetarian!

There is actually something quite romantic about going to this place. If you think about a place that looks like an old espresso bar, like something that you’d find in Leichhardt or Carlton, with kids at night running around. This is the beautiful juxtaposition of the whole thing. There’s a bubblegum machine up on the counter, and this guy, Danielle, has probably got the best natural wine cellar in all of Italy and serves what might just be the best pizza in Italy – it’s amazing. To me it’s in a setting which doesn’t belong, it just cuts down every elitist sommelier, wine writer, wine critic, food critic, to their knees.

There’s another one in Milan which I really love where Johnny and I always go. We’ve been going there since the early 1980s. It’s called Taverna Moriggi, which is a place where all old waiters will go to die.

If we turn 60 and 70 and we’re still waiters, and if things get really bad, that’s where we’re going to go. Taverna Moriggi has been around since the late 1800s and it’s not allowed to be touched because it comes under the National Trust of Milan.

It’s a great lunchtime place. At night there might be two full tables, some nights it might be completely full, but it’s a big lunchtime place for local Milanese. You might get lucky and there will be a couple of things on the menu, or you might be even luckier and he might have three or four things on the menu that day. There’s an old bar as you walk in to sit at and have a glass of wine, eat if you want to eat, don’t eat if you don’t want to eat.

They’ve got a great cheese and salumi list. I don’t think the furniture’s been touched for about 60 or 70 years, but it basically encapsulates what lunchtime in Milan is about. It’s not about trends, it’s not about what’s hot and what’s not, it’s not about models, it’s not about designers. It’s just about food from 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 years ago. It probably would’ve been exactly the same all those years ago too.

IT: And you’re a big fan of natural wine. What’s the attraction?

We wanted to be part of free [preservative and additive free] wine because we believed wine should be made the way it’s always been made. We truly believe that wine is not an elitist commodity; we believe wine can be great one year, and can be crap the following year. That’s the whole premise of free wine; it’s not engineered. People feel safe and so they have a vintage 2000 wine that they want to taste the same in 2007, which is fair enough but we don’t believe in that.

IT: So if you were to say to mates, Here are three free wines to experience, what would you suggest?

Sasha Radikon in Friuli right up near the Slovenian border. His philosophy is true to his wine, his generosity. The way he treats wine and people, I think is the same. He is amazingly welcoming and open to people, and he treats his wine the same way.

Arianna Occhipinti in Sicily is probably one of the first female national wine producers in Italy. Her passion, her humour, infectious laugh. She is so much fun and her wine is also… it’s feminine.

There’s another one, Josko Gravner, he’s also right up on the Slovenian border. He’d probably be on the complete opposite end as being very sophisticated. He probably is the godfather of natural wine up in Friuli and has a real sense of sophistication about his wine.

Frank Cornelissen’s Magma is one of our most favourite wines. Frank is a Belgian who moved to Sicily about 10 or so years ago and started making wine. He’s much more a clinician when it comes to wine, almost like a laboratory. His winery is amazingly, perfectly spotless, almost like a Ferrari workshop. It’s like drinking years of Mt Etna lava. If you can just imagine lava, barren, birds, land. And giving that sense of ripeness once the vegetation grows back, that’s what it’s like. It’s like freshness back in your mouth. That’s how I describe his wine.

IT: So how do I get to taste all these wines?

Just ring up. All these guys are like that, you give them a call and say, “I’m going to be here this afternoon or tomorrow morning". It’s no problem, though some are a little bit harder to catch than others.

Enrico and Giovanni Paradiso, with good mate Marco Ambrosino, run casual Italian eatery Fratelli Paradiso, and wine bar 10 William St, which features ‘free wine’ from Italy. Both are in Sydney.

Fratelli Paradiso: 2-16 Challis Ave, Potts Point, 02 9357 1744 fratelliparadiso.com
10 William St Wine Bar: 10 William St, Paddington, 02 9360 3310 10williamst.com.au

Enrico’s Picks

Restaurants

Rovello 18: Via Rovello 18, Milan +39 272 093 709

Cave Ox: Via National 159-95012, Castiglione di Sicilia, +39 942 986 171, caveox.it

Taverna Moriggi: via Moriggi 8, Milan, +39 280 582 007

‘Free’ Wines

Radikon Wines: loc. tre Buchi, 4, Gorizia, +39 327 458 7200, radikon.it

Occhipinti: Via dei Mille 55, 97019 Vittoria (RG), Sicily, +39 339 738 3580, agricolaocchipinti.it

Josko Gravner Wine: gravner.it

Frank Cornelissen: Via Nazionale, 281/299, 95012 Solicchiata, frankcornelissen.it

Wellbeing means different things to different travellers. Here’s how to pick a hotel that gets it right for you.

The best wellness holidays aren’t necessarily spent wrapped in a spa robe. Sometimes they’re found around a dinner table in Cambodia, on a hiking trail in New Zealand or after finally beating jet lag on the other side of the world. The hotel you choose is what makes them happen.

1. Easy access to good food

meals from Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20 — Taste delicious meals at Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20.

One of the quickest ways to derail healthy habits on holiday is to spend half of it working out where to eat instead of digging into the culture around you. Thankfully, Novotel has done much of the hard work already, with chefs building menus that lean into the flavours, ingredients and traditions of each destination.

In Sihanoukville, Cambodia, Korkor soup – often dubbed ‘Cambodian ratatouille’ – sits alongside raw blue crab dressed with lime and chilli, best enjoyed with views across the Gulf of Thailand.

In the lovingly chaotic city of Bangkok, the presence of food cranks up the sociability. At Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20, you can settle in with mango sticky rice and stranger-turned-friends beside the pool at Sky on 20 rooftop bar, or bring them along to tackle river prawns and stir-fried crab with holy basil at the buzzing Crab Paradise Dinner Buffet.

Then Novotel Dubai Al Barsha welcomes you with a laidback twist on the level of indulgence the Middle Eastern city is best known for up on Deck Se7en. Looking towards Burj Al Arab, the rooftop lounge has everything from Mediterranean-style dishes like seabass ceviche to Italian prosecco sundowners.

At the other end of the scale, in the hills that surround the Novotel Bali Ubud Resort, calm comes from nature. At Siralada restaurant, Balinese traditions shape the menu while thunder rumbles over the surrounding jungle – proving the setting is as nourishing as the food itself.

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It’s all an approach backed by partnerships with expert food creators such as Alfie Steiner, whose plant-forward recipes prove healthy food should never taste plain.

2. Better sleep options

Novotel Bali Ubud Resort room — Sleep deeply with Novotel.

There are few travel experiences more disappointing than arriving in a new country, determined to seize the day, only to fall asleep fully clothed by 3pm.

For Australian travellers, jet lag is often an unavoidable part of the journey. That’s one reason Novotel runs sleep-focused initiatives that help guests adjust quickly without compromising on health. We’re talking partnerships with Sydney-based sleep specialist Olivia Arezzolo, known for her advice on everything from better sleep habits to beating jet lag, alongside features like pillow menus, in-room yoga content and tailored sleep guidance.

The sooner you’re operating on local time, the sooner you can get back to more pressing matters – like deciding which spa treatment to book.

3. More ways to move

woman hiking around queenstown new zealand — Stay at Novotel Queenstown Lakeside and explore local hiking trails. (Credit: GettyI mages/ naruedom)

Every place in the world has its own way of getting you moving: whether that’s hiking up ice-bitten mountains before a sauna or gentle stretching by the pool before a facial. From fitness centres to spas, Novotel recognises that wellbeing rarely looks the same.

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4. Better connections

Kids will love a stay at Novotel Sharm El Sheikh.

One of the best things about travel is that it gives your family stories you’ll be telling for years. Novotel helps create them with activities that bring everyone together, whether that’s trying something new, learning a local skill, or simply spending more time together.

Go for a distinctly Thai twist at Novotel Phuket Vintage Park, where many of the family activities draw on local culture. Kids can try everything from beginner Thai boxing and language lessons to umbrella painting and – a pastime beloved by children the world over – pool foam parties. Everyone is welcome to join in, whether that’s getting splashed, covered in paint, or simply watching their children discover a new side of Thailand during the dedicated Family & Kids Day.

A different adventure awaits at Novotel Sharm El Sheikh. Kids could be perfectly content with discos, drawing classes and new holiday friends, but the Red Sea has other ideas. Sitting on the edge of Naama Bay, days here might involve snorkelling colourful reefs, taking a boat trip to Ras Mohammed National Park or heading into the desert by quad bike or camel for a Bedouin-style dinner beneath the stars.

5. Location is everything

Surin Beach, Choeng Thale, Thalang District, Phuket, Thaiföld — Explore Phuket’s gorgeous beaches. (Credit: Bence Biczo)

Everyone’s idea of wellness looks a little different. With more than 600 hotels across 65 countries, Novotel gives guests the freedom to choose the destination that suits them best. Whether that’s a beachside escape in Phuket, an alpine expedition in Queenstown or a city break in Bangkok, there’s a good chance a Novotel isn’t far away.

All that’s left? Choosing your version of wellbeing.

Discover stays to inspire your everyday at novotel.accor.com.

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