Hugo's Bar Pizza

If you want to plan your Saturday night date on the Wednesday beforehand, then Hugo's Bar Pizza is not  the place for you. If you prefer to play it spontaneous, then rock up and say your Hail Mary's and you never know - you just might get a table within the hour! Hanging out with Sydney's "It" set on a Saturday night has its price.

However, unlike a lot of Sydney eateries, the food here is actually worth the wait. But before we get to the food, there is the issue of drinks to attend to. Both Hugo's Lounge and Bar Pizza are renowned for their imaginative and delicious cocktails - try the aptly named Pash for a sweet pre-dinner treat. There could certainly be worse ways to wait for a table - the marble bar, Buddha Bar-eqsue tunes and people watching make time fly - though watching all the pizzas pass you by is a little torturous.

In terms of starters, the zucchini flowers and stuffed olives are non-negotiable. You will literally feel your insides smile. The menu focuses on quality, not quantity so while the choices may seem limited, there is a lot of good stuff on offer.

While the mains have their place on the menu, the pizza is really what this place is about. Go with a group so you can share and taste a bit of everything.

The great thing about Hugo's is that while you may have just planned to stop by for dinner and a cocktail, you have, without realising it had an entire night out - and a good one at that!

It's noisy, fun and lively but surprisingly romantic at the same time.  This funky cosmopolitan restaurant has the right ambiance to set the mood for what ever night you desire.  Walking into Hugo's the first thing we noticed was that the staff were smiling, genuinely smiling which remained on there faces all the way through the night.  We settled down at our table, where before too long, we were sipping on our far to tasty cocktails.  When the first course arrive we were pleasantly surprised that our starters were a mixture of fine dining, simplicity with italian undertones.

The tempura zucchini flowers with goats curd and salsa verde were light and crispy with a slight citrus tang.  The Salmon Carpaccio was sliced perfectly and we could tell that the salmon was fresh and of a high grade.

It was a perfect time between the starter plates (which had been licked clean) being cleared and the mains arriving, which gave us the sense that we weren't being rushed out the door.

The Smoked Salmon gluten free pizza topped with creme fraiche, caviar and water crest was divine and my partner noted that this was the best gluten free base she had eaten in a restaurant.  My Pork belly pizza with sweet and sour onion and radicchio was also tantalizing to the taste buds.

we were quite impressed with our evening and although a little expensive, the feeling we left with justified the slightly higher prices.