There’s a new waterfront restaurant in Circular Quay, and Flaminia feels less like a hotel and more like a passageway between Sydney and the Italian seaside.

I’ve been not once, but twice since it opened – which is always a good sign.

From the duo who have been running the ship at the beloved Northern Beaches coastal dining institution, Pilu for more than two decades, Giovanni Pilu and Marilyn Annecchini bring that deep understanding of Italian coastal cooking, in a more relaxed city setting.

Storytelling is central to the experience. The menu is broken into Italy’s port cities – Cagliari, Naples, Venezia, Genoa and Palermo, which encourages you to move around the coastline rather than settling into one region. An approach that takes diners on a journey.

Flaminia takes its name from the ship that brought the Pilu family from Italy to Sydney in 1959. It’s a personal reference, but also a very fitting one, with the link between coastlines, and a reminder of how food, memory and ritual travel with us.

Chef Pilu said: “At Flaminia, we’re celebrating the kind of food that has always connected people. The ports of Italy have their own rhythm – bold flavours, honest cooking and a hospitality that makes you linger. We wanted to bring that feeling to Sydney’s spectacular harbour”.

Given the restaurant’s seafood inspiration, the crudo bar plays a central role in the main dining room and sets the tone for the experience. The crudo section is designed as a choose your own adventure – you select the fish, then the dressing, prepared straight from the bar. My pick was the Bermagui yellowfin tuna, drizzled with Taggiasca olives and preserved lemon.

From Marinate, try the Insalata di Polo, Fremantle octopus with potato, olives, capers and green beans – a traditional Sardinina dish where Pilu grew up. Over in the Antipasto section, Mozzarella in Carrozza, a fried mozzarella sandwich with anchovy and red peppers – a golden cheesy parcel I’ve ordered twice already and would happily return for a third.

When it comes to pasta, there’s the Spaghetti alla Bottarga with spanner crab, lemon myrtle and Pilu bottarga and a seafood medley of calamari, mussels, vongole, white fish and cherry tomatoes. Along with classic’s like eggplant paramigana. Be sure to save room for dessert. The traditional limoncello baba with whipped mascarpone is a dish Giovanni insists is a highlight, after having to stop myself from finishing the entire thing, I’d have to agree. Light and airy, soaked in lemon liqueur, it’s the kind of dessert that brings to mind holidays on the Amalfi Coast .

Flamina is a welcomed addition to Circular Quay, a waterfront Italian restaurant that feels relaxed yet elevated, and one I’d happily return to.

Flaminia is now open on level two of Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour