Italian food in Joburg just got a lot more interesting. The first hint is at the door, where you'll be greeted by a large-framed bouncer-like fellow, who will welcome you into the dim interior of the restaurant. On the second floor of Sandhurst LXX, SINN is discretely located inside the marble-floored complex that stands near Discovery Place on Rivonia Road. The restaurant interior feels like a portal to a place where you might spot a don meeting with his capos over lavish dishes of pasta or a Tuscan seafood cacciucco. (We are told it's pronounced ka-CHOO-ko. A traditional fish stew from the coastal regions of Tuscany, particularly from Livorno. A rich and hearty dish, it combines seafood with a tomato-based broth made with garlic, wine, and chilli.)
Moving through the restaurant, you'll pass by an ornate sculptural piece suggestive of the tree of knowledge, its black vine-like structure offering up a glowing red apple. If being led into temptation is something you struggle with, this is the point of no return.
Past the open kitchen with its long counter and gold pizza ovens, saint-like projections cover sections of the ceiling (Saint being the Marble Group's flagship in Sandton, of which SINN seems like the wilder sibling), and the choice of Afro-House music beckons you further into the space. We sought out the light, which we found at the end of the long dining space that leads to a covered balcony near the bar. We visited for late Sunday lunch, surrounded by patrons who also arrived later in the afternoon, a mix of families, couples, and what looked like groups of friends, many of them oohing and aahing over their dishes.
We started the meal with artfully mixed cocktails. A refreshing Eve's Garden – Don Julio Blanco with cucumber, elderflower, and lime – arrived on a small bed of grass, with miniature purple pansy flowers floating amid the ice blocks. The Morningstar brought together Ketel One vodka with the freshness of lychee, vanilla, hibiscus, and lemon. The flavours perfectly undercut the richness of many of the dishes. SINN also mixes the classics, from a Paloma to an Old Fashioned.
When the plates began to arrive, it all started to make sense – the name SINN. While the spelling is unusual, it plays with the idea of peccato, or sin in Italian, a moral or religious transgression. As the tough-looking tattooed Chef Enrico Persegani explained, it's about indulging in something you wouldn't do every day. And if indulgence is what you crave, SINN is the place. Think of heaving dishes piled with delicious homemade pasta, wagyu steaks, large wood-fired hotpots of seafood, oysters served with caviar, and show-stopping pizza with pillowy crust garnished with freshly grated flakes of Parmesan. The pizza is a revelation, and proved to be one of our favourite dishes, along with the ricotta stuffed butternut on the antipasti menu – roasted butternut stuffed with ricotta, feta and parsley, served with a smokey sugo and seed brittle. The tiramisu we had for dessert would make a nonna weep.
From the village of Cremona near Milan, Persegani developed a love of food early on. Cremona is renowned for producing violins alongside rich culinary offerings. From torrone (nougat) and mustard to Grana Padano, artisanal salami, and other Italian culinary wonders. Persegani has been in South Africa for just six months, but by the looks of the menu, he has developed a liking for what is local, and enjoys fusing dishes in a way that makes them proudly South African.
We didn't try them, but there's a biltong arancino served with a smoked tomato sauce, and a "meaty bastard" pizza with boerewors salsiccia. There's also a deep umami bone marrow mousse with biltong butter (this butter seems to be all the rage lately). We spotted it first at Obscura at Oxford Parks in an extraordinary dish that perfectly marries the intense and meaty umami of biltong with rich, creamy bone marrow.
We were particularly amused by the ode to the City of Gold. There's a gold leaf-coated beef fillet carpaccio on the menu, and the tiramisu we ordered as dessert came on a brass tray with a little shovel-shaped spoon fit for any gold digger. Persegani pointed out that he had personally chosen the flatware and plates that accompanied each dish. The bread course comes with an interesting choice of weapon, worthy of a part in a recreation of Romeo and Juliet. The side plates with their heavy flecks of red are suggestive of a crime scene, but the only tragedy here would be restraining yourself from indulgence.
SINN is out of the ordinary. It's refreshing to try a new restaurant and find that the chef has new tricks up his sleeve (along with his tattoos). The bar is intent on impressing, and you find yourself weighing up options on what to eat – and in which order – as this is not a place where you should tie yourself to a single course.
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