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Tucked away on a quiet side street between a newsagent and a dry cleaners, San Pietro is both good-looking and unassuming. A spot that locals come to for special occasions, or when the mood strikes, for a solid Italian seafood dish. It takes reservations, and is in a nice enough part of town that you’d feel like it’s a ‘treat outing’ if venturing in from afar.
The staff are born-and-bred Italian, and very relaxed (to the point that you might wonder whether they have actually forgotten about you more than once throughout the evening). However, when they do grace your table with their presence, the service is warm and friendly. Starched white tablecloths and fairly generic décor suit the tastes of the older clientele that San Pietro seems to attract. The only striking thing was an ornate seafood counter in the entrance with heaps of lobsters and other fishy options resting on beds of ice. But while fine, the food itself was fairly unremarkable. Overcooked calamari and slightly charred parmesan crisps were underwhelming. Pasta was a little too al dente with questionable beef bits floating around in a bland jus.
In the end, it was the sweet stuff that rescued the meal – the tiny sliver of cheesecake served for dessert, while not abundant in size, most certainly made up for it in taste, and a caprese-style chocolate cake dotted with almond morsels and smothered in ice cream was delightful. So while you might come looking for seafood, stay for the cake.