Mummucc’ has awesome Italian family fare worth lining up for

Busy, loud, chaotic and awesome. These are the words flying through my head as it swivels left and right, taking in the buzzing scene at Mummucc’.

A mate and I are perched at the bar — the only two seats remaining at 6.07pm on a Wednesday.

We’re at the epicentre of Wembley’s new 60-seater, with small round settings along the walls and a big communal table by the window. The look is smart but simple, black and white, with an Italian marble bar-top.

That’s fitting because the owners of Mummucc’, Tania Nicolo and Ryan Bookless, have framed the menu and the vibe around Nicolo’s Italian heritage.

It works for them at their powerhouse pizzeria, Monstarella, a few doors down, and it’s definitely working again now.

Nicolo’s family hails from mountainous Abruzzo, north-east of Rome. Her grandmother, who died at 99, was nicknamed Mummucc, and her picture hangs on the wall. Meanwhile, Nicolo’s mother whips up fresh pasta by hand each day, pumping out thick, shoelace styles typical of the Abruzzo region.

The service, warm but distracted (or maybe overwhelmed), is kept to taking orders, pouring drinks and delivering dishes. You get your own cutlery, plates and water.

Steak tartare is a dish that can get a bit samey. Not here. The raw, diced fillet is showered in cured yolk gratings, teamed with green olive chunks and bedded on a creamy mayo that’s blended with the firecracker spice of nduja (pork salumi). There are gasps and coughs, but that doesn’t slow our potato-crisp scooping of the subtle steak ($18).

I’ve been known to choose dishes based on their condiments and this time, I hit the jackpot.

Three huge butterflied and chargrilled tiger prawns ($18) come doused in bottarga butter.

Bottarga is salted fish roe, grated into the decadent, lemon-accented dressing. It’s textured with unevenly chopped guanciale (pork jowl). The bottarga’s umami element is addictive and we soak up every last skerrick with crusty bread, baked daily by North Street Store.

Australian-made burrata comes highly recommended ($16). Its white knot of cheese is parked among fresh peas that pop in the mouth, mint leaves that freshen the creaminess, and pangrattato, which are bread crumbs with excellent crunch. It’s now that I notice everything is perfectly seasoned.

We move on to Italy’s iconic pasta dish, vongole (clams), one that’s connected to so many happy Italian holiday memories.

This one is decent, but the spaghetti is cooked just beyond al dente and smothers the delicate shellfish, which could do with a stronger slug of fermented chilli to add more dimension ($25).

The carte’s other pasta, chitarra alla gricia ($24), is sensational.

The salty, peppery, cured egg sauce is loaded with pork that’s similar to thin-cut, wide bacon slices. I love it.

In fact, I love it all. Go early, grab a wine and prepare to line up.

MUMMUCC’

Address: 6/46–56 Grantham Street, Wembley

mummucc.com.au

Open: Wed to Thu 5pm–10pm; Fri to Sat 4pm–late; Sun 4pm–10pm

Bookings: No

Licenced: Yes

Fleur’s Verdict: 15/20