New restaurant for Claremont

Albasio La Pegna, whose restaurant empire has, over recent years, been whittled down to one venue — Bellissimo in Claremont — is making a big play once again. The founder and former owner of Zafferano, Rialto’s, Pronto and Funtastico has opened a massive venue in Bay View Terrace, Claremont. It’s called Maestro and has a menu more in tune with “modern Australian” cuisine than La Pegna’s native Italian. The fit-out is simple and superb. There’s a bar area out front, a white-cloth restaurant at the rear, a raw bar with lots of seafood and a card of simple dishes listed traditionally as entree and mains. All entrees are $26. Mains are $40.