Giovanni Pilu’s beach house restaurant is one of the charming beachside places to eat in Sydney. Overlooking one of the northern beaches known as Freshwater (or Freshie, to the locals), what better way to soak up the salty air and the vista of breaking waves than with seafood? Battered fish fillets, calamari and prawns can be bought at any corner fish shop, but at Pilu you might have to restrain the urge to shove as many in your mouth at once as you can. Other Sardinian seafood delights include grilled scampi, oven-baked whole baby snapper with vernaccia and green olives, hand-made egg pasta ravioli, meat dishes and fresh tomato and basil salad. With floor-to-ceiling windows that offer one of the best beachy views in Sydney, there’s nothing pompous about the place, though the relaxed service can teeter on the edge of too relaxed at times. Must be all the salt in the air.