Licensed: No.
Value: Excellent value with substantial hearty meals that won’t leave you hungry.
Staff/ambience: Fun and casual but this place is about the food primarily.
With family: Plenty of kid-friendly options but the seating is crowded and tables sometimes hard to come by.
With friends: Yes but not for a large group.
With a date: This place is about the food and it is counter ordering.
Summary: I have been a regular takeaway customer here and regret not sitting down to the menu sooner. I’ll definitely be going back.
The Mediterranean fare is what you might expect with versions of pasta, chicken breast, veal etc., with a great specials menu which shouldn’t be ignored. I enjoyed the osso buco which was hearty, tender and smothered in a great tomato sauce sitting on a bed of mashed potato which would have satisfied a Rabbitoh forward in the bulking period of his training regime. The octopus salad was again substantial – fresh and tender with lashings of extra-virgin olive oil. The spaghetti with meatballs wasn’t my favourite, with a spicy aromatic edge which split the opinions at the table, you either loved it or you didn’t, but the pasta itself was al dente which is a minimum that many restaurants don’t get right.
I will be venturing in again to sample more of the offerings with interesting plates such as beef cheeks, pear and goat cheese salad and crab and prawn ravioli, and 90 per cent of the meals under $25 with many under $20.
The pastizzis themselves are either good or fantastic. Don’t confuse these with the commercial pre-packed version in your supermarket freezer. These are much bigger, fat with a generous fill and come in a multitude of flavours. The traditional ricotta, ricotta and spinach and mushy peas are my favourites but the newer offering of beef curry, salmon dill ricotta, chicken and mushroom, chilli con carne etc. all will appeal to the pallet. There are even a couple of dessert versions. They are all displayed proudly in trays on the wall behind the counter. The difference between good and fantastic is how long they have waited for you to arrive. In the slower times just cast your eyes across to check they aren’t too tired. They will heat them up but there is nothing like the ones straight out of the oven.
tuckertime@ssh.com.au
