Baldovino

826 High St, Thornbury.

Ph: 9416 8373

* * * * *

I’ve made an amazing discovery. It’s great, it’s not too expensive and it’s not too complicated. When I walked into the restaurant it reminded me straight away of some of the restaurants I went to in Italy, everything from the friendly service to the Italian mum in the kitchen.

We ordered Ravioli al Borolo (Duck Ravioli in a red wine sauce) for the entrée, Roast Goat with Potatoes, and Seafood Platter which had prawns, flathead, calamari, sardines and crab cakes for the mains. We wanted to order more but we were assured by the friendly restaurant owner that we had ordered enough.

We were served some bread with garlic-infused olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I don’t usually dip my bread in oil but since it had garlic in it I just had to. It tasted great and it’s a pity there wasn’t more bread to mop up the rest of the oil. We got more bread later though.

The duck ravioli arrived next. It tasted great. The red wine sauce wasn’t too strong and the pasta was perfectly cooked and was homemade which made it even better.

The mains came next. I tried the goat first. It was some of the best meat I’ve ever tasted. It was really good and fell of the bone. The goat had a really tasty jus and it didn’t overpower the flavour of the goat.

Next I tried the seafood platter … everything was good. The calamari was well cooked, as were the prawns and the flathead. I’d never tried crab cake before so I was curious to see what it tasted like. I enjoyed the taste. I tried the sardines next _ but their flavour was a little bit too strong for me.

We were told about some of the desserts including Raspberry Pannacotta and Chocolate Mousse by the owner’s wife but unfortunately I was too full to eat anything else.

It was one of the best Italian meals I’ve had in Melbourne, in fact I preferred it to Tutto Bene. It was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time. And the bill was a modest $80.50!

- James, 11-years-old

Svago

285-287 High St, Kew
Ph: 9855 0505. Open: Mon to Sat from 6pm

Heard of Svago? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean this Italian gem isn’t worth hearing about. It just means word hasn’t got out…yet. Svago opened just a little too late to be included in this year’s recently released Age Good Food Guide but once this restaurant starts getting press it’s going to be harder and harder to score a seat.

Lucky, I managed to book the last two on a recent Saturday night and was impressed with the tiny restaurant’s pumping vibe. It was full, the staff were buzzing and speaking snippets of Italian to all and sundry and the food was delicious.

I've heard whispers bread is usually plonked on the table seconds after you sit but for some reason we missed out on that wagon. No matter, we were quickly distracted by the menu anyway. Svago’s dishes are all designed to be shared and are divided into small (stuzzichini) or big (piatti) plates. For two, the staff advice you choose two small dishes and three of the larger plates. Prices are about $6-$10 for the smaller and about $16-$20 for the larger. We started with a selection of four tiny bruschette ($9) featuring ocean trout with goat’s cheese, marinated mushrooms, mozzarella and cherry tomatoes and cured tuna. Each tiny morsel was a taste sensation and prepared us well for what was to come.

A bowl of silverfish and sea algae fritters ($6) started us off followed by the porchetta di ariccia (slow-cooked pork with toasted bread, $16), risotta al salto nero (squid ink risotto with squid and prawns, $17) and stracotto (a trio of braised beef tastes in tomato sauce, $19). Each dish looked small to our hungry stomachs but they packed a decent punch and, by the end of the five plates and a bottle of Italian pinot grigio ($39), we were satisfied.

Satisfied that is, except for dessert .

The degustation plate ($25) included three of the four dessert options from the menu and for us that meant a dome-shaped lemon sponge, an almond and orange chocolate pudding with blood orange syrup and a cannoli which was filled with coffee zabaglione. Each was a delight: the sponge with the perfect amount of lemon tartness, the pud with the right mix of choc and orange and the cannoli, the lightest and tastiest canolli I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating.

My only hesitation with Svago is a product of its location. Yes, the food was great and yes, the atmosphere was noisy and busy – just what you want on a Saturday night. But Svago is in the heart of Kew so expect to be surrounded by tables of middle aged couples, which of course is fine if you are a middle-aged couple but if not, perhaps not the vibe you’re looking for. The food however, bellissimo!

7/10

-zoe

Giuseppe, Arnaldo and Sons (GAS)

Crown Casino
8 Whiteman St, Southbank
Ph: (03) 9694 7400
Open: daily, noon until midnight

It's had a lot of rave reviews so when I was invited to lunch at GAS by a friend, I admit I was excited. The restaurant's "no booking" policy saw us do a midday lunch. I got there 10 minutes early just in case. Missing out was not an option. On a Wednesday there was nothing to worry about with plenty of seats on offer.

I relinquished a seat on the stylish banquette seat to enjoy the view out the windows to the Yarra and city beyond.
Like Rockpool, GAS has its menu on paper which also double as placemats. Pastas, antipastos, meats, including an extensive selection of salamis, featured amongst the comprehensive and original list.

We sought assistance from the waiter. What did he recommend?

For starters: the baby beetroot, goat's curd, young black cabbage and beet juice salad ($18); raw ox "Alba" style, finely diced, pickled Swiss brown mushrooms and grilled bruschetta ($16); raw hand-dived wild Hervey Bay scallops with dwarf peaches, lemon and young Rocket ($15) .

We went with two out of three with the baby beetroot and raw ox, as we needed to save room for the main. A superb choice.

The beetroot salad was a stunning mix of texture and flavor. It could easily be eaten as a main, it was so good. The raw ox was similarly fabulous with its unusual mix of ingredients.

I was keen on pasta and our very friendly helper suggested the Lumarche (a shell pasta) with broccoli, anchovy, garlic ($21).

My lunch date ordered the "Coteletta" crumbed milk-fed veal cutlet ($29).

For sides we had potatoes with rosemary, garlic ($8) and a pea, shallot, mint, basil and air-dried ricotta salad ($9).

It was all accompanied by a lovely pinot noir from the Bellarine Peninsula, again a recommendation from the attentive and charming waiter.

From the word go, everything was delicious. The bread basket offered the most divine mix of breads dipped in stunningly fresh, vibrant Australian olive oil.

We were given a fair break between our delicious starters and main, so we probably could have squeezed in the scallops. Next time.

My pasta was a surprise. It was covered in a green sauce – a puree of the anchovy, garlic and broccoli, looking completely different to what I expected. But it delivered big time with beautiful flavor and a smooth texture.

The veal cutlet was the mother of all cutlets, filling the entire plate. My lunch date devoured it, giving it the tick of approval.

No room or time for dessert unfortunately. But let me tempt you with some options:

The baked chocolate pot with chocolate pearls, served chilled ($14), fresh raspberries, rose-flavored grappa with a vanilla mascarpone tart ($18); the "Canolli", three ways with sweetened ricotta, mocha zabaglione and vanilla custard ($15); strawberry chianti and yoghurt gelato with pistachios ($15); gelati affogato with organic egg vanilla ice cream, hot coffee and chocolate sauce ($17) or Italian chocolate including Manjani flaky coffee chocolate ($12). Yum!

Melbourne is lucky to boast yet another top notch restaurant. GAS is fabulous. I’ll be back to try more of its interesting menu and lap up the great vibe and service.

9.5/10

- kate

Grossi Florentino Cellar Bar

80 Bourke St, Melbourne
(03) 9662 1811
Open: Mon-Sat, 7.30am-midnight

Wouldn't we all like to dine at Florentino's for a Friday lunch? The food is first-rate, the vibe is as Italian as you can get in downtown Melbourne AND (let's be honest) it's just so damn cool to walk back into the office and drop the line, "I've just been at Florentino's" in the same roll-off-the-tongue way some say, "Would you like fries with that?".

Unfortunately, if you're anything like me, the lunch budget doesn't always stretch to Florentino's but that doesn't mean you have to miss out on some of the Guy Grossi magic. Downstairs from the much-lauded restaurant in Bourke St is its little sister, the Cellar Bar. Same establishment, same uber-cool atmosphere, different prices.

The only down side about the Cellar Bar is that it doesn't take bookings but, since that's the only complaint, I won't dwell. What I will dwell on is the atmosphere and the food.

A fresh water glass and complimentary bread with olive oil was a good start and was on our table minutes after I sat down. As boring as it is to order the same as your partner, neither of us could go past the gnocchi al gorgonzola ($16) which came out only a few sips of wine after we ordered. In a lesser kitchen this would have sent alarm bells off about pre-prepared food sitting under a heat lamp but that's not the Cellar Bar's style. The gnocchi was soft and the Dolcelatte gorgonzola sauce was rich and creamy with enough zing to keep it interesting. Rubbernecking revealed the other Italian classics on the menu such as lasagne ($14), osso buco ($18) and rabbit risotto ($16) looked just as satisfying and definitely enough of a reason to return. I spotted a friend at a nearby table who highly recommended the fish soup special.

To wet the throat, my glass of Italian red ($9) was a tasty drop for the bottom end of the wine list and his glass of Aussie white ($8) was apparently the same.

At 1pm on a Friday the Cellar Bar was pumping but even the constant stream of suits looking for a table didn't hassle the bevy of well-groomed waiters who clearly had the job down pat almost as well as they did their Italian accents. Was I impressed? Yes. Did I leave satisfied? Yes. Did I walk back into the office and drop the I've-just-been at-Florentino's-line? Damn straight.

8/10

- Zoe