Friday, April 22, 2011

Sette bello






Today I visited my new favourite area in Melbourne called Hardware lane. The place is so very european and you feel like your in Italy not australia as you walk the brick streets and peek in at all the lovely cafes. At night time bands play, and everyone sits out on the footpath eating yummy food and drinking wine.

As today was good friday a friend and I decided to have a long lunch at one of the few places open (I completely forgot everything shut for good friday) called Settebello. I had been meaning to try out the place for ages, as the staff are always ridiculously cute. Last time I walk past one of the waters had a little flirt with me (ok ok they get paid to do it) so I promised myself that I'd have to check it out next time I was in the area. Its right on the corner of the road, and its super cozy. At night time they mainly do tapas, but during the day they have a range of freshly made pizzas, quiches, and salads.

We both had the mushroom and olive quiche with a roasted pumpkin and pine nut salad. The pastry was really yummy and homemade, which I love. I have so much more respect for a place that makes its own pastry, as opposed to buying it in, in bulk. The filling was yummy, but maybe lacking quality. I was suspicious of both the olives and the mushrooms, and thought that they may have been.....from a jar!! I feel that quiche is like a stage, you have your eggs and your pastry, but the filling has to be the show. You don't want to take shortcuts on it, because its the main attraction. So they lost a few points for me there.

There is only a really small wine list, which I sometimes like (if all the wines are good) because it make picking easier. I had a shiraz and it was so lovely, that I had to order a second glass.

For desert we had macaroons, which were divine! Unfortunately I don't think they made them on the premises, but don't quote me on this because I could be wrong. I had raspberry and white chocolate flavour, and my friend had a chocolate one. We were both very pleased! Its such a lovely food trend, and I'm so glad Australia has jumped on board with it along with the rest of Europe. Its such a treat to see little cafes serving them, and I feel they add a pit of class to an establishment.

I liked the place as it was cozy, and perfect for a long lunch on a cold winters day. It didn't have a huge amount of choice, but this was part of the charm. I don't feel you need a huge menu if you do a few things well. It was rustic which I love, but I'd like to see a little bit more quality in the food. The staff were friendly, and it was reasonably cheap. So it's perfect for what we were looking for. I'd give it a 3 our of 5.

Sette Bello on Urbanspoon

1 comment:

  1. Those macarons are from Luxbite, South Yarra :)

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