Restaurant Adventures - SostaCucina
Over the weekend, I took handful of my nearest and dearest to the intimate Italian restaurant called Sosta Cucina. Located in North Melbourne, this fine dining restaurant is everything I love! Let me paint a little picture for you. Many romance movies and tv programs will often show the warmly lit Italian restaurant, from the perspective of 'outside looking in', with the guest perfectly placed in the centre of the room, whilst being framed by the window. Well, over the weekend, that was us!
You walk in, and you can automatically feel the warmth and smell the amazing food. You're also greeted by your lovely hosts, a glass of Prosecco, and a table that was set out perfectly with candles. The lighting was warm and we immediately felt relaxed and comfortable. Have I sold you yet? Well, just keep reading!
We did the five course al a carte menu, which basically meant we had our own menu for
the evening. We got our welcome drinks and some two amazing starters from their antipasti selection to begin. Our entrees were nothing short of spectacular, I had the Calamari St. Andrea which melted in my mouth, with a couple of my guests enjoying the Crudo di pesce, a raw king fish dish, often exclaiming due to its deliciousness.
Next up was our third course, and I chose the Linguine al granchio e bottarga which was a blue swimmer crab linguine, a perfectly cooked and once again mouthwatering dish I could eat all day everyday. It was perfectly balanced, and the blue swimmer crab was fresh and the meat tender. I looked around to my guests and the table was almost silent but for the sounds of us enjoying our meals. The Pappardelle con ragu d’agnello looked especially delightful.
Our fourth course was another main, and I had the Guanciale Di Maiale, an amazing pork cheek dish, which despite some of my guests wanting to share, I definitely, did not. The meat literally melted in my mouth. Again, this was a perfectly balanced dish that I would recommend to anyone and everyone. A number of guests also had the Capretto, a baked Gippsland milk fed goat on the bone with wild fennel, white wine and truffle infused Pecorino.
Throughout our third and fourth courses, we also had a number of side dishes to accompany our meals. Our first side dish was, Patate all’aglio e rosmarino, roasted potatoes with rosemary and garlic. Insalata Mista, consisting of baby cos , raddichio, witlof, apple, gorgonzola dolce and herb vinegrette, was our second side dish.
Finally, dessert, of which most of us had the Bombolini Ripieni which consisted of three hot cinnamon sugared donuts filled with vanilla pastry cream and melted milk chocolate. Let me just say that I think it was the highlight of my evening because it was pure perfection.
We also shared a couple of wines and after making our selection, our glasses were never emptied as our lovely hosts were very attentive, often fluttering by topping up our wine and water. Wines of the evening included; the 2015 Mitolo Angela from McLaren Vale, Australia and the 2015 Tenute Dettori Romangia, from Sardegna, Italy.
Being a white wine fan, I indulged myself by having a number of glasses of the organic Vermentino di Sardegna, and it was spectacular. This was a light wine, that was almost too easy to drink. Again, much like our evening, this wine was perfectly balanced, with clear aromas and flavours of fully ripe apricots and peaches, accented by melon, almonds, and honey.
Overall, we all had an incredibly special evening full of fine food and stunning wines. I cannot wait to return to SostaCucina for my next fantastic food adventure.