Having enjoyed many a lovely meal at Svago in Kew it was with great interest that I read in The Age of a recently opened Italian in Fitzroy that was compared favourably to above mentioned Svago.

As my diet is now limited due to being pregnant I am keen to try as many new places as I can and to work through any item I can consume, without be-moaning the loss of my favourites such as gooey cheese and Sashimi ( just have to hang on for 6 months).

We were lucky to get a table at short notice, the occassion to celebrate my birthday but due to dire morning sickness plans were left to the last minute…no point going somewhere lovely if you cannot enjoy the evening without dashing off to the amenities….and could leave the poor staff wondering what is going on!

So….firstly, the ambience is good, not too bright but you can still see the cutlery in front of you….and the noise was ok, even with tables filling up quickly around us.

I really enjoyed the fresh bread served with the usual salt and olive oil ( nothing wrong with what works!)…..the Olive oil was really high quality and it was hard not to fill up on that alone.

We shared some entree’s including an amazing SEPPIOLINE GRATINATE ( Baby cuttlefish gratinated with breadcrumbs,

anchovies, capers & extra virgin olive oil) Ok, I am not convinced that Gratinated is actually an official word…but I get the meaning. The Verdure pastellate con fonduta di taleggio (Seasonal vegetables in crispy batter with a Taleggio cheese fondue) was light and crunchy.

For mains, I ordered the rabbit (CONIGLIO STEMPERATO ALLA SICILIANA), my mother the Pork  Belly and Husband the Ragu (SPAGHETTI ALLA CHITARRA CON RAGu ABRUZZESE) pasta….all dishes were served with a generous hand and without too much fuss….no huge plates and tiny hand placed sprigs for these dishes.

The Pork was a little bland and my rabbit was not as tender as it could have been…but overall the dishes were lovely.

I prefered the Tapas to the mains and would probably order a number of those rather than a main for my next visit.

Unfortunately there were no desserts that I could eat and that appealed…but I plan to go back once current condition has changed to try more of the menu.

I would recommed this as a nice place to visit, mostly for the Tapas….

One comment from my mum…the wine served was probably the smallest offering she had seen in a while.

Go, try, graze….