La Svolta

To celebrate the arrival of balmy summer nights, an exciting new menu and outdoor dining terrace, I was invited to the exclusive unveiling of La Svolta’s estate Italiana all’aperto. Complete with a live Italian band playing into the evening, it was a night that excited the senses to indulge in a traditional Italian affair.

 Arancini Balls

Baby Snapper Skewers

Prosciutto with Deep Fried Pizza Dough

Pizza Porcini e Speck

Pizza Margherita

Pizza Campania

Food is genuine - their menu based on old family recipes that have been passed down through generations. The menu delights us with a mouth-watering Seared Tuna with a sesame seed crust, Baby Snapper Skewers to lip smacking Beef Carpaccio involtini with rocket, parmagiano & balsamic reduction.

The pizza ? Bellissimo. La Svolta is one of the nine places in Australia accredited by the Naples official pizza body, Associazione Versace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN). This ensures their pizzas are the best of the best, made using traditional techniques with love.

Soft, chewy and fragrant, the pizzas were the highlights of the night. The outer puffed edges are beautifully charred and the centre, molten with sauce and cheese – reminiscent of those in Naples. Toppings are minimally topped with the finest and freshest ingredients, striking a careful balance among crust, sauce, and cheese resulting in gorgeous flavours and texture to the pizza.

La Svolta's outdoor dining terrace will be open to the public every Saturday and Sunday evening from 6.00pm, where you can sit back, relax and enjoy good food in the sun. Go say ciao today !

confessions of a little piggy was invited to dine as a guest of ID Collective and La Svolta

La Svolta

3-5 Cecil Place  

Prahran, VIC 3181

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MELT Pizza

When pizza was first invented in Naples over 200 years ago, it was fast and nutritious. Today, with MELT Pizzas’ fresh take on the old classics, it still is.

With MELT as Chapel Street’s latest pizzeria, Windsor residents can now be really picky about their pizza. And I must say, MELT is perfect for the health-conscious. Light dough (no oil, fat or sugar), fresh local produce, all wood-fired in a 400 degree stone oven for 2 minutes – that’s faster than a cup of 2-minute noodles ! No doubt, your taste buds and body will be thanking you after a meal here.

Customised Pizza

For pizzas, we had the choice to pick from their ‘Classics’ or to ‘Customise’ our own. I love playing around with flavours, so when given the opportunity, DIY is the way to go. Starting with a basil pine nut pesto, we complemented our pizza-baby with spinach, roasted pumpkin, Meredith goats cheese, fresh mozzarella and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. In the oven it went, and literally 2 minutes later, out popped our freshly wood-fired pizza. We adored this wholesome pizza with its crispy chewy base.

Superfood

We also nourished our bodies with a salad of spinach, oven roasted sweet potato, beetroot, broccoli, red quinoa, white quinoa, red rice, pepitas, sunflower seeds, almond flakes dolloped with a yoghurt and a nutty tahini dressing. This pleasantly crunchy super salad offered a wholesome earthy flavour and savoury appeal. What I would have loved for though, was a little more seasoning and perhaps a larger bowl to contain all the goodness this salad offers together.

Meatballs

The more carnivorous side of us enjoyed the Meatballs. Piping hot out of the oven, the grass fed free range beef meatballs sizzled in a spicy tomato sauce and melty cheese. They were exactly what we had hoped for – soaking up the richness of the sauce, the balls were juicy and flavoursome.

The guys here at MELT Pizza take their food very seriously, and it is easy to see they are passionate about what they do. Service is warm and friendly, with staff more than happy to stop by for a chat and laugh. What stood out to me the most was the philosophy of the food, which just adds that extra touch to feel a little more connected with the food on your plate.

confessions of a little piggy was invited to dine as a guest of MELT Pizza

MELT Pizza

171 Chapel Street

Windsor, VIC

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D.O.C. Pizza & Mozzarella Bar

My friend and I were only in for a quick bite, but from the moment we set foot into D.O.C. Pizza & Mozzarella Bar, we instantly felt the electrifying energy - from the vibrant buzz of the open-kitchen, the exuberant Italian culture to the smell of fresh pizza wafting through the air. We could not wait for dig in.

Pizza Speck

The pizza was soft, foldable and satisfyingly chewy, whilst the flavours of paper thin smoked prosciutto, woody wild mushrooms, fontina cheese and thyme were all individually spot on. However, when combined, we found it far too salty - just one slice had me downing glasses of water. 

So overall, what did I think of D.O.C. Pizza & Mozzarella Bar ? The pizza was good - I can say that. They keep it simple here - offering a great range of wholesome pizzas topped with quality imported ingredients. Service was effiicient - loud and outrageous in the genuine style that is Italian hospitality. If only I hadn't left so extremely parched from all that accumulated sodium.

D.O.C. Pizza & Mozzarella Bar

295 Drummond Street

Carlton, VIC

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Ladro Greville

For the birthday girl's pizza weekend adventure, landed us at Ladro on a Friday night.  After our  initial struggles with parking and being mislead by the iPhone maps, we finally made it. 

Now, I have to admit, we had to have a lot of help with ordering. Help from Google that is. Amongst our conversation, every second question was "Hey .. what's *insert italian word* ?" With Google on our side, and the clock ticking away, we finally decided to choose a main each to share.

Gnocchi al Forno

Out first, came the Gnocchi al Forno. The gnocchi was submerged in a rich San Marzano tomato sugo sauce, cheesy bufala, parmigiano and topped with basil. The sweetness of the tomatoes came through and as always, went beautifully with the cheeses and basil. However, I did find the gnocchi to be a little overcooked, resulting in overly soft gnocchi.

Risi e bisi

Described to be a Venetian classic, came our next dish of risi e bisi, most commonly known as rissotto. I loved how the pea's vibrant green colours came out and gave the dish a happy feel. Cooked and fully packed with flavour, this dish of rice, peas, pancetta, shallots was a creamy dream.

'I do not like green eggs and ham

 I do not like them

 Jen-I-Am

Gamberi Piselli

tomato, lemon garlic prawns, peas, chilli, basil

Porcini

fior di latte, taleggio, porcini, basil, pangrattato

Scout's Pizza

tomato, taleggio, caramelised onion, basil, dressed rocket, parmigiano

And finally onto what Ladro is famous for - the Pizza !

And no, they did not disappoint. The base was perfect, thin, pillowy and a little chewy. With fresh toppings and ingredients, and well balanced flavours, it ticked all the right boxes. They were all delicious yet light, which didn't make me feel guilty for having so many slices !

Our experience at Ladro was fantastic. Relaxed atmosphere, attentive staff, and tasty pizzas was all we needed, and was what we got. 

Ladro Greville

162 Greville Street 
Prahran

And being so close by, we ended the night at Yo-Chi. I told you I'd be back for you !

Yo-chi
292 Carlisle St 
Balaclava

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