Apart from the excellent food, what is it that makes Solo Pasta and Pizza in Sandy Bay one of the most popular of the many similar Italian eateries in town? I believe it’s the buzz of the place, the noisy, energy-charged ambiance and the seemingly innate sense of hospitality and generosity of the young owners, Simon Robustelli and Dimitri Giovanoglou.
Now they’ve taken their talents and a new partner, Luke Rocchia, to the smart, inner-city breakfast and lunch room, Cultura, which opened its doors just before Christmas.
Good food, familial warmth and fun are a winning combination in anyone’s book and only six weeks after opening, Cultura already hums. As it deserves to. Yes the menu’s basically pasta and pizza with a few more cafe-style standards like a pecorino and pear salad, zucchini and egg frittata and grilled asparagus with poached egg for breakfast, but the beef carpaccio was classic in its simplicity – as it should be – a baby beetroot salad with fior di latte was light and refreshing and the fresh, house-made gnocchi came with the best puttanesca sauce I’ve had in a long time. Originally created as a restorative for the working ladies of Rome, I imagine the sauce would have done its job admirably.
The wine list is small but adequate with a selection of middle-of-the-road-Italians and Australians all reasonably priced and all available by the glass.
Breakfast $9 – $17; antipasti around $12.50; pizza $16.50 – $20; calazone $22; pasta $17 – $21.
