Meal #57- Sicily

Despite the many different regions of Italy, and the huge Italian population of Melbourne, it’s quite difficult to find a restaurant that specializes in regional fare. So it was that Nick, Naomi, Sai, Caroline, Rami and Marty approached Northcote, heady with anticipation at discovering the delights of a kucina siciliana.

Café Bedda

High St

Northcote

The journey to Café Bedda was fraught with difficulty. Not only could we not locate the restaurant, just missing it in our extensive sweeps of High St, but as we finally neared our destination, some other people were enjoying their own High St drive-bys; people with eggs. By the time we found the thriving Café Bedda, we were egg splattered and frustrated, and really looking forward to a decent meal. The Café itself is a narrow, bustling space, with a promisingly large number of people crammed in to enjoy the notorious fare.

The menu concentrates quite heavily on pizzas, and we chose to share a few foccacia. These were essentially an excellent pizza bread base, liberally doused in olive oil, Sicilian sea salt and either garlic and herb, or anchovy. A delicious and filling side dish.

As a group we sampled some of the Assaggi (small dishes). The baccala fritters (potato, cod and parsley croquettes) delivered a satisfying saltiness, without overpowering. However, they also featured cod bones, too small to dig out of the soft fritters, but too large to be eaten without a little discomfort. The marinated olives were a hit, served warm with roasted garlic and generous amounts of bread.

Delving into the Secondi (main) course, pasta was a common theme, although a surprising let down. The Pennette Norma, tossed with tomato, grilled eggplant, and basil was fine, if a little oily. Nothing to write home about, but nothing to write complaint letters over, either. The Spaghetti Puttanesca con pesce spada was a bigger disappointment. The traditional Putanesca sauce of tomato, capers, green olives, chilli and anchovies was sadly bland and the addition of sword fish, rather than uplifting the dish, instead clashed with the subtle flavours.

It was a pleasure to order from the rotating specials board, which features Sicialian cuisines as they become available. We enjoyed the Capretto al forno- a stew of tender goat meat perfectly complemented by the scattered herbs throughout the rich tomato sauce. An accompanying serve of rosemary polenta was a little wet, but the flavours were well matched.

All in all, our visit to Café Bedda was a bit of a let down, but that was likely coloured by our unpleasant journey and difficulties in meeting dietary restrictions. The stand out dishes were fantastic, and well worth the price, and certainly many reviews of Bedda are more than complimentary. The prices are a little steep, but the ingredients are high quality, and the service is friendly and attentive, the serving staff displaying an excellent knowledge of the foods, including the specials. A return visit focusing on their pizzas and seasonal fare might well produce a different dining experience.