Osteria Tre Nonni – Craighall Park

Like most people, I heart free stuff/discounts/special deals, so when I saw that the Groupon deal of the day involved food I was positively overcome with joyous emotion.

The deal was a voucher for Osteria Tre Nonni for two people for practically nothing. Two people? Really cheap? DATE NIGHT!

Note: I had never heard of Osteria Tre Nonni before so I did the sensible thing and read the menu online before purchasing this deal… always a wise thing to do.

So armed with knowledge of the menu and the address entered into GPS, off we went.

Team: It was date night. There were two of us, obviously.

Before delving into the décor, I pause for a moment to define “Osteria”.An osteria (Italian pronunciation: [oste’ria]) in Italy was originally a place serving wine and simple food. Lately, the emphasis has shifted to the food but menus tend to be short with local specialties such as pasta and grilled meat and fish and often served at shared tables. Thanks Wikipedia!

So with this definition in mind, I had a certain pre-conceived idea of what to expect.

Décor: Beige walls, beige floors, beigey/white table clothes, your standard lighting – Not very osteria-ry. Call the stereotyping police, but I wanted red and white
checked table cloths, I wanted those cute little wine bottles with the wicker casings, I wanted cloves of garlic hanging from the ceiling, and above all else I wanted warmth. OTN did not give me warmth. I must mention the paintings though, which were beautiful. Yup, that’s about it.

Vibe: Old folk and couples (no doubt using the above mentioned voucher) were scattered around the medium sized dining room. The restaurant filled up relatively quickly but remained pretty quiet. The hustle and bustle coming from the popular Giles next door made me feel a bit old. I don’t like feeling old. I think OTN would be a
good place for an early supper before painting the town red elsewhere. You will not find red paint and brushes at this place.

Service: We were seated by someone whom I assumed to be the manager, menus were brought by one person, drinks order was taken by another and food orders were taken by yet another member of staff. A bit all over the place and I did find myself getting a little annoyed waiting for someone to come and take the food order. However, the food was brought quickly and the order was taken correctly. (Considering there were only two of us this isn’t really a massive achievement).

Food: A big plate of bread and some olive tapenade provided ample snackage whislt browsing the menu – yes, even though I had the read the menu online, a few times, I wasn’t sure what to have, plus I had to check prices, ok? Starters are too pricey in my opinion, ranging from R50 to R80. Mains are more reasonably priced and will set you back around R60 to R130.

Starters: I had the brezaola which is thinly sliced cured beef. Sort of like a carpaccio but cured as opposed to raw, it was deliciously salty. It was served with avo which left much to be desired and I honestly could have done without it. As delicious as the meat was, I regretted not ordering the carpaccio.

The boyf ordered the Frittelle di Melenzane. Considering his staple starter is
carpaccio, I consider this to be a daring choice for him. Egg plant fritters
served with a cumin yoghurt sauce. Cumin? Yoghurt? At an Italian restaurant?
Strange to say the least. The fritters were more melenzane cakes than actual
fritters (I pictured slices of melenzane deep fried in a light batter) and were slightly stogy, but the combination worked well. The cumin yoghurt was surprisingly delightful, as evidenced by my continuous finger dip-age.

Mains: I always find it incredibly tough to decide what to eat. This time was no exception. After a 10 minute discussion with the boyf (plus a 10 minute internal debate) I decided on the Gnocchetti di Gorgonzola. Gnocchetti are little gnocchi made from spinach and ricotta, as opposed to your standard potato variety. They were served with an incredibly rich gorgonzola cream sauce. Although delicious, I found the gnocchetti a tad soft and mushy and the cream sauce a little sickly. That being said, I ate the whole plate.

Boyf decided to forgo the “great debate” and went for the Veal Limone. If it’s on the menu, he will order it. Now, as mentioned in previous posts, I have a somewhat ‘love-hate’ relationship with veal. I love the taste, I hate the notion (you know, the fact that the little baby cows are slaughtered so young etc etc etc *cue cheese vegetarian music*). None the less, I took one for the team and tasted his dish. Tender veal cooked to perfection covered in a tangy lemon sauce. It checked all the boxes. Side note, maybe it could have been served with some veg as well as the dollop of mash? Just a thought.

Dessert: I did promise a dessert review after my dismal failings the last
few times, but I was pressed for choice at OTN. Tiramisu, panna cotta (set in coffee or cape velvet liqueur), gelati and sorbet. Oh least I forget, Italian kisses.I detest tiramisu, I loathe coffee and cape velvet and Italian kisses are beyond cliché. So our choices were really gelati or sorbet. My tummy was already stuffed from my main so we went for the sorbet. Mango to be specific.Two scoops of delicately flavoured mango sorbet, with the occasional chunk
of mango. More a palate cleanser than a dessert really, but it was a welcome end to the evening.

Overall I found OTN to be “mutton dressed as lamb”. It offers homely Italian
food under the guise of fine dining but lacks the presentation or service of
fine dining establishments.

In my opinion, I would have enjoyed the evening a whole lot more had I been able to enjoy my comfort food in a comfortable environment without the attempts at bells and
whistles.

So to wrap up – did we enjoy the food? Yes. Did we have a successful date night? Oh yes. Would I go back? Not without a similar special deal/discount voucher.

Note: Although Boyf agreed that the place was a little pretentious he thought the food was great and said, and I quote, “You’re just fussy with Italian places”. Looks like he will be returning to Osteria Tre Nonni for a solo date night.

Cafe del Sol – Olivedale

Café del Sol, as the name does not readily suggest, is an Italian secret tucked away in the heart of Olivedale. Blink and you will miss it.

I had personally never heard of this little gem but several restauranteerers hail from the ‘dale (or there abouts) and are avid fans of the Café. After listening to some unabashed bragging on behalf of Café del Sol we were all in agreement that it would be our next destination.

To be honest, right off the bat I had my reservations. Being of Italian descent I am highly critical of most Italian eateries. As a rule, I don’t order pasta out (no one cooks it better than my Nonna did) and I approach all Italian restaurants with a SLIGHT air of arrogance. That being said, after reading the menu online (awesome website by the by) I was eager to get stuck in and was salivating at the thought.

So, we gathered the group, booked the table and off we went. Here’s the show down:

Team: 9 restauranteerers (included in the group was a newbie so we were on our best behavior.. kind of)

Décor: Café del Sol brings new definition to the term modern chic! From the fresh white tables to the sugo (that’s pasta sauce for the non-italians out there) red touches of the open-plan kitchen, this place is absolutely beautiful. The lighting is superb, both aesthetically and functionally and ties everything together. There is nothing harsh about Café del Sol’s decor and you can literally feel the love permeating out the pale yellow walls. Bottom line, it works. It makes you feel classy without being pretentious and when the conversation gets boring you can read the quotes on the wall or day-dream about gondola rides through Venice while staring at the indoor fountain.

Vibe: Pulling into the parking lot, I had my doubts. Surely a restaurant of this magnitude couldn’t do well situated at a weird little shopping centre? How wrong I was. Café del Sol attracts a mixed bag of patrons, old and young, and was absolutely buzzing. We are an extremely loud group and our evening at Café del Sol was no exception – we weren’t asked to leave so they can clearly handle even the most hectic of diners.Whether you’re interested in a quick dinner out with the family or a rip-roaring evening with friends, you will be catered for and you will feel completely at ease.

Service: The boyf and I arrived first, 30 minutes early. Some places seem to find difficulty with this, but not Café del sol. The beautiful and welcoming hostess seated us promptly and our waitress wasn’t far behind to take our drinks order. Once the rest of the group arrived and we had quenched our alcoholic thirsts, mama was on hand to tell us about the specials and her personal recommendations. When faced with a relatively large menu this is refreshing. The wine flowed, the orders were taken competently and the food reached our table with just the right amount of speed. Café del Sol’s staff could write the book on 10 of 10 service. Well done.

Food: With regards to pricing you’re looking at starters from around R60-R75 mains range from R70 to R140 and desserts will set you back in the region of R40-R50. Average prices for a relatively fine dining establishment. The menu is large and will satisfy carnivores and veggies alike but you won’t find any pizza on offer – it wasn’t missed. Here’s a selection of what was consumed:

Starters:

 Beetroot carpaccio. Yes, BEETROOT carpaccio. Thin slices of beetroot topped with orange segments, strawberries and gorgonzola. As mentioned on more than 1 occasion, I am a meat eater and never order veggie dishes. In this case, I wish I had – was phenomenal!

 

Parma wraps: Salty parma wrapped around rocket served with artichoke hearts and strawberries. Topped with a bread stick and drizzled with pomegranate reduction. From the oohing and aaahing coming from the boyf sitting next to me, he obviously thought his dish was amazing. I tasted it. It was.

Primavera rolls: Rice pastry spring roll vibe stuffed with parma ham and smoky mozzarella. This was my dish. It was delicious but was missing a little some’ingsome’ing. The menu says it comes with a creamy white sauce. It was more of a drizzle really. I think there should have been more of it, or some sort of dipping sauce.

On special, off menu dishes included artichoke soup, deep-fried squid heads served with homemade aioli (best I’ve tasted) and tempura prawns. All of which looked equally delicious.

Mains:

I ordered the porcini chicken. Two crispy chicken breasts (served on the bone) smothered in porcini sauce on top a veggie risotto. I was forewarned by a restauranteerer who had ordered this dish before that it was incredibly rich and I should probably eat half and take the rest home. Challenge accepted. I devoured it! It was rich but boy was it delicious. Oh and the risotto was perfect – a tough feat for most restaurants.

Bacon and Brie fillet. I love bacon. I love brie. I love fillet. Unfortunately, I didn’t order it so couldn’t eat the whole lot but the tasty I had was sublime. Sauce was the perfect consistency and as strong as the brie was it didn’t overpower the all-important fillet. Bacon was bacon but unfortunately was not crispy. Served with polenta chips and veggies.

Pork Fillet. I didn’t taste this dish so Steve will provide the critique. ” Tender rolled pork fillet filled with imported parma ham, smoked mozzarella and Fontina cheese, served with roast garlic mash and a silky sage sauce – a very special take on pork fillet. The filling was incredibly tasty and you could taste all the components distinctly”

Also on order – ravioli – sauce was great but pasta was too thick in my opinion. Rack of lamb served on a bed of risotto and limoncello calamari.

I must make special mention of the marinated olives. Oh.My Goodness. Words fail me…order it!

Dessert

Home made cakes and various standard Italian desserts are on offer (panna cotta and the like). I was once again, overcome by wine, and didn’t order anything *hang my head in shame*. Will endeavor to atleast get someone at the table to try something next time.

 In addition to dinner, Café del Sol offers breakfast and lunch. I have it on good authority that it’sdefinitely worth popping in for a lunch time treat.

To quote the allegedly famous George Miller (no, I don’t know who he is either), “The trouble with eating Italian food is that 5 or 6 days later you’re hungry again”. This couldn’t be truer of Café del Sol. Not only does the food satisfy even the greatest of hungers (mine) but the service and atmosphere leave you feeling emotionally fulfilled whilst still craving more.

Bravo Café del Sol, bravo.