Sosta Cucina

LOCATION
Close to the city, in the heart of North Melbourne’s emerging food district. Easy access via Errol Street tram.

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
With an informal style and consistent emphasis on the freshness and simplicity of great Italian food, Sosta Cucina has continued to impress since opening its doors in mid 2007. Genial owner, Maurice Santucci, and chef, Travis Humphery, have created a warm, inviting-yet-elegant space which, when coupled with years of experience and attentive service, allows them to share their love of Northern Italian cuisine. This is a comfortable restaurant to dine in. With Santucci at front of house ensuring that everything runs smoothly, family photos on the wall, attention to detail and fair prices for some excellent food, it is the sort of place you enjoy returning to on a regular basis. There is a small but diverse menu; a constantly evolving line-up that might see you start with fried confit quail with witlof, gorgonzola, caramelised walnuts and red grapes or linguine with calamari and San Marzano tomato and leek sauce with baked Western Australian scampi.

A menu which always includes a fish and roast meat of the day shows a chef with a keen eye on market offerings. Other mains include slow-cooked goat on soft buckwheat polenta and shaved pecorino and char-grilled baby chicken with vincotto glaze and baby root vegetables. Sides aren’t strictly necessary but make an excuse to order the rich baked eggplant Parmigiana. It will lift almost any meal. Also worth making excuses for are the dolci. Try the individual apple tart, cooked to order, or the bombolini ripieni – hot cinnamon sugared donuts filled with vanilla pastry cream and served with melted Lindt chocolate. The well-chosen menu is complemented by a wine list full of excellent vintages and Italian varietals. Set price two- and three-course weekday lunches offer excellent value, while Sosta Cucina’s devotion to regional cooking continues with a series of dinners throughout the year.

Angela Costanzo