Cafe Di Stasio
Cafe Di Stasio is an Italian restaurant located on Fitzroy Street, St Kilda. After living in Melbourne for over ten years, heard so much about this renowned restaurant and here we are set for a special dinner date.
As we parked the car outside, I quite like the edgy "facade"... a big grey board with white drawing on it. Forgot to ask the staff if it is a temporary renovation feature? The restaurant itself is a small but intimate room. Warm dim lighting, white linens on small tables and artistic prints on walls. As we walked in we were immediately greeted by the polished white-jacketed staff. They are friendly and attentive throughout.
The menu has a good variety of seafood, meat, game and vegetable to suit different appetite. You will find the good old Italian classic such as beef carpaccio, saltimbocca and of course the in-house made fresh pasta with ragout along with the more contemporary dishes. Here are some of the dishes we enjoyed.
Seared tuna with fennel, capers and pancetta
Beautiful combination of fresh tuna with fennel, capers and crispy pancetta. It has the texture and the savoury tangy flavours that makes it outstanding.
Char-grilled quail with mushrooms
Tender game meat matched perfectly with the strong flavours of those assorted mushrooms.
Lamb slow cooked with white wine, anchovies, rosemary and garlic bruschetta
The lamb cutlets just melt in your mouth. Have to mop up the delicious sauce with the grilled bruschetta.
Roast pork cultlets with sage, mustard and garlic sauce
This is one of the special dish of the day. Pork cutlets are very tender. The simple sage, mustard and garlic sauce is just the perfect sauce to complement the meat.
Rich dark chocolate tart
Indeed a rich and chocolatey tart. The thin crusty pastry makes a nice contrast to the velvety filling.
Tiramisu - Tuscan trifle of mascarpone, espresso coffee and Strega liqueured sponge
Cannot avoid Tiramisu from the renowned Italian restaurant. Perfect density, texture and flavours!
Espresso Martini Freddo
Finishing the lovely dinner with my favourite "dessert wine". This one is so smooth and creamy... Ace!
We started our drinks with Prosecco then moved onto red wines from Lucente and Taurasi. Both of the red wines made a good pairing with the quail, and lamb.
My favourite savoury - Seared tuna with fennel, capers and pancetta
My favourite dessert - Tiramisu
Cafe Di Stasio is a perfect place for a romantic dinner. Beautiful art-filled room with hearty good food. Although some of the dishes on the menu are of familiar names but the use of high quality ingredients and refined cooking have earned its reputation. It is certainly not the traditional trattoria but a high end restaurant. Hope you will enjoy the dining experience there too!
Cafe Di Stasio
31 Fitzroy St, St Kilda VIC 3182
(03) 9525 3999
