Where: 149 Pt Chevalier Rd. Ph (09) 846 5303.
Our meal: $153 for breads, two entrees, one main, a side salad, one beer, one bottle of wine.
Wine list: You bring your own, or choose from the selection on display.
Verdict: Slow food, done well. Prices on the specials menu would be helpful.
Out of 10
Food: 7
Service: 7
Value: 7
Ambience: 7
It's said that to prepare food for others is to show you care. At Cafe Latte, the serving of the food is also done with care.
Each plate is carried with two hands and placed in front of the diner as if it were a gift. Accompanied by a smile, it lifts an ordinary dining experience into another class. This is how Carol the maitre d' does things at Cafe Latte.
The young man who assisted the night we were there could learn a lot from her. The restaurant is tucked into a small space in Pt Chevalier Rd, next door to a fish and chip shop and a Chinese takeaway. It seems cluttered at first glance, with tables close together, walls lined with pictures and wine bottles, and a black ceiling, but it's a homely clutter.
We start with a dark beer for Bill, chosen from the six or so Italian specimens displayed on the counter. It's a La Rossa, and damn good, he says. Unless you bring your own wine, it's easier to let Carol choose for you from the selection around the walls. She brings us a Vivolo di Sasso, a merlot varietal which leans towards roughness, but goes down well enough.
We start with a selection of breads ($16.50), and scallops for Bill as an entree ($22.50). And wait. Cafe Latte is not the sort of restaurant that you pop into for a quick meal before a movie. It's an evening out, where you take your time, and don't plan to be home anytime soon.
The breads arrive after half an hour, and are very good, topped with olive tapenade, pesto or cheese. The scallops, which were brought at the same time, were huge, and served in a sauce of white wine, garlic and capers. The sauce very nearly did in the shellfish, but they fought back and won. You know what you're going to get at Cafe Latte.
Every menu item is described in great detail, down to the salt and pepper in some cases. So Bill's penne pasta with homemade Italian sausage, pan-fried with tomato, garlic, wine and onions and finished with a dash of cream, brings no surprises, although a little more sausage would have been welcome. My veal parmigiana ($34.50) is an updated version of the 1980s favourite, stuffed with ham and mushrooms, and very tender. And the traditional tomato sauce, of course.
Restaurant owner and Chef Ciro Sannino is big on sauces. Not for him the technique of arranging small pieces of food artistically around a huge plates. His is big food, awash with rich sauces and cheese. Good Italian rib-sticking stuff.
We finish with coffee and complimentary limoncello, and stagger off into the night. Cafe Latte is a suburban restaurant, unpretentious but honest.
It takes time, but don't all good things?
