“In a beautiful location on the edge of the lake on Black Mountain Peninsula is the new and casual Café Sosta,” writes dining reviewer WENDY JOHNSON.
Italian-inspired, Café Sosta invites customers to stop, breathe and take a break. It’s easy to do with such stunning views (from indoors and from the large, outdoor terrace).
The food and drink menu has been designed by culinary director and chef Francesco Balestrieri, a familiar face at Joe’s Bar, Agostini’s and Occasioni by Agostinis in Kingston. The food is healthy. It’s simple. It’s inviting.
At Café Sosta, you order at the cash register and meals are brought to your table. We arrived for brunch on a sunny, warmish day with the place buzzing from early breakfast.
It’s great to see the menu listing the café’s special supplier. Flour is from Italy, for example, goats’ cheese and yoghurt from Meredith Dairy (Victoria), bacon from Schultz Butchers (SA) and cannoli shells by famous local Cannoli Brothers. Pasta and some other items are made fresh at Agostinis.
Quality coffees ($5) were first up, followed by juices. The vibrant and healthy carrot, celery and apple juice was delicious and refreshing ($9) and we added ginger for an additional $2 (other extras are turmeric for an extra $2 and mint for $1). Chinotto, limonata and aranciata rossa by San Pellegrino are $6.
We selected the fried chicken, which proved to be a delightful brunch dish ($27). The moist chicken was perfectly fried and served in a soft, chewy potato brioche bun. We applauded the combo of fresh apple, crunchy fennel and creamy mustard mayonnaise. The thin slices of fresh red chilli perked matters up even further.
Two pastas are on the menu, and we ordered the orecchiette with pork and fennel sausage ($30). The menu promised that the dish featured chilli, but we saw no evidence of the ingredient. The pasta, however, was perfectly cooked, the sausage tasty and the meal a hearty size.
Café Sosta has three intriguing main-meal size insalata (around $24). The winter version, which would have been my pick, features a great combo of roasted beetroot, baby carrots, radicchio and fresh ruby grapefruit.
The panini line-up ($19 to $25) is about building your own. Select your style of bread (one piece or two) and then a topping (seven combinations). Vegetarians are well taken care of.
The short but considered wine list includes by the glass from $11 to $18 and bottles from $55 to $80. Italian wines shine and Café Sosta celebrates a couple of options from local Clonakilla (a riesling and a shiraz). Sparkling water is free.
Café Sosta forms part of the multi-million-dollar The Red Shed, a community rowing facility with a mission to enable rowing for all.
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