Pinotta

Spring is in the air! Well on the odd day it feels like that and on the day we visit Pinotta it's a great day for the walk to North Fitzroy and to enjoy a Mediterranean long lunch.

Pinotta is cute little neighbourhood bistro and when we arrive we're greeted warmly and are seated at a table with a great view of the street outside. 

There's a good value prix fixe lunch menu - $35 for two courses, $50 for three but we choose to go off prix fixe and just order what we like.

We start of with a smoked mozzarella crochette each. The night before we had a smoked mozzarella spring roll at Ricky and Pinky which went down a treat and had set a high bar. This was different though with a crispy crumb outer and the filling was a soft cheesy paste. Lighter and fresher than the spring roll it was still a treat. I think maybe a fruity chutney might have added another welcome flavour contrast.

We shared a couple of entrees:

• Smoked octopus, artichoke, almond
• Sopressa, pickled chilli, charred bread

The smoked octopus was clean and fresh with some delicate and subtle flavours and crunchy nuts. Where the octopus was light, the sopressa packed a flavour punch. Salty cured meat and tangy, piquant chilli with a hint of vinegar; there was a great balance of strong flavours.

• Ricotta gnocchi, nettles, Spring garlic, pine nuts

This was a king of a dish! Fluffy, golden, toasty nuggets of gnocchi kept light with fresh Spring garlic and pine nuts. So delicious and so moreish. Bad decision to share! Should have ordered one all to myself!

• Rump cap, little leeks, chard, anchovy butter

This was a well cooked plate of delicious steak. The chard was a little woody as chard can be. Classic and well executed, this was a very welcome main course.

And we were able to fit in dessert...or so we thought!

• Tiramisu
• Semifreddo, Amaro, blood orange, fennel biscuit

I had the tiramisu and it was such a generous serve. The same with the semi freddo. The desserts although large weren't overly sugary sweet which helped. We felt the desserts were more homely with less clear cut flavours and clarity compared to the previous dishes. Just slightly clumsy which was surprising following the positive execution of the earlier courses.

We really enjoyed the warm hospitality and tasty food. Pinotta is a true neighbourhood gem and one that we would love to befriend and become closer to.