Becco

13th August 2011

On a saturday afternoon i found myself in the city doing some shopping and stopped for lunch at Becco. Located down a laneway at the top end of the city off bourke street it was surprisingly quiet and secluded. The interior was an interesting choice of pale yellow panels matched with wine table clothes.

After intially being seated i was offered a choice of drinks and the wine menu. The wine menu had a good range of wines and also a good range of prices starting at about $40 and heading all the way up to the expensive vintage champagne.

The service was ok. There was a good explanation of the specials and the menu generally but the service seemed rushed and impersonal even though there was limited people in the restaurant. However at the end of the meal, even though i was the last person in the restaurant they were in no rush to move me out and wait till i asked before providing the bill.

I started with an entree of chilli flour dusted calamari. Served very simply with a pile of calamri covered in a few chopped chillis and on a bed of rocket with a small bowl of tartare sauce and lemon on the side. A good, above normal quality calamari dish but nothing amazing or new and lacked a good chilli hit.

The main course i went for the Veal Scallopini with vino blanco and prociutto. The veal pieces were well cooked but the dish was overwhelmed slightly by the salty prociutto and the vino blanco had a slightly bitter flavour. However was a decent dish but was very simple and homestyle italian food.

Desert, however took a distinct turn away from the simply cooked food with a Dark chocolate mousse with aero bar, chocolate gingerbread pieces, dehydrated pinneapple, passionfruit foam and yoghurt granita. This was my favourite dish by far and was a more elegent portrayal of the skill of the chef. The rich dark chocolate mousse with tiny pieces of chewy pinneapple pieces, aerated chocolate and the gingerbread pieces were all excellent . The passionfruit foam was fluffy and delicious but the yoghurt granita whilst nice added little to the dish. This was a wonderful display of technique, presentation and innovation as well as a delcious combo of flavours and textures.

Overall the food was decent and service was reasonable and it offered good value but not one of my favourites and would be ranked low on the scale of restaurants sampled so far.