Sarti

1st November 2011

Less than 10 to go as i took the lovely Jess out to Sarti for dinner on Cup day (number 51). Located in a back street off Bourke street it was secluded despite being in the middle of the busiest part of the city. (I am blaming the hidden part on why we couldn't find it rather than me thinking it was off Lonsdale street). Located upstairs and with dim lighting and efficient and friendly service who were always willing to offer an opinion or a helpful comment.

The entrees rather than being proper entrees were served as the equivalent of Tapas called stuzzichini. I decided to have 2 of the stuzzichini - the wild duck and provolone polpette with a pistachio crumb (Jess also had this) and the wallaby carpaccio, roasted macadamia nuts and wattleseed oil.
The wild duck polpette was rich dark and had good flavour and was well complemented by the pistachio crumb . The Wallaby carpaccio was very thinly sliced and the rich meat was very lean with a healthy sprinkling of toasted, delicious macadamia nuts.

For main course i went for the braised veal cheeks sitting on a bed of purple cauliflower cous cous and black rice with a prosciutto consomme poured over the top. The veal cheeks were perfectly cooked and fell apart with the slightest touch and the consomme was rich and delicious. The only down point being that the cous cous and rice were not very substantial and were drowned out slightly by the consomme.
Jess went for the calabrian pasta e fagioli - short spaghetti covered with beans and served with a side of chili. Rich warm and very tasty without a reasonable hit of chili it worked well and was a decent size.

For desert i went with the pistachio panna cotta with a generous side of salted caramel popcorn. The panna cotta was very nice and had a strong pistachio flavour and the crunchy popcorn was a good complement and a worthy addition on its own.
Jess, choose the torta al cioccolato which came out slightly different from a regular chocolate tarte. Served with a big ball of orange ice cream and broken off chocolate pieces and a crumbs of both chocolate and orange it looked a good dish and the combo of the orange ice cream and chocolate bits were great. The limited description on the menu was an unfortunate mistake given certain allergies.

Overall however the food was very good and reasonably priced. Service was good, helpful and involved without being over the top. Also given we came at a relatively late booking, we were one of the last tables to leave the restaurant but didn't feel pressured into leaving.