Il Pomodoro

Il Pomodoro

Federation Square, Melbourne

(Ph) 9662 2282

N was in Melbourne again and said he felt like having pizza. I looked in my Entertainment Book for pizza restaurants in the city open on a Sunday night - I could have driven to the suburbs but since it was raining didn't think it was that smart. I was choosing between Il Pomodoro or a restaurant in a hotel that sells pub food and pizza since I had a 25% off voucher for both of them. I told P to choose because I saw Il Pomodoro was only liked by 20% of people on Urbanspoon - didn't sound that good even though it's at Federation Square, but the other restaurant is like a pub which didn't sound that fab either. P decided to go to Il Pomodoro since Federation Square is closer to us - we didn't want to travel that far in the rain.

We got there and found the place quite empty - only 2 tables of people. The one and only waiter took us to our table and we turned straight to the pizza section of the menu =)

After looking at the pizza menu, I decided I wanted a lasagne instead - I usually LOVE pizza but I really felt like lasagne today, I'm such a sucker for lasagne too =) P and N both got pizzas and we decided to get some fries to share.

Patatine fritte

The Patatine fritte - shoe string fries served with aioli $8.90 was just what I felt like. I've been wanting Maccas fries in soo long! I've always tried to make some at home but we can never cut it thin and equal enough and they never stay crunchy =( And aioli with chips is the perfect combination =D

I ordered the Lasagna al forno - layers of fresh pasta w peas, egg, parmigiano, pancetta & bolognese sauce for $22.90

Lasagna al forno

T'was delicious! Very surprising - I wasn't having high expectation given the Urbanspoon response. It was very different with pea and boiled egg within the lasagne layers. And the bechamel layer on the top was so thick and creamy and cheesy and delicious =D I don't know how this stack managed to stay upright 'cause whenever I make it at home it becomes a mush =( Definitely a thumbs up!

P ordered the Picante - tomato, mozzarella, calabrese salami, basil & rocket pesto, finished w goats cheese $20.90

Picante

The crust was done perfectly - thin but not too thin and very crunchy! Lots of mozarella YUMMM =D P spread the goats cheese and the rocket & basil pesto out on each slice of pizza - very interesting combination of flavours =)

N ordered the Gamberi - tiger prawns, spinach, garlic, chili & fiore di latte $24.90

Gamberi

Wow that was not what we expected! Didn't expect whole large prawns to be on the pizza. The fiore di latte was so cheesy and delicious mmmm =D I'm so sick of pizzas that don't come with enough cheese - what's a pizza without cheese?! (See Terra Rossa) They added strands of orange peel (?) on the pizza which gave the whole pizza some freshness - was very different and refreshing!

The whole dining experience was surprisingly good - I had read about slow service, rude waiters and bad food, but I disagree with all that. Maybe it's because we went on a Sunday night, but the single waiter served us whenever we wanted to order, give us more water etc; food was reasonable, would not say it's the best but definitely not terrible; and they accepted the Entertainment Card willingly. She did take all our plates, ask us if we wanted tea/coffee or dessert and when we said no, brought the bill out to all the tables straight away - don't really see a problem with that given it was getting late on a Sunday night =)

7.5/10

C.
xo