Melbourne Dining Review – Zingara Cafe Thornbury

Zingara Café is an understated gem in High Street, Thornbury.  It was recently closed for renovations over the Christmas period and reopened with a new, brighter interior space, a woodfire pizza oven and a gelato display freezer. While they made some exciting additions to the menu, thankfully they still serve up the much-loved, popular dishes that keep their customers returning time and time again. While I haven’t yet tried their gelato, I can say that their wood fire pizzas were delicious. Thin, crisp bases, loaded with a wonderful selection of traditional Italian toppings. Everyone’s favourite was the ‘Panna e Pancetta’, a cream base with Marscapone, Fior di Latte Mozzarella, Pancetta, Mushrooms and Sundried Cherry Tomatoes.

In addition to the woodfire pizza, I find it hard to go past my top three ‘must-have’ dishes which I highly recommend at Zingara:

Arancini:

I’m biased because I will always rate my own Nonna’s Arancini as the best every single time, however, these Arancini are one of the closest I have so far found to be up there with the best. The breadcrumb crust is fried perfectly, light and crispy and not greasy or thick, just enough to hold the rice ball together until you are ready to cut it open and make way for the oozing hot explosion of cheese and Bolognese risotto inside. The Arancini balls are served with an intense, rich Napoli or Bolognese sauce and flakes of Parmesan cheese to add an extra dose of the sharp tastes from this dish.

Arancini at Zingara Cafe

Arancini at Zingara Cafe

Calamari:

There is no stringy, chewy calamari here! Photos simply don’t do this dish justice, because despite my best attempts at tryign to make thiI can confidently say that Zingara serves up THE best calamari I have tasted in Melbourne so far. The strips of marinated lemon and pepper squid are incredibly tender and so buttery soft they simply melt in your mouth which each savouring bite.

Risotto Amaretto:

The description of the pumpkin risotto on the menu sounded like nothing special, if anything, at first it sounded a little odd, ‘butternut pumpkin cooked in a butter & cream sauce finished with crumbed amaretto, coffee & parmesan crisps’. However this is one flavour experiment that sounds so wrong but works to make it so right. The creaminess of the pumpkin and cream sauce with the sweet, sugary crunch of the amaretto biscuits set off by the aromatic smell and bitter and toasty twist provided by the sprinkle of coffee beans is a flavour combination that risotto lovers have to try at least once!

Risotto Amaretto at Zingara Cafe

Risotto Amaretto at Zingara Cafe

Open Monday to Sunday for breakfast and lunch as well as Wednesday to Saturday for dinner, Zingara serve up a variety of both traditional Italian meals (particularly recipes from Venice) and popular, modern favourites that are great for sharing.  That is, only if you can fight the urge to consume the whole plate of calamari yourself!

Zingara cafe on Urbanspoon

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Short Round – Dining Review

The name of the café Short Round may have you recalling the pint-sized sidekick character of Indiana Jones, as an employee informs me this character is the café’s namesake. Alternatively, the location of this café may have you recalling visits to the pet and animal supply store that previously occupied the same site, as one former Thornbury resident informs me. Before stepping inside Short Round, I was told of the memories of a former Thornbury resident, visiting the same address with her father in the seventies to purchase chicken manure for their veggie garden. Well, that definitely was hard to picture once I stepped inside, as this place has been completely transformed into a bright, spacious and modern café. The space itself is open and fresh, with tables inside as well as a lovely outside balcony area. I particularly liked that table areas were quite spacious, and chairs and tables were not crammed in together, which is pleasantly appreciated considering this is becoming an increasingly common feature at popular cafes that try to cram in as many patrons as they can.

Short Round Coffee

Short Round Coffee

Between our group of four, I tried the Vanilla Bean Oat Porridge, the Butterscotch house made waffles, the Potato, Chorizo and Manchego Omelette and the Bacon and Cheese Scramble on Brioche Sliders. Honestly, my group shared the same opinion, the food was nice, but there was no real standout. While each dish was cooked well, the dishes just tasted a little blander than expected. The service was attentive and the wait for food was reasonable, but while the food ultimately was true to its menu described, it managed to deliver just a little short. Considering this café is quite new, the potential and quality is definitely there, I would have preferred bolder flavours to make the dishes a little more memorable. The relatively small serving sizes didn’t help either, especially given the price, which is not to say the menu was more expensive than other great cafés around town, but for the simplicity of some of the dishes and smaller serving size, the meals did seem a little overpriced. However, that being said, with meat from local butcher Velimirovic, and Proud Mary coffee, Short Round knows good quality, and the coffee was hands-down fantastic. Many great baristas make good coffee, but tend to prepare it a little on the milkier side, but I loved that the coffee from Short Round was refreshingly stronger than usual, and it was marvelous!

Although I didn’t get to try it, the Bloody Mary’s breakie looked like a standout, and sounded like a more exotic and interesting dish that would be worth a try! The menu is available online, which is always helpful, and I can imagine this would be a new favourite for locals, I know I would come again, just based on the coffee… and maybe to try that Bloody Mary’s breakie!

Butterscotch house made waffles

Butterscotch house made waffles

Vanilla Bean Oat Porridge

Vanilla Bean Oat Porridge

Potato, Chorizo and Manchego Omelette

Potato, Chorizo and Manchego Omelette

Short Round Cafe Interior

Short Round Cafe Interior

 

Short Round

731 High Street,

Thornbury, 3071

Tel: 03 9484 3904

Hours:

7am -4pm Tuesday – Friday
8am – 4pm Saturday -Sunday

Short Round on Urbanspoon

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