Vivaldi Kitchen | Matraville
Located only a short drive from Bondi Beach is a suburb called Matraville. Now unless you are from the area, it is likely that you have never visited the area and a strong possibility that you may never visit.
However today.. we give you a reason. Bring a car and take the kids to the beach then to finish up at an incredibly authentic Italian experience being, Vivaldi Italian Kitchen. As the name suggests, this is not a restaurant but is to be treated as a kitchen not too dissimilar from yours at home (we hope). The idea was to transform an open space design and allow you as a customer to peek into the kitchen, watch them making your brilliant pizza and really just be comfortable with all the waiters and chef. They will make you feel comfortable and the man behind it all Rafael, will literally sit down at your table if you are happy to and have a deep and meaningful discussion. You will be welcomed as a guest and leave as a valued Vivaldi Kitchen family member!
That is why this post will be very emotional for us. We dined here for a whopping 3 hours and loved EVERY minute. There was not an awkward moment and each to their own, but we felt like this was our home
Panzerotto
What we enjoy most about visiting a new place is trying new menu items. It's always nice to revisit an old favourite for comparison.. but when you get to experience something new then the experience pays off the bill. Raf recommended the panzerotto, something we had never even heard of before and what we expect to be quite a hard find in Sydney. It is essentially fried dough stuffed with Mortadella Mousse and served up with "mamma's" tomato sauce. The interesting concept with this dish is that the mortadella mousse is piped COLD into the light and thin hot dough. The contrast in hot and cold almost made this seem like we were cheating and having dessert for entree and in terms of flavour, the mousse is plentiful so your mouth is continuously being treated to the bold rich flavours of the sauce and the subtle flavour of the mousse.
The only problem was they were not enough! This is a good test to a relationship if you are able to share something this good. We recommend maybe getting an entree each, just in case!
What we enjoy most about visiting a new place is trying new menu items. It's always nice to revisit an old favourite for comparison.. but when you get to experience something new then the experience pays off the bill. Raf recommended the panzerotto, something we had never even heard of before and what we expect to be quite a hard find in Sydney. It is essentially fried dough stuffed with Mortadella Mousse and served up with "mamma's" tomato sauce. The interesting concept with this dish is that the mortadella mousse is piped COLD into the light and thin hot dough. The contrast in hot and cold almost made this seem like we were cheating and having dessert for entree and in terms of flavour, the mousse is plentiful so your mouth is continuously being treated to the bold rich flavours of the sauce and the subtle flavour of the mousse.
The only problem was they were not enough! This is a good test to a relationship if you are able to share something this good. We recommend maybe getting an entree each, just in case!
Salsiccia
Vivaldi Kitchen want to be different and how better to be different without influencing the taste of a traditional pizza, but to use premium products and change the base - make it oval and they will come!
The toppings consisted of fior di latte, pork and fennel sausages and rosemary potatoes, each carefully placed on the pizza. Raf advises that it is important to take a minimalist approach to ensure the customer can enjoy all the produce on the pizza. Rather than just tasting a whole onslaught of flavours like you would see in Dominoes, with this pizza you really can taste and appreciate each individual components, which is why less is more in this case.
If you think about your modernized pizza (or loaded pizzas), you would taste the greasiness and are probably left with a soggy base. You can leave this pizza out throughout your dining experience and it would still be crispy!
Vivaldi Kitchen want to be different and how better to be different without influencing the taste of a traditional pizza, but to use premium products and change the base - make it oval and they will come!
The toppings consisted of fior di latte, pork and fennel sausages and rosemary potatoes, each carefully placed on the pizza. Raf advises that it is important to take a minimalist approach to ensure the customer can enjoy all the produce on the pizza. Rather than just tasting a whole onslaught of flavours like you would see in Dominoes, with this pizza you really can taste and appreciate each individual components, which is why less is more in this case.
If you think about your modernized pizza (or loaded pizzas), you would taste the greasiness and are probably left with a soggy base. You can leave this pizza out throughout your dining experience and it would still be crispy!
Tortelli d' Anatra
This was an absolute highlight of the evening and we are crying at the fact that it was only a special. Inside of the tortellini is a home made duck filling and it served with a simple burnt butter sage sauce. What stood out in this dish was actually the burnt butter sage sauce, especially since we dined at Cronulla a few nights prior and had a not too dissimilar dish (but with gnocchi), so it was fresh on our mind. The sauce itself was not a puddle of butter, but instead a consistent thick base that didn't leave us gasping for water after each bite. In actual fact, we were able to taste the full range of flavours from the fuck, with each bite being filled with flavour, juices oozing out of each bite and pockets of flavours will burst in your mouth. We were in love with this dish.
This was an absolute highlight of the evening and we are crying at the fact that it was only a special. Inside of the tortellini is a home made duck filling and it served with a simple burnt butter sage sauce. What stood out in this dish was actually the burnt butter sage sauce, especially since we dined at Cronulla a few nights prior and had a not too dissimilar dish (but with gnocchi), so it was fresh on our mind. The sauce itself was not a puddle of butter, but instead a consistent thick base that didn't leave us gasping for water after each bite. In actual fact, we were able to taste the full range of flavours from the fuck, with each bite being filled with flavour, juices oozing out of each bite and pockets of flavours will burst in your mouth. We were in love with this dish.
Pastiera Della Mamma Con Limoncello
Typical neapolitan cake made with wheat, eggs & ricotta served with a shot of home-made limoncello. This was a one of Raff's favourite childhood memory by which the cake was made only for special occasions and was like a treat. This dish was complimented so well with everything on the plate from the fresh strawberries to the soft, delicate cake topped off with a throat burning limoncello shot.
Typical neapolitan cake made with wheat, eggs & ricotta served with a shot of home-made limoncello. This was a one of Raff's favourite childhood memory by which the cake was made only for special occasions and was like a treat. This dish was complimented so well with everything on the plate from the fresh strawberries to the soft, delicate cake topped off with a throat burning limoncello shot.