Renato’s Coogee Beach – Quality Comfort Food on a Cool Night

If anyone is culturing multiculturalism in Sydney, it is Renato’s Italian Trattoria in Coogee Bay Road, Coogee.

We ate there (again) tonight and once again it was a very good experience.  The group at the table beside us consisted of a group of aussie accented ethnic Chinese, Indian and possibly Thai, but maybe they are all ethnically Singaporean, because the owner is.  Uh huh, a Singaporean born guy running an Italian restaurant in Sydney.  The table on the other side had Greek and middle eastern guys enjoying the food too.

Great place; great food,  great staff, mostly Italian and a lassie from Manchester and also a Chinese guy in the kitchen.  I did say multicultural didn’t I?

The place was full to the gunnels but still the service was quick, and with a smile and pleasant comment.  The staff have a unity of purpose, and they all appear to be there to get the job done – no wandering around looking as if they had been dropped on the wrong planet.

The ambience was loud, fast and basic, everything you needed; and the food was good, good, good (as in property – location, location location)!

They have a small wine list, but there is a reasonably comprehensive bottle shop right next door and I am sure you can find something there to add to the good food (and it is BYO).
The oysters were plump and smooth.  The veal scaloppine was tender, as was the rare- medium veal wrapped in prosciutto, and it was all served hot with freshly cooked vegetables.  In fact the whole experience was just right – an Italian Trattoria you can depend on.

It is Italian – so they do pizza and pasta too – and many diners were enjoying those.

prosciutto wrapped veal

scaloppine boscaola

 

Will go again when we have the chance, and as one satisfied departing customer was heard to say “well…. they won’t go out of business.”   Try it when you can.

Renato's at Coogee Sydney - Good Italian Eatery

Recently spent a few days in the pleasant beachside suburb of Coogee.  Weather generally warm, afterall it was November, and quite relaxing.  Have had a few stays around Coogee this year, so the place is familiar........but had not eaten out locally.

Decided it was an opportunity to meet the locals.  Some confusing signals - ate at a decent italian eatery - in Sydney, with Italian staff, but run by a Singoporean.  But it was good!

 In Coogee Bay Road, Coogee, a few steps up from the beachfront. 

Italian food that is excellent quality and value.  Busy to very busy on the few times visited, and especially Saturday evening.  Has the standard Italian mains – pizzas, pasta dishes with a wide range of sauces, lasagne, cannelloni as well as all the usual favourite scaloppine choices, and an excellent prosciutto wrapped veal fillet as mains and a modest choice of seafood.  Salt and pepper squid [really good] and fried zucchini flowers among the entrees – both recommended.

Does a decent garden /Italian salad and the olive oil is good too.  BYO and a bottle shop close by, if you forgot. 

Good atmosphere. Not Italian fine dining, but a good choice – more upmarket trattoria, and family groups of Italians were eating there, as well as a number of obvious locals back for a repeat visit  - that would seem to be a good recommendation in itself.

Can be a bit noisy if full and closed up [hence the trattoria tag], but also has al fresco dining, weather permitting.

Italian Food in Adelaide

It has been cold in southern Australia. Good warm food and a nice red wine help warm the inner self.

For a reasonable feed of some decent Italian food, along with a very respectable coffee try a near city restaurant, not an upmarket expensive city eatery.

More than a trattoria, more than a coffee shop but not an exclusive restaurant the Caffee Buongiorno at 145 The Parade at Norwood offers both all day eating and coffee as well as decent wholesome Italian style evening meals in a friendly, sometimes a bit noisy atmosphere [hard surfaces do not help - eg tiled floors]. It has a good ambience. There is an alfresco dining area too, maybe nice for summer but definitely cool to cold over the past few weeks of June 2011 for sitting outside.

There is a reasonably quick lunch time menu - soups, pizzas, various pasta options for a filling lunch. We had the calzone pizza which came with a napolenta tomato sauce on top and was very tasty - enough for two at lunch time [ about $16]. Coffee was good too, and there were quite a few italians imbibing coffee - usually a good sign in these types of eateries.

Some days later after a pretty cold late afternoon we decided italian food was the go for dinner. Scoloppine and saltim boca were the dishes of choice and they did not disappoint either and prices were around the low $20 range. Wine available by the glass too. The night we were there, a family group of about ten including quite a few children were having a group meal - so it does cater for small groups too. Meals are available until later in the evening, which is something to remember as many places seem to stop food service around 8 or 830pm, often too early if you are travelling or working.

The tenor of the place fits between cheap eateries and the upper range with good, tasty wholesome Italian food as you would expect. The evening meals had a great range of vegetables included in the price - something not always the case. The veggies were a great addition to the evening meals, and welcome after short order food over a few days prior to that. You do not get much change from $10 even at fast food chains, so meals around $20+ is a reasonable option.

Somewhere to test drive if you are in Adelaide for a few days and think Italian food is your preferred option for that meal.

We would go again!