With a myriad of cafes and restaurants to choose from in the busy Rosalie area, I was really pleased with my random selection of Castelli’s when on a lunch date with an old friend recently.
Castelli’s has been tucked in next to Cold Rock at Rosalie for as long as I can remember. Although I’ve never dined there before to form an opinion, it seems as though they’ve made some good business decisions along the way. They’ve seen huge changes take place either side of them and weathered the storms that the GFC and financial hardships bring – such hard times have seen many a neighboring café close down after months and months on Struggle Street.
KT and I only had an hour to spare for lunch, so we needed it to be quick and hopefully not too pricey. We walked past the menu on the footpath and noticed Castelli’s had some lunchtime specials, all of which were under $15, so we gave it the nod. There weren’t too many patrons for 12.30pm on a Thursday, and I wondered if we’d made a poor choice. The waiter offered us water and a menu promptly before making a few gentle recommendations.
KT chose the salmon and pine nut salad ($12) and I decided to try the grilled prawn skewers with mushroom risotto ($12). Castelli’s is licensed, with a good range of wines to choose from, but as KT was expecting at the time I decided to go alcohol free and stick to the water. A few more tables started to fill as we waited for our meals and the mood started to lift a little, which was nice. Our meals arrived very quickly and we both raised our eyebrows as the fresh aroma of the meals wafted past our noses.
KT’s salad had a generous helping of bite-size chunks of freshly grilled salmon tossed amongst a mixed salad of baby spinach and lettuce, with a scattering of roasted pine nuts, roasted pumpkin and a light olive oil dressing. A perfect balance of greens and fish and more filling than you’d expect from a light salad.
My dish looked a treat – it was delightfully presented with a skewer of prawns atop a shaped mound of risotto. The prawns were grilled perfectly with a slight hint of Cajun spice. The risotto was flavoursome with mushrooms and finely chopped capsicum and seasoned beautifully. The dish was filling, but nice and light at the same time.
I couldn’t even contemplate dessert as I was so satisfied by my meal. We finished off our lunch date with a creamy cappuccino each ($3). We complimented the chef as he had a chat to us while we fixed up the bill. It really was a pleasant lunch, although lacking a little atmosphere – but for the price and the taste I will definitely be back to Castelli’s again.
- Castelli’s Fresh Pasta Café & Pizzeria, 2/11 Nash St, Rosalie +61 7 3367 3211
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