Lygon St, The Little Italy Of Melbourne

I am slowly going to make my way through my Melbourne trip which occurred early August so that was a while back! One of our nights there, my friends and I decided to explore the Little Italy of Melbourne. Café Corretto was definitely one of the busiest Italian restaurants along Lygon St though to be fair, many of the restaurants were overflowing with customers. We waited for around half an hour before we were seated so I suggest you get there early if you plan on not waiting around!

Blue Heaven, $5.00

We noticed they had a drinks section dedicated solely on spiders and we clapped our hands in glee upon noticing the name blue heaven. Instant order! Turned out to be lemonade with blue flavouring, but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it. I like spiders way too much! Yes, I will forever be a child.

Cardinale, entrée size for $13.00

This would have to be my second time trying gnocchi and I have to tell you all that I think I’ve fallen in love. The pasta is all freshly made in store and these little potato-y pasta gems were so soft and wonderfully pillowy I felt like I was eating clouds. It was very different from the slightly chewy version I had at Black by Ezard. The cream sauce was incredibly rich and indulgent but the hint of the tomato based Napoli sauce made it lighter and not as heavy from the repetitive flavour that you sometimes get from sauces based solely on cream. Chicken pieces were scattered thoughout, along with avocado pieces which were cooked. Can’t say I’m the biggest fan of cooked avocado in general, but give it to me raw and I can eat it any day! The serving sizes were also huge where my guy friends struggled to finish their mains serving size :P

Café Corretto
225-227 Lygon Street
Carlton, VIC, 3053

Opening Hours
Sunday - Thursday: 11:30am - 1:00am
Friday - Saturday: 11:30am - 3:00am


 
Just down the road is Brunetti - a cafe with the biggest Italian dessert selection I have ever seen. Cakes, biscuits, cannoli, cookies, more cake! It was everywhere! The display wowed me and I was overwhelmed by choices. Thanks to A for introducing this place to me, you fellow Melbourne-sider! The cafe was extremely busy and popular from the looks of it and completely packed. Service was hard to snag at the counters due to the crowds of people so it took a while to let them know of our selection choices and to order.

Pear & cheese crumble, $6.50

I was blown away by what was essentially a cheesecake with a twist. The poached pears and blackberry jam lent this slice of cheesecake a sweetness and juiciness that toned down the richness of the cheesecake. Of course, the choc chip biscuit base totally threw all that out the window, but I must say, the base of a cheesecake is one of the things I love most :P

Dolce amore, $6.90

Isn't this the cutest cake? My friends and I were enticed into ordering this slice because it looked like a strawberry. It was just too cute to resist. It was a light cake, with a soft coconut sponge that encased a strawberry confit and strawberry cream interior with a red velvet mouse surrounding it all.

Lemon brulee tart, $6.50

We were tossing up between the lemon meringue tart and the lemon brulee, with the latter winning because I do love myself a nice crunchy toffee top. However, I found this slightly a bit too tart without a sugary meringue cloud to balance it out. I do love lemon, however this was a bit too much. Not to say it wasn't a nice tart though!

Raspberry & white chocolate opera, $2.00

There are also bite sized options for those who have difficulties choosing from the range they have to offer and want to try a bit too much of everything or for those who haven't quite managed to activate their emergency dessert stomach. This was a nice option, with raspberry and white chocolate being a classic dessert flavour pairing however, it was nothing special.

New York baked cheesecake, $2.00

This was the pick out of the mini desserts though! The little slice was deceivingly rich and creamy with the wonderful denseness that you can only achieve through baked cheesecakes. Ah good old cheesecake, you always win me over, time and time again.

We stumbled back to our humble student accommodation, our stomachs filled to the brim. Trust the Italians to know how to feed us!

Brunetti
380 Lygon St
Carlton, VIC, 3053

Opening Hours
Sunday - Thursday: 6:00am - 11:00pm
Friday - Saturday: 6:00am - 12:00 midnight