Fremantle is famous for the abundance of restaurants and cafes along the cappuccino strip, but tucked away just behind the strip is an excellent restaurant that sits hidden up a set of unassuming stairs. It’s easy to bypass the restaurant as there is only a doorway and a small sign and menu board to advertise its whereabouts; but if you venture in and up the staircase, you will be treated to a truly gourmet Italian dining experience.
The restaurant offers diners authentic Italian food with a modern twist, and my husband and I had a hard time trying to make a decision on what dishes to order; the menu was so tempting.
Although the restaurant offers the traditional salumi as a first course, we decided to give it a miss as we were unsure if we had the stomach capacity to work our way through 4-5 courses. My husband ordered Cappon Magro ($18) for his entree course, a traditional dish from Genova of prawns, swordfish, scallops and mussels which he declared absolutely wonderful ( not bad for someone who would not normally order a seafood dish).
I chose a pasta entree, Pansotti Alla salsa di noci ($24), a ricotta and spinach stuffed pasta with a walnut sauce. I have to admit that when it arrived I was a little taken back as it did not look overly appetising ( it looked a little bit like porridge) but when I tasted it, I was in pasta heaven, it was delicate and light, and the perfect size serving to leave me wanting more.
For our main course we gave serious consideration to the Fiorentina Steak, a traditional Tuscan dish which is a very large and thick-cut, tender T-bone, usually around 1-2 kg, served no more than medium-rare, traditionally served with only olive oil, rosemary and salt and recommended for sharing because of its size. Although we have always wanted to try a Fiorentina, it can be quite expensive ($10 per 100g) so we decided to save that for a special family occasion and instead we both chose Porchetta Toscana ($38) a Tuscan spiced pork roll with mashed potatoes and ratatouille. Again we could not fault the food and the servings were plenty big enough for most appetites; in fact I couldn’t finish mine – needed to save room for dessert!
We finished up our lunch with dessert; flourless hazelnut cake for me and an Italian style mille-feuille for my husband. Again, the desserts were excellent and we finished every last bit.
I’m not going to lie to you, this is not a cheap and cheerful restaurant; the bill for the two of us came in at $218 including a very decent bottle of Italian Red and a couple of bottles of sparkling water, but we both thoroughly enjoyed our long leisurely lunch and have not stopped recommending it to our family and friends. La Sosta is certainly one restaurant I can recommend for a special treat or celebration.
Details:
Address: 85 Market Street, Fremantle
Phone: 9335 9193
Email: info@lasosta.net.au
Web: www.lasosta.net.au
Parking: Street Parking
Opening Hours: Monday- Thursday 5pm-11pm
Friday- Sunday 11am-11pm
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