Bottega
74 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC
PH: (03) 9654 2252
It was a couple of months ago that I was invited along to a lunch at Bottega to try out the new lunch menu designed by head chef Gabriele Olivieri. Bottega is smallish, cosy restaurant located on Bourke Street, near the Spring Street end. A few doors down is Grossi Florentino, another Italian fine dining restaurant, but Bottega owner Denis Lucey says Bottega’s aim is to keep food moderately priced. He certainly does that with an express lunch menu at $35 for 2 courses or $45 for 3 courses, including a glass of wine or coffee/tea.
I really enjoyed the food at Bottega. The highlight for me was the amazing chargrilled ox tongue which was beautifully tender. I don’t normally eat ox tongue so that’s saying a lot!
Inside Bottega – a nice place for an intimate date
Olives and grissini to start
Bruschetta, Baccala Mantecato & Vincotto
We thought it was cheesy toast at first, but it was creamy whipped salted cod.
Vitello Tonnato, Pickled Celery Hearts & Crispy Capers
This was cold, sliced veal and a bit too chewy for my liking.
Yellow Fin Tuna & Eggplant Rosemary Spiedino, Anchovy, Parsley & Chilli Oil
This was chunks of seared tuna and roasted eggplant, skewered on a stalk of rosemary so the rosemary permeated through.
Char-Grilled Ox Tongue, Salsa Verde, Anchovy & Croutons
The highlight for me. Tender, generous slices of ox tongue, flavoured with the anchovy and salsa verde
Buffalo Ricotta Filled Zucchini Flowers, Tomato & Basil Coulis, Vincotto
Unbattered, these zucchini flowers let the ricotta take centre stage.
Roasted tomato & burrata agnolotti, smoked eggplant puree, lemon rocket, balsamico
The parcels were filled with a creamy roasted tomato and cheese (burrata) filling. I thought it was interesting to serve the pasta with an eggplant puree rather than a sauce.
House Made Strozzapreti with Clams, Mussels, Prawns & Calamari
I loved the slighty firm bite of the strozzapreti (pasta) and the rich, flavoursome seafood sauce
Char-Grilled Western Plains Pork Belly, Apple Puree, Frisee Salad & Crackling
Bottega knows how to do chargrilled well and the pork belly, though fatty, was very tender
Over & Out, April xx
April dined as a guest of Bottega.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
So lucky to be invited
everything looks so lovely ~ whenever I hear people say “Bottega” lol i immediately think of that hand bag brand that sounds very similar hehe Definitely putting them on my go to list ~
Haha, I think of Bottega Veneta too!!
The food all looks very fresh!
I really want to try the zucchini flowers
They were really generously stuffed!
no desserts?
There was desserts, but I had to go back to work so I left before I got to try desserts!
oooo looks great, will have to get down there one day
It’s a great place for a special occasion date
Oh wow. The food looks awesome and really high quality and well prepared, which makes the price of the meal super reasonable. Would love to try this out. Interesting that the zucchini flowers aren’t battered, sounds like a nice refreshing change. And YUM, ox tongue will definitely stick on my mind for a while
The ox tongue definitely would be the dish to try as well as their house made pastas.
What a lovely menu! I will have to try the zucchini with ricotta, I usually avoid it because I don’t like deep fried food, I am sure I would prefer this version. The seafood pasta looks like another winner too, although it would be hard to go past the char grilled pork belly !!
It’s hard to choose when everything looks so good, isn’t it?!
I ate bolognese there yesterday! After I sinned with veal! There is no hope for me at Bottega’s but it’s such a lovely place!
Eek! Double eek! Don’t worry I didn’t see hehe
Ohmygosh you enjoyed the ox tongue? There is hope for you yet!
Haha! Yes, I tried to not imagine the tongue when I was eating it! Taste wise it was fantastic!
Food looks great, as does your photos. I must check out Bottega one day.
Thanks! If you go, make sure you order the house made pasta and the ox tongue.