Solarino, Melbourne CBD

A couple of weeks ago, Tim and I went to see The Beatles Orchestrated, performed by The Beatle Boys in conjunction with the Australian Symphony Orchestra.   The event was staged at Hamer Hall, and was a grand evening - you can see some photos of the event here.

We decided to make a night of it and went to dinner beforehand.  We didn't have any plans, so we just wandered through the city at random, and came across Solarino, an Italian restaurant in a laneway off Little Collins Street:

Italian is always a good choice, so we ventured in and were shown to a cosy corner table.

To start, we ordered the bruschetta with gorgonzola, fig and pancetta ($15.90):

If you love ficci biondi, then this is for you.  Personally, I adored this starter - sharp cheese, sweet figs, salty meat and crispy bread, a winning combination.

For main, Tim ordered the risotto with scallops, pumpkin, basil and spring onions ($26.90):

I didn't personally taste this, but Tim enjoyed it.

I went for the Soft shell chilli crab salad with rucola, green beans, basil aioli and balsamic reduction ($24.90):

I fell in love with soft shell crab at The Smith in New York, so it was wonderful to be able to have it again.  This version did not disappoint, with crispy, juicy crab atop a tasty rocket and green bean salad.

For dessert, we had the tiramisu ($13.90), of course!

It may not look fancy, but it was delicious.

The service was friendly and efficient, leaving us plenty of time to wander up to our show.

Solarino was a great find, and I would definitely go back there.

San Paolo Solarino
7 Howey Pl, Melbourne VIC 3000

Phone:(03) 9663 2636