Where do you find a good pizza and dessert under the one roof in the CBD?

Barbagallo Trattoria E Pizzeria (103 Lonsdale St, Melbourne) is the CBD child of Pietro Barbagallo, he of pizza royalty I Carusi in Brunswick East. Remembering the fun I had when I visited I Carusi a few years back with LF and FH (we have not yet had a chance to go back), this place seemed a good choice for another old friends' get together.

Located in an old brick building with a prominent arch entrance, we were unfortunately located near the entrance due to my forgetting to place a 530pm dinner booking. Still the table did seem a bit small for four people, and it felt even smaller once our drinks and entrees came. AC loved the salade caprese with the imported, oozingly fresh buffalo mozzarella while the boys preferred the charcuterie platter. I found the special of the day, the chargrilled squid with fresh chilli, eggplant & zucchini, tender and suitably smoky. Still, AUD15 for the one squid?! At least give me a few more pieces of vegetables then!

AC and I then ordered the tagliatelle with scampi, while TW and KMZ went for pizzas. I was bemused by what I can only call "Italian sized" pasta, though you could tell it was fresh pasta and very fresh, sweet scampi. Suddenly I remembered how thin the young Italian women and men looked in Venice...could portion sizes truly be the key reason?

TW's mushroom pizza looked very enticing and smelt great but I resisted asking for a taste. The poor man had trouble staying full from sharing the pizza with AC as it was :)  KMZ's chorizo pizza was, as always, a meat lover's delight.  We all worked together to make sure our food dishes did not slide off the small table from overcrowding at the same time.

Now we come to dessert (after a few more glass refills).  Lemon-scented vanilla bean panna cotta, chocolate calzone and berry semifreddo.  The warm chocolate melted out of its pastry casing, and the sweet scent of cocoa wafted around the table.  The panna cotta wobbled suitably, and did taste ever so lightly of lemon.  The berry semifreddo, refreshing and creamy all at the same time, made me want to go home and flip through my recipe books so I can make my own semifreddo.

Food: 4 out of 5; special points go to the freshness of the salade caprese, the earthiness and nod to the seasons in the mushroom pizza, and the desserts.  Always, always desserts.

Atmosphere and service: 3 out of 5; the allocated table was definitely too small for four to have a proper 3-course meal, and the service was polite but difficult to attract.  The crowd kept things merry and toasty in the building with relatively subdued music in the background which is good for conversation, and kudos for making sure no child was ignored at family tables.


Value for money: 3 out of 5; it was incredible how much our drinks amounted to on the final bill, and I probably would have been even more stunned if we had opted for actual primas instead of the pizzas or pastas based on the size of the pastas.  However, the pizzas were the right size.  Definitely a 'plastic' place or if you have a spare gold note in your wallet.

Overall verdict:  Be there for entrees, pizzas and desserts, but watch your drinking & remember to book in advance or stay at the bar. 

Good pizza in the CBD for the tightass: Bertha Browns (562 Flinders St, Melb)