24 November 2009

Dolcissimo, Haberfield



A trip to Haberfield on Sunday afternoon meant I couldn't get my ricotta cheesecake fix from Pasticceria Papa because they were closed! But not to worry, we head across the road to Dolcissimo instead for some pizza, pasta and, according to them, 'Australia's finest gelato'.


Spinach and ricotta ravioli with Napolitana sauce - $19.70

Their extensive menu consists of traditional wood fired pizzas, pastas, risottos, mains, panini and a wide range of home-made desserts. I'm here with Sir D and his family and we opt for 2 pizzas and 2 pastas to share between us. The first dish to arrive is the spinach and ricotta ravioli in a Napolitana sauce. The ravioli are soft pillows of pasta filled with a light and fluffy filling. The dish is simple but delicious with the rich tomato flavours of the sauce and the subtle flavours of the spinach and ricotta.


Farfalle al salmone - $23.90

The other pasta we order is the farfalle al salmone which is butterfly-shaped pasta with cooked salmon, shallots, extra virgin olive oil and a dash of brandy in a tomato cream sauce. I'm a big fan of tomato cream sauces and this one is smooth and creamy with a pleasant sweet tomato flavour. With seafood pastas I tend to expect only a few pieces of seafood but this dish is littered with chunks of salmon pieces amongst perfectly cooked al dente pasta.


Margherita: Mozzarella cheese, basil, olive oil - $17.50

The pizzas arrive and are set on pizza stands - a great idea since the pizzas are enormous and the tables are a bit small. The margherita is one that I like to order when visiting an Italian place because I think it's a good indicator of the quality of the restaurant. This one is very cheesy with a nice tomato sauce underneath the layer of stringy cheese. One thing that worries me though is that there is quite a lot of oil pooling on the top of the pizza. However, the base is great and the crust is actually my favourite part of this pizza - it's crispy and delicious because the topping goes all the way to the edge.


La Rugola: Rocket, prosciutto, parmesan cheese, olive oil - $21.50

The other pizza is a pizza bianca which has no tomato sauce as the base. This pizza has rocket, prosciutto, extra virgin olive oil and shavings of parmesan scattered on top. It's light and refreshing and the pizza base is crispier than the margherita because of the lack of sauce. The flavours go well together but there is quite a lot of oil visible on this pizza as well, which makes me wonder if someone decided to go a little crazy with the olive oil in the kitchen today... Nonetheless all the of pizzas are eaten and we are full and satisfied.



Not full enough to skip on the gelato though, and we head downstairs to check out the range of gelato flavours which are made on the premises. Sir D and I order 3 scoops of gelato to share and the gelato man gives us three giant scoops of gelato and stuffs it all into a cup.


3 scoops of home-made gelato - $5.50

Today we've gone for the chocolate, bacio and lemon sorbet flavours. The lemon sorbet is fresh and tangy as it should be. The bacio has a strong hazelnut flavour and is my favourite out of the three, while the chocolate is great with a slight bitterness but I still prefer the chocolate from Bravos. I'm not sure about this place serving 'Australia's finest gelato' (I think I prefer Gelato Messina) but if I was in Haberfield with a gelato craving I'd definitely return to try out more of their flavours.

Dolcissimo
96-98 Ramsay Street
Haberfield NSW 2045
Ph: +61 2 9716 4444


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20 comments:

  1. I don't go to Haberfield enough! I agree with you about the test for a great pizza is ordering the most simple one... the margerita looks delicious!

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  2. Oh those are massive pizzas!!! And I agree with Trissa - the margherita looks totally scrumptious!

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  3. Ok, I'll have to third that sentiment - the margherita looks stunning with all that cheese to the edge! And the sauce on the farfalle looks like it has a nice consistency as well. Mmmm...

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  4. I went to Dolcissimo a couple of months ago and didn't have such a great experience. I'm glad it was better for you! That's kinda gross about the overload of oil - that would've turned me off, but at least they still tasted good!

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  5. Hi Trissa - Haha I don't go to Haberfield much either but I always jump at the chance to go... anything for Italian food :)

    Hi Trisha - Yep the pizzas were giant there, we struggled to finish them but we did in the end hehe

    Hi mademoiselle délicieuse - I love it when the toppings go to the edge! If only more places did that...

    Hi Joey - Bacio's my favourite :)

    Hi Betty - Yeah the oil was really offputting actually, did you have that experience? It was pretty bad on the margherita, you can kind of see the deep yellow patches of it in the photo... quite disturbing really.

    Hi Yas - Something to put on your late night cooking list? ;)

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  6. Thanks for uncovering another Haberfield find and for reviewing it for us! :D

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  7. Hi Lorraine - Hehe it was a pleasure! All in the name of research, right? ;)

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  8. Argghhh I still haven't bn to Haberfield for ricotta cheesecake.. hmm.. maybe this weekend..
    Thanks for the lovely post!

    Ladybird x

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  9. oh man you just had to mention the ricotta cheesecake i have managed to not think about it for a month and now i think i have to go buy a whole cake just for myself hehehe

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  10. Haven't been to Dolcissimo for a very long time. After reading your post, would love to revisit this place soon.

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  11. Hi Ladybird - Glad you enjoyed the post :) Go and get your cheesecake!! hehe

    Hi chocolatesuze - How could I mention Haberfield without mentioning ricotta cheesecake? I'm impressed, it takes willpower to not think about it for month ;)

    Hi Angela - Looking forward to seeing a post about it soon on your blog then =D

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  12. Ooh love the gerenous portion of prosciutto. It's funny but I never have the self-control to order a modest margherita pizza. Been here a few times for coffee and gelato - I think Haberfield is such a gem esp for easy parking!

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  13. Love how they served the pizza with pizza stand! Always love a good gelato! Their serve is massive :)

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  14. Hi Helen - Yeah! Definitely prefer Haberfield over Leichhardt just because you don't have to drive around looking for a park!

    Hi Ellie - Their pizza servings were huge! Much bigger than I expected which is always a good thing.

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  15. I Love gelato. I have never been down to Haberfield, sounds like they have a lot of great Italian joints. Like yourself, I'm a huge fan of Margherita pizza, so simple yet so satisfying, shame yours was so oily.

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  16. Hi Linda - I've only been to Haberfield twice myself, but both times I've had some lovely Italian food. We had actually planned to eat at these other restaurants across the road from Dolcissimo but they were packed even on a rainy Sunday afternoon - a pretty good sign of their popularity :)

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  17. I don't live to far from here, so maybe should give this place a go. Always interested to see what good pizza places are around my area.

    Btw, nice baseline pizza to use to judge quality. If they can't get that right, how the hell is anything else going to taste good? :)

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  18. Hi Simon - Lucky you, living so close to an area full of great Italian places! Yes, that's exactly my logic when it comes to ordering the most basic dishes when I go out ;)

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