Ottimo Italian Kitchen, Hunters Hill – Rating: 16.5/25

Ottimo Italian Kitchen

Ottimo Italian Kitchen has a great vibe.  It utilises the interior rooms and courtyard of a typical Hunters Hill mansion which is nestled amongst a handful of boutique stores that are perfect for perusing.

The Italian waitstaff are plentiful and attentive if a bit hasty; when my large pile of bacon (which they had forgotten) arrived, the waiter tipped it from his plate onto mine which was a bit of a shock.  It personally didn’t bother me but I could imagine a typical Hunters Hill resident wincing.  I did enjoy watching the gorgeous crispy bacon tumbling onto my dish though!

Large flat white

Flat white

Cappuccino

They certainly serve superb coffee ($3.50, large $4) here.  It wasn’t as strong as I was expecting an Italian establishment to be but it tasted great.

We weren’t so sure about the orange – freshly squeezed organic ($5) though.  After tasting, no-one at the table believed it was freshly squeezed.  Other drinks available include tea (English breakfast, Earl Grey, green, peppermint or chamomile. $3), milkshakes (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, caramel, $4.50) and bottles of San Pellegrino.

Vegie breakfast

Two of my guests today ordered the vegie breakfast ($16).  This is similar to the Ottimo breakfast ($18) except that the asparagus replaces bacon and Italian sausage.

Both dishes were clean and there was very little oil (other than on the hashbrown) so overall we were very happy with the presentation.  The asparagus still retained its crispness (nothing is worse than soggy, overcooked vegetables) and the mushroom was lightly seasoned.  Simple but decently prepared.

Bacon & eggs (bacon was yet to arrive)

I ordered the bacon & eggs ($14) with side orders of avocado, grilled tomato and hash brown ($3 each).  Again, nothing flamboyant about the dish but at least there wasn’t anything particularly wrong with it.  If I was to be particularly picky, the slices of toasted Vienna loaf were on the ‘slightly too thick’ side.

Bacon & egg roll

The bacon & egg roll ($8) disappointed slightly as there was nothing spectacular about it.  No abundance of ingredients, no homemade sauce or relish and simply a Turkish roll.  If you like your rolls plain, that’s fine but I was hoping to find something interesting to report on.

Ottimo’s Facebook page raves about their buttermilk pancakes with mixed fresh berries and maple syrup ($16) so maybe we’ll try that next time.  Or perhaps the brioche French toast filled with strawberries, cinnamon ricotta and maple syrup ($16) or the corn fritters with Tasmanian smoked salmon served with avocado and homemade tomato relish ($16).  Put that relish on the bacon & egg roll, guys!

For a simple, decently prepared and well priced meal, Ottimo does a good job.  The leafy location and good coffee were my highlights of the visit.

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Overall Rating: 16.5/25

Website: http://www.ottimoitaliankitchen.com.au/ and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ottimo-Italian-Kitchen-Hunters-Hill/174155565933327?fref=ts
Phone:   9817 1110
Address: 35 Alexandra Street, Hunters Hill, 2110

Payment Options: CC, EFTPOS, cash