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I love Pizza and it gives me so much pleasure to eat it. So when I discover another place in Melbourne where I know I will get good pizza is something of a God send. Itali.Co is a beautiful restaurant just around the corner from the main thoroughfare of Acland street in St Kilda that lives up to its reputation of having the Best Pizza from The Age Good Food Guide’s 2013 awards.

Now having an award like that means it has reputation to live up to and the ‘Bunga Bunga’ pizza lives up to all expectations. Now I’m not sure what Bunga Bunga means having only really heard it in reference to a recently disgraced Italian president, but it means Tasty Tasty in my books.

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The pizza at Itali.Co is cooked in a fired oven, meaning that that pizza base has the perfect crispiness that one craves of a good pizza. The dough is light and seasoned well, meaning that any topping that is placed on the pizza is delectable and gives pizza a good name. Even the most basic Margherita pizza is flavoursome and perfect.

The Bunga Bunga is a crowd pleaser with its Fior di latte, tomato, Berkshire sausage, porcini mushroom and parmesan. The Bresoala was equally delicious with Fior di latte, squaquerone cheese, bresaola (air dried beef), rocket, parmesan and citronette dressing and makes you wonder why there aren’t more pizzas with beef on them.

The Tartufata pizza was a perfect combination of white truffle cream, fior di latte, mushroom, rocket and parmesan, and really let the taste of mushrooms shine without the overpowering taste of Truffles that you can sometimes get. Even the humble, rosemary and garlic focaccia which is on the menu as a starter was fragrant and light giving enough hint of rosemary without overpowering the senses.

If you’re not in the mood for pizza there are a selection of pastas and Italian mains available.
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Now if you’re a sweet tooth, then I can’t more highly recommend the Sweet Nutella Pizza which was a sweet feast of the senses. The rich and melted Nutella worked well with the freshness of the strawberries and the pizza dough so that the experience was a delightful and more-ish dessert.
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If Nutella isn’t your thing, then the definitely get your sweet tooth on and have the Volcano cake. A warm chocolate fondant, the sweetness of the cake is offset with the accompanying Vanilla gelato, another definite must have.
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We also tried the Vanilla Panacotta, which is part of the Sunday lunch menu, it was light, smooth and had just the right amount of flavour to not be too sweet and overpowering.
The drinks list has a good selection of Wine, Cocktails, Aperetifs and Beers, so finding the perfect accompaniment to your meal isn’t going to be a problem.
With a Monday night special of $13 for all pizzas and Tuesday night pasta special from $13, it is a perfect place to get your Italian on. Or if you’re looking for a perfect weekend lunch, Itali.Co’s special of a pizza or pasta, a glass of wine or Peroni, the classic Piedmontese Pannacotta and a coffee all for $30 is one not to be beaten. So why not head a bit off the beaten track and check out Itali.Co.
Itali.Co 173 Barkly Street, St Kilda (03) 9537 5300

About The Author

Katherine Ng

Katherine is not your typical Beauty Editor. Finance consultant by day and beauty and fashion addict at all other times, Katherine spends her hard-earned money helping the Australian and international economy with her never ending pursuit of everything pretty. A keen traveller, Katherine still holds dear her Melbourne roots with an overflowing wardrobe filled with black clothes, shoes and handbags. Katherine also has a deep love of food and wine, and you can find those adventures on instagram at @thegreedykat Email: kath@couturing.com Twitter: @kath_couturing Instagram: @kath_ng

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