Vino E Cucina, Paddington

On a sunny Saturday, I head to Italian restuarant, Vino E Cucina. I've been craving Italian food as well so I am looking forward to the meal at Vino E Cucina. I'm sitting in the court yard at the back of Vino E Cucina with my partner and the sun is shining, it's a good day. 

Vino E Cucina is located in Paddington. From the exterior, it looks like a traditional Italian restaurant but I would say there's a few modern twists on the menu. I cheers to a lovely weekend food escape with a glass of sparkling rose and Matt orders a beer. The sparkling rose matches the day, a bit of buzz in the air with light flavour tones.

 For entree, I share the Prosciutto and melone ($18) which has cubes of rock melon on strips of prosciutto, reggiano, balsamic and olive oil. The sweetness from the rock melon is so refreshing and adds to the smooth flavours of the prosciutto. What a refreshing and light way to start the meal! I'd recommend ordering this dish.

 I can't help but say "wow" when this next dish comes out. It's the Carpaccio Di Trota ($20) which is Ocean Trout carpaccio w baby capers, grapefruit, trout roe and watercress. The grapefruit is glistening in the sunlight and looks so delicious. The ocean trout has a refreshing tangy citrus and the grapefruit adds a further sweet tang. The capers add a touch of salty flavours. The flavours are heightened in my mouth. I would recommend this dish.

 Matt and I have been together for several years and I now know what he likes to eat. I order without much consultation the Spaghetti Carbonara ($25) which is spaghetti w guanciale, eggs and pecorino. I have to say this is the prettiest carbonara that I've seen. With delicate strands of spaghetti, this carbonara is made from eggs rather than a rich cream. There's a generous amount of pecorino which is a sheep milk's cheese. This pasta is cheesey, delicious and moreish. I recommend.

We also order the Diavoletta pizza ($23) which has tomato base made of san marzano tomato which is a variety of plum tomato, fior di latte, onion, red peppers, hot salami and olives. This is a traditional combination which I've always enjoyed. The pizza base is crispy on the edges, softer towards the middle, light in texture and that really heroes the ingredients. The salmari is mild if spiciness which is good because I'm just enjoying the salty olives, cheese and salami flavours.

While I am quite full, I agree to eating dessert as Matt always eats 1.5 of his share. He orders the Pavlova Soft Serve Dessert ($9) which has pavlova vanilla gelato, meringue passionfruit, berry sauce and cream. It's a nice mini version of the traditional pav with components of the meringue, layers of ice cream and berry sauce. 

 I order the Golden Gay time Soft Serve ($9) which has vanilla and salted caramel soft serve with almond, amaretti praline and nutella sauce syringe. This ice cream has nice vanilla and caramel tones and is just missing some of the biscuit crunch that you'd typically expect from a golden gaytime. It's still an enjoyable dessert.

Summary: I've had a glorious lunch at Vino E Cucina and would recommend you visit for their delicious food. Enjoy their courtyard with some friends. My favourite dishes were the carpaccio with that grapefruit and the diavoletta pizza. I also enjoyed the spaghetti carbonara.

Price: Most mains are $25ish

Location: 211 Glenmore rd, Paddington

Opening Hours: 
Monday 5pm to 9pm
Tuesday to Thursday 5pm to 10pm
Friday and Saturday 12pm to 10pm

Weekend Food Escapes dined as guests of the venue or their representatives. All photos, opinions and words are my own. Thanks to Spooning Australia  and Food Shot