~ Curious Charlie ~

Pizza Night @ IL Faro Pizza in Kew @ Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Wednesday 16th May
Charlie & Co. dined as guests.

On an autumn evening we were invited to dine with 'IL Faro Pizzeria & Cucina' conveniently located on the Kew tram route and main street. Opening just this March on High St in Kew is 'IL Faro Pizzeria & Cucina' a great family owned Napoli style pizza restaurant.

Italian Hot Chocolate

It's freezing outside and so the 'Italian Hot Chocolate' was the perfect choice (trust me, when I drink my photos are all blurry). A rich thick custardy drink it was perfect to warm us up and some reckon it we should have totally dipped the nutella donuts in it XD The wine list was quite inviting too along with some sodas.

Bruschetta Classica (V)

extra virgin olive oil, diced tomato, diced red onion,

baby fior di latte bocconcini, fresh garlic and oregano

With a fluffy dough this is quite similar to the pizza crust, but with toppings. How cute is the bocconcini? It's tiny! This is the perfect starter to share for a group in anticipation of pizza!

Arancini - traditional arancini filled with our slow cooked beef ragu

Delicious pyramids with ragu, with herbs & spices this was perfect hitting all the right notes - high recommended. I love good arancini and this one is absolutely the best one I've ever had.

The Wood Fire Pizza Oven

What makes IL Faro's pizzas special is an Italian milled multigrain mix of Italian flours, made via a traditional stone ground method. The 30% whole wheat dough is fermented for 72 hours creating a full flavour dough.

Mini olive oil!

How cute is this 'Ham And Cheese Pizza' from the kid's menu?

- Italian tomatoes, fior di latte mozzarella and ham -

Margherita - italian tomatoes, fior di latte mozzarella,

parmigiano, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil

We started off with the classic margherita, with a beautiful doughy crust that's just right and a topping that just melts in your mouth, the base is quite soft so you may want to hover over a plate. Pizza's always been one of my favourite food groups, and this IL Faro is pretty good, and quite similar to Mother Dough a couple suburbs away.

Recco (Our Signature Pizza) - italian tomatoes, fior di latte mozzarella,

zucchini, smoked salmon, cherry tomato, smoked mozzarella

There's no question as to why this is the signature pizza, a crowd pleaser it has all those things we love about a white based pizza, a margarita like base with smoked ingredients for that beautiful rich flavour and smokiness, while being light, and counting as a serve of veggies (if you eat the whole thing ;).

Spizy Nduja Calzone - italian tomatoes, fior di latte mozzarella,

nduja (calabrian hot salami paste), ricotta, and chargrilled zucchini

Living life anything but slow? A calzone would be the way to go, I'd describe it as a pizza turnover. It's spicy! - but my standards are like, toothpaste can be spicy to me, so perhaps don't take my word on this. The cheese melting over everything in there combats that spicy kick.

Gnocchi Sorrentina (V) - potato italian peeled tomatoes and a selection

of mozzarella, parmigiano and basil, and finished in our wood fired oven

For those who prefer pasta, gnocchi is just the thing to order, I mean just look at that cheese! This is the tomato based one, and tastes like pillows of soft beautiful dough.

Gnocchi Salsiccia E Porcini - gnocchi with italian pork sausage,

and porcini mushrooms, and finished with a touch of cream

For those who like it creamy like me, the creamy gnocchi is recommended

with just the right spices with the sausage and meatiness of the mushrooms.

If you don't drink alcohol there's a few Italian sodas to choose from including the ones picture here. Andy had the cola, which was refreshingly lighter than Coke and tasted less artificial.

I had the Gazzos which was a lemonade, it was lemony and tasted of summer and definitely lighter than your supermarket stuff. I don't usually order drinks when we go out unless they offer something unique, and this is it.

Cannoli - filled with fresh ricotta, orange zest and pistachio nuts

It's always exciting when an Italian restaurant has more than pre-made generic ice cream and freezer fresh desserts. Cannoli has to be my favourite Italian pastry/cookie, which we're well acquainted with from our college years out west (T Cavallaro and Sons). And these were just at good, if not better. I love that subtle combo of citrus and cheese in desserts, and anything with pistachios is great. I would eat this cream by the pot :P

Affogato - an espresso coffee with a shot of bailey’s,

served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

This is what you order when you want coffee and ice cream, such a brilliant invention! Oh and there's a couple liquors you can choose from though Baliey's has always been our favourite.

Nutella Pizza - topped with nutella and strawberries,

dusted with icing sugar, and served with vanilla bean gelato

For quite some years now Nutella seems to be the new salted caramel, in which you can find it almost anywhere. Served warm these doughy slices are the perfect ending when you can't get enough pizza or like to order a dessert to share with the group. The ice cream was great itself, housemade with specks of vanilla bean.

Donuts - Italian style donuts served with nutella

and strawberry topped with vanilla ice cream

Though who could go past the donuts? Deep fried and delicious these are unlike any other donut I've had, little balls of dough deep fried and dusted with icing sugar. Decedent and the perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee. I'd love to see a variation of these rolled in cinnamon, and another with lemon & sugar.

Everything was delicious tonight at IL Faro, the perfect place in Kew for pizza night, being new they don't deliver yet, but do offer takeaway. Our recommendations? Go in a group and order a few items to share (don't forget dessert!), or for a couple order the arancini, a pizza or gnocchi each (can't decide? go with the signature ;) and the cannoli to share.

Service was very friendly and we can't wait to return soon!
Excited about this new addition to High St, Kew.

Check out IL Faro's site for the menu, bookings and to order online.

Open 5.30pm - 10pm // Tues - Sun. Closed Mondays.
321 High St, Kew VIC 3101
P: 0415 448 623