*Da Vinci's

Special thanks to Rebecca Varidel for organising this event with Da Vinci Pizza. 

Da Vinci's is a small Italian Restaurant located conveniently close to Summer Hill station. The iconic mural on the side of the building is a huge indication you're in the right place. The restaurant hosts both outdoor and indoor seating but due to the ominous clouds that evening we took a safe bet and went indoors. 

The interior is warm and adorned with paintings and images of Italy. 

I particularly liked how the staff made a note of which areas of Italy they all originate. It showed how much they love their home country and how genuine the team and restaurant was. 

Dinner was paired with a nice glass of red, chosen by the owner, that everyone seemed to enjoy. Most thinking "this is a great wine for pizza".

I really loved the branded stemless wine glasses that it was served in. It gave it a real touch of class and who doesn't love to spoon your wine glass. 

Antipasto Montagna - Mortadella, Bresaola, Speck, Proscuitto de Parma, Sopressata & Buffalo Mozzarella

Scamorza Affumicata - Baked Smoked Fior Di Latte wrapped in Pancetta, drizzled with balsamic glaze

Not long after we were all seated, entrees were placed along the table looking and smelling gorgeous. 

The antipasto platter was a beautiful combination of fantastic cold meat selections with a smooth and creamy buffalo mozzarella. The combination was absolute deli heaven - there is honestly nothing better than fresh mozzarella. 

The alternate starter was my inner-fat-kid’s delight. The melted cheese and pancetta combo can't be beaten. I did like the tangy sweet balsamic glaze that left just enough tang to prevent the sweetness from overtaking. 

Next came an army of pizzas. 

Ortaggina- Fior di Latte topped with seasonal sautéed vegetable and finished with burrata. 

The first pizza was so full of colour and flavour, you wouldn't know that it was pretty much a vegetarian pizza. Burrata, a fresh mozzarella cheese with cream, went fantastic since it was creamy and light through the pizza, it moulded well with the extra virgin olive oil topping.

The pizza overall was pretty light, not overly heavy in flavour and the crust was a thin base that kept all the moisture from the toppings. 

Norma - Margharita Pizza topped with deep fried eggplant and finished with basil & Shaved salted ricotta

I never knew that salted ricotta existed until this moment and it was divine.

As a non-eggplant fan, I didn't mind it for the first few bites but ended up picking it out. My partner however did say it was a good match for margharita pizza.

I thought this was a really interesting take on the very ordinary margharita style pizza and definitely added a bit of flair to the dish. I could take a bag of that salted ricotta home too.

Capricciosa Romana - Typical Roman Pizza, Margherita Base topped with artichoke, olives, mushrooms, boiled egg and proscuitto de parma 

This pizza was a little different to the normal pizza that are copied and pasted at every franchise you see. The Artichokes made a nice textual change and mellowed the flavour out from the salty proscuitto and olives.

However, I wasn't convinced of the boiled egg. It just didn't mix well with me completely. Otherwise the other ingredients went great together. 

Patate & Salsiccia - Typical Pizza from Ancona, Fior di latte base topped with Italian Sausage, roast potato and truffle paste

Saving the best till last of course, Da Vinci's served up their king of all pizzas on the menu. At first I wasn't sold on the double carb overload of potatoes and pizza bread. I felt like it's likely for this pizza to end up quite bland and boring.

Delightfully, I was wrong. 

The truffle paste was strewn through the pizza, and the roast potatoes had a rustic oven taste that really lifted the balance between the ingredients. The Italian sausage was a quite muted in flavour compared to the seasoned potato and truffle paste. But definitely a favourite all round.

To finish we picked up a few flavours from the award winning Gelatony in the back of the restaurant. You can get up to 3 flavours so go nuts! They often have specials that come and go so be sure to check in regularly. I can't quite remember my choice of gelatos but they were very smooth with a wide array of different flavours to choose from. It was great to try Gelatony since they got a special mention in the Gelato World Tour for their fig-marmalade gelato. 

I went home with every intention to invent my own pizza combinations. You may not be able to pick up a full-blown pizza oven but I know you can pick a pretty decent oven from Electro Seconds [https://electroseconds.com.au/] for a pretty good price too. 

I certainly want to try other parts of their menu in the future. If you ever stop by here, I highly recommend the truffle and potato pizza and the entrees we had - they were fantastic. 

If you're after an authentic and warm Italian restaurant that makes stellar woodfired pizzas,

visit the team at Da Vinci's. They're sure to look after you and you’ll go home very well fed.

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