When it comes to what makes the Australian cuisine, we can give thanks to cultural diversity; bush tucker and two hundred years plus of migration that has expanded our palate and our options.
The Two Girls discovered a Rosny café serving up food rich in flavour and history.
Moto Vecchia is a celebration of the owner’s Italian heritage and wholesome home cooking.
The walls are covered in photos and memorabilia that tell the story of Natalina's family history and their migration from Italy to Australia.
I remember taking lunches of sundried tomatoes and focaccia bread to school, only to be told it was ‘wog food’ by my classmates who happily munched on vegemite sandwiches.It was hurtful at the time, but those classmates are now paying top dollar to eat the same food in restaurants and cafes!
As the name implies, you’ll find the odd vintage motorcycle including the one Natalina’s dad delivered mail on along the frontline in WW2 before he made Australia home.
A converted shop, Moto Vecchia is furnished with a casual mismatch of tables and comfy couches.
By our 1 pm booking they were out of spinach and ricotta cannelloni and had just one serve of lasagne left.
The Two Girl’s dining companion was the Only Child and in true form; she quickly ordered the last serve of lasagne, $16. The Other Girl chose the zucchini fritters $16, while This Girl went for the pumpkin soup $11.
All our meals were beautiful. If I had to choose I’d pick the lasagne as the winner, but the fritters were pretty spectacular as well, thinly sliced zucchini covered in a light batter.
Of course we left room for dessert and an executive decision was made by The Other Girl and The Only Child (there’s a trend here) to share two serves of the Grispelli (Italian doughnut) for $3.5 each and a slice of their Red Velvet Cake, around $6.We heard a lot of fanfare about the Grispelli and while they were nice, really nice, all three of us are still fans of the Spanish take on doughnuts, the Churro.The Red Velvet Cake however was hands down the best version we’ve tried. It was covered in beautiful chocolate ganache and had cherries mixed into the batter.It was so good This Girl took a piece home for Devotee who was equally impressed.
Moto Vecchia is a warm space serving heartfelt food.
Natalina also runs a cooking school out of the café where you can get hands on skills in rustic Italian cooking.
Their website states ‘Moto Vecchia café and Natalina Cucina Cooking School were born from a love of family, food and conversation.’ The Two Girls reckon they’ve got the recipe right and you may even see us at a cooking class soon!
They are open Monday to Friday 8am – 4pm and Saturdays from 9:30am – 2:30pm.
