Cafe Falduzzi

Flavour Surprise

Don't let the guys from Falduzzi fool you - although they'll tell you their food is best described as 'modern Australian', when you go there you'll realize that it's actually a unique twist of international flavours that can't be categorised.

Nilesh Nagarkar took over Falduzzi wit h two other chefs after working in some of Perth's premier restaurants. Their experiences with different restaurants have certainly influenced Falduzzi's range of food, because the menu contains everything from Italian tastes to a generous helping of Indian to some funky salads and Australian seafood, and everything in between. But these aren't contained to single dishes - you'll find one, two, three different styles on the one plate.

The restaurant itself is a large converted shop front, with wide welcoming windows letting the afternoon light filter in, illuminating the wooden floorboards and local artwork hanging on the bright orange walls. And when the sun goes down, soft orange lighting creates an atmosphere that combines with their unique food and Australian wines to make Falduzzi a place that you'll be marking on your calendar in the at-least-once-a-week category.

We showed up with our own organic wine, not realising that Falduzzi had its own wine list. Surprisingly, the wine Nilesh recommended was organic as well.

We started with the Olives Tasting Plate, a beautifully arranged dish with four different styles of olives accompanied by homemade triangle crisps. Expecting standard olive essences, we were surprised to taste some very different flavours in there - the green olives were stuffed with anchovies, and some of the Kalamata olives were crumbed with parmesan, which added a different dimension to the olive taste.

Next up were the Bay Bugs. Served with Goan curry sauce, poached mussels, basmati rice and onion coriander salad, it's a crazy combination of flavours that was enhanced with a glass of Random Valley Semillon Sauvignon (WA). Usually I'm not one for mussels, but these were smooth and tasty. The rice was light and aromatic with strands of egg trailing through it and, mixed with the curry, created a fantastic flavour.

The Scotch Fillet was served with Sicilian cauliflower saute, chilli spiced prawns and Vichey beans. I usually take my steak medium, but we opted for rare this time and I realized why people like their steak that raw - it was so tender and juicy I could hardly stop gobbling it down. The cauliflower saute consisted of chunks of cauliflower and potato mixed into a salsa verde - not something I've never tried before but definitely a dish I'd have again. I'd describe the Scotch Fillet as a conventional Aussie steak dish made individual by european flavours.

We couldn't leave Falduzzi without trying one of their famous pizzas. Nilesh presented us with a pizza piled with pumpkin, onion jam, goat's curd, almonds, rocket and Caesar dressing - an unusual combination to be sure. But whoever thought of using onion jam as a pizza base was totally on to something, as I forgot tomato paste ever existed and started devouring this pizza instead. I think no pizza is complete without pumpkin, and the rocket and Caesar dressing, together with the rest of the ingredients created an interesting combination of tastes. Other pizzas on the menu looked just as appetizing with the pork belly, apple, caramelized onion, sesame seed and brie combination catching my eye, and the asparagus, goat's cheese, baked tomato, salsa verde and egg pizza noting itself down in my mind for next time.

We decided to squeeze in a quick dessert before we left and I couldn't go past the Sticky Banana Pudding. Served on a delicate plate, it's a pudding with banana and caramel hints topped with sticky banana icing, with hot caramel and cognac sauce on the side. I was glad the serve was reasonably small as it was so rich I almost couldn't finish it.

Nilesh and his colleagues have crafted together so many styles into their meals that each one is a surprise. The waitstaff know every flavour of each dish, so if you're ever left staring at the menu wondering how you'll be able to pick from all the delicious combinations, why not ask your waiter? They'll be able to recommend their favourites and suggest wines for you to try. It won't be too risky when every dish they have is a unique twist of international succulence.

By Katy Scott