Soprano’s Bar and Pizzeria

A lovely, vibey atmosphere given off by the wine bottles!

SOPRANO’S BAR AND PIZZERIA, SOUTHBANK: A nice stroll just from the banks of the Yarra and the glistening lights of Crown Casino, Soprano’s is an affordable, family friendly and casual restaurant perfect for a night out or a family get together. With wide options for all different cravings, ranging from pastas, fish, steaks to a whole back panel just dedicated to pizzas, this Italian joint was a delightful way to spend our evening. There is an open kitchen where you can see all the freshly rolled pizza dough being heaped with delicious toppings and a fantastic array of wines to complement the dishes. I thoroughly enjoyed my house Sauv Blanc with its refreshing crispiness.

A white and red to complement our seafood and steak!

Entrees:

• Garlic Prawns (King Prawns in White Wine and Creamy Sauce served w. Rice and Salad) – $24.0
• Antipasto Platter (Cheese, Crackers, Prosciutto, Anchovies and Bruschetta) – $24.0

Look at the beautiful colours on this plate!

The good fat: I enjoyed the wide selection of options in the antipasto platter, in particular the cheese and the bruschetta, along with the olives and sundried tomatoes. They made a great combo together along with the crunch of the bruschetta when you bit into each morsel. The anchovies were also pickled deliciously!

The sauce of the garlic prawns was delicious and I loved the presentation of the rice in the little cupped dome! It was the perfect level of moisture just to cover the amount of rice and the prawns, giving everything a delicious and mellow white wine flavour.

What a perfect little cup of rice 🙂

The bad fat: Whilst the combos worked together, I was a little disappointed in the quality of the prosciutto – one of the varieties tasted simply like store bought ham and it would’ve been great to have a few different options of cheese instead especially for the price.

Whilst the prawns were sizely and delicious in the sauce, they were slightly overcooked and lost a bit of their juiciness.

Fat-o-meter: 3.5/5

Mains:

• Angelo (Sauce, Cheese, Hot Salami, Fetta, Pineapple, Capsicum, Mushroom and Olives) + Tony Super Supreme Half’n’Half Pizza (Sauce, Cheese, Prawns, Calamari, Anchovies, Herbs and Garlic) – $24.0
• Seafood Risotto (King Prawns, Scallops, Pippies, Calamari, Mussels, Fish Pieces, Prawns Meat, Chilli in Napoli sauce) – $22.0
• Black Angus Scotch Fillet (Steamed Vegetables and Mushroom Sauce) – $34.0

Who doesn’t love classic pizza?

The good fat: The pizza was definitely the highlight for me – I loved both sides, but perhaps the seafood a little more with their delicious juicy helping of prawn, chewy octopus, all balanced with a nice splash of herbs and little salty kicks from the anchovies. The base of the pizza was perfect – crisp but soft to bite through on the inside and the cheese just strung out beautifully. The angelo side was definitely meatier and quite salty from the olives but balanced out by the mushrooms and capsicum. Both great combinations of flavours and an all-round mouthwatering pizza!

The vivid orange and sneaky peeks of seafood are just so tantalising

I enjoyed the generous helpings of seafood in the risotto. The prawns were cooked better than they were in the entree, and the rest of the seafood i.e. mussels, fish, were balanced out evenly with the amount of rice in the dish. The texture of the rice was also great.

The mushroom sauce on the steak was probably the highlight of the Scotch Fillet. It was creamy, thick and not too salty, with a small sprinkle of herbs to give that Italian garnish. The mushrooms were soft and went well with the slight charriness of the steak on the outside.

Definite a hearty steak with hearty sauce

The bad fat: I loved the pizza so nothing there! The seafood risotto was very one dimensional in flavour – the chilli from the Napoli sauce definitely could’ve been stronger as it wasn’t really evident at all. As a result, the predominant flavour was simply tomato sauce.

The steak was unfortunately overcooked – we asked for medium rare but it came out closer to being well done even though there were some juicy remnants left in rare areas. With such a great sauce, it was quite a shame to be let down by the cooking.

Fat-o-meter: 3.5/5

Tiramisu – $12.0

This is one of the most guilt-causing tiramisus I’ve seen…

The good fat: I’ve never seen such an insane tiramisu… so when this huge cake came up I was immediately shocked at the task that lay before us. (Challenge accepted!) Naturally, it was mostly coated in a layer of light and fresh cream, with layers of sponge fingers drenched in a classic, delicious liqueur. The chocolate on top gave it a slight sweetness and altogether was just a tasty dessert!

The bad fat: There was way too much cream in proportion to the amount of every other ingredient, considering it’s a tiramisu. It would’ve also been great to have a stronger liqueur taste coming through the sponge finger simply because the cream was so overwhelming and the sheer size of the cake.

Fat-o-meter: 3.5/5

SHOULD YOU GET FAT HERE?

YES – Just for the pizza and a comparably affordable place amongst the relatively high end South Bank dinner places

FAT-O-METER: 3.5/5