Eating Melbourne

Bande a Part is a new-ish pizza joint on Nicholson St. It’s named after a Jean-Luc Godard film and is the sister restaurant of Pizza Meine Liebe (“PML”) in Northcote (whose pizzas I love, but whose stubborn booking policies do my head in).

The six of us decided to order a small pizza each and share, so as to be able to try as many different toppings as we could. (The pizzas are $12-$16 for a small, $16.50-$22 for a large.)

Buffalo Soldier – tomato, buffalo mozzarella, basil, prosciutto. A PML favourite.

Madame Pipi – mozzarella, pumpkin, porcini, rocket, fetta. I don’t know that pumpkin really belongs on a pizza.

Haus Special – tomato, buffalo mozzarella, porcini, oregano, anchovies, olives. Like PML, their olives are not pitted, so be careful not to break your teeth.

Moussaka – tomato, potato, eggplant, red onions, meatballs, mascarpone. Oooohh this one was gooooood.

Karina – tomato, goat’s cheese, pesto, speck, chargrilled peppers. Loved this one too.

This was one of the specials – Four Corners or Four Seasons or something like that. Tomato, plus a corner each of speck, porcini, olives and artichokes.

The pizzas were really good. Definitely among the best I’ve had in Melbourne. The bases are lovely and thin with the right amount of crispiness; the toppings are all very good quality and just the right amounts; and the menu has enough different topping options that I don’t think I’d get bored with this as my weekly pizza fix.

As a diligent blogger, of course I had to try dessert. (I live to serve.)  We tried the strawberry and chocolate dessert pizza:

Dessert pizza sounds gross, but really it’s more like a tart. This one was quite nice, although to be honest the combination of dark chocolate and strawberries doesn’t do it for me. The others loved it though. I prefer the banana and honey one that they have at PML but didn’t see it on the menu here.

We also tried chocolate pudding:

which had a delicious gooey centre, and the scoop of icecream had a heart of berries – nomnomnom. We did also try the Nutella calzone, which for some reason I didn’t get a picture of… but basically it’s a big blob of Nutella baked in a parcel of dough. One mouthful was enough for me, it’s VERY rich. It came with pistachio icecream, I think plain vanilla would have been better.

The wine list is short but well priced. We had a couple of bottles of the 2008 Moorooduc Devil Bend Creek pinot noir, which was very drinkable for $36 a bottle. I *think* it may also be BYO, but don’t quote me on that.

The service was friendly and prompt early in the night, but got progressively more curt and elusive as the restaurant filled up – we had to try and grab someone on the way past when we wanted a second bottle of wine, and then again when we wanted to see a dessert menu.  (I visited again with J. about a week later, this time at 9.30pm on a Thursday, when they only had a couple of tables in, and once again they were friendly and efficient.  So either they were understaffed for a busy night on the Friday, or they’re not good with stress.)

As for decor and atmosphere, Bande a Part does not have PML’s lo-fi Northcote hipster too-cool-for-school scene.  Don’t get me wrong, it ain’t La Porchetta, but it’s not stuff white people like – it’s more of a low key family vibe. Don’t come here if you want to Be Seen – but definitely come if you like good pizza, as it’s a helluva lot easier to get a table.

Some like their cakes to look like they were “bought in a shop” – flashy, fancy, big. I prefer cakes that look like they were made by someone’s nanna. The latter is what you’ll get at Sweet Source, where owner Zoi Condos bakes a fresh selection of home-style cakes and pastries daily.

The selection is different every day (except for the whippy-frosted cupcakes which are a permanent feature): usually there’s a frangipane tart, some kind of slice or brownie, and then whatever takes Condos’ fancy. Your chosen cake will be served on one of their mismatched antique floral nanna-crockery plates.

I had the brioche with raspberries and custard, which was absolutely delicious:

Foodie Little Sis had the berry and almond muffin – I stole a bite, again delicious:

And my partner had the blackcurrant angelfood cake, which looked very pretty, but we found the icing overly sweet:

Coffees there are usually very well-made; the beans they use have a nutty overtone that I don’t completely adore, but hey, there’s cake, so who cares. They do have savoury food there too, mostly pies, frittatas, and filled baguettes; I’ve tried most of it but it’s not nearly as good as the cakes are, so I’d recommend you skip it and head straight for the sweets. Nothing wrong with having cake for lunch anyway, right?

Service is generally not of the smiley variety, unfortunately. Most of the staff tend to look strung-out and anxious, which seems strange to me, as I’ve often thought that most of the world’s ills could be solved with cake. (Perhaps they’re not partaking of the merchandise often enough.)

If you love cake, Sweet Source is a must-visit.