Dolcetti, West Melbourne by Bilby Blue

Just a block away from the Queen Victoria Market is a little patch of bakery heaven. Dolcetti is a Sicilian pasticceria (pastry shop) offering gorgeous goodies baked in-house that highlight fresh seasonal produce. 

Previously, we had only ever purchased cakes and biscuits to enjoy at home. This time there was a spare table, so Benny and I settled down to have some lunch.

Amaretti

The premises are quite small – room for only a dozen diners inside and another half a dozen on the footpath tables outside. On the day we visited there was a constant stream of customers stocking up on Christmas gifts – especially the house-made single serve Christmas cakes and torrone (Italian nougat). Seated at the other tables were customers – almost all of Italian heritage – catching up on the latest news over coffee and a sweet treat.

Torrone

Given the name, the focus is definitely on sweet but Dolcetti also produces some rather scrummy savoury items as well. I thought these were perfect for a light lunch, although Benny would normally have something a bit more substantial. Plating for all the items used an assortment of very pretty crockery – a nice touch.

Benny’s choice was an impanate (“between the bread”) with a tasty filling of potato, spinach and some sun-dried tomato. These savoury pastries come with a range of different vegetarian fillings, and are available only on weekends when the pastry chef’s mum comes in to make them.

I had a zucchini, ricotta and mint pastry. This had a base of super light flaky pastry, topped with creamy ricotta and a mound of thinly sliced zucchini. The mint added a lovely freshness to the topping – it was a very summery dish.

Bombolone

Of course we also had to indulge in something sweet – but what to choose? The day’s selection included bombolone (Italian filled donuts), cheesecakes, amaretti biscuits, a variety of cakes and fruit pastries. Everything looked gorgeous.

Benny chose a cassateddi, nominated by our friendly server as her favourite sweet treat. This was a little bit like a donut, but much more delicate. The large oval cassateddi is filled with ricotta and fried, then dusted lightly with sugar. Apparently, they are best just as they emerge from the fryer when they are still quite fragile. As they cool they become firmer. Even though Benny’s cassateddi was produced earlier that morning, it was still incredibly light.

I had a passionfruit, lemon and ricotta cheesecake. It was a lovely morsel of sweetness, with the fresh fruit adding a tangy flavour to the smooth and creamy ricotta.

And finally we could not resist taking home two types of the amaretti (see first pic). Chocolate, cherry and coconut – always a winning flavour combination – and ruby grapefruit. These almond biscuits were moist and chewy, and all the flavours were a great complement to the almond. I could not pick a favourite – both were excellent.

Everything that we have tasted at Dolcetti has been wonderful. I’m also very tempted to sign up for Dolcetti’s Sicilian baking classes – to learn how to bake my own amaretti and biscotti.

Verdict

We loved it.

Overall

Dolcetti is one of our favourite pastry shops in Melbourne. Try to be there early as the best things sell out quickly. They also make celebration cakes, but these must be ordered in advance. Open from Wednesday to Sunday.

Find it at

Dolcetti
223 Victoria Street
West Melbourne Vic 3003
Telephone: (03) 9328 1688