Sartoria, Preston (by invitation) by Bureaucrat

Adriana Agricola is a powerhouse of food and fashion.  Having taken over her parents' dressmaking and bridal wear business in Preston, Adriana has transformed the family warehouse into Sartoria - a new cafe that's already won praise from Broadsheet and The Age Good Food Guide. Sartoria stands out as a beacon of that quintessential Melbourne brunch scene in a part of town that's often associated with light industrial workshops.

Hailing from Italian stock, and her years of hospitality experience in New York, Sartoria offers modern Australian fare with nods to her Italian culinary background and a good dash of Asian ingredients.  The result is a food and a dining experience that's laid-back, effortlessly classy and generous.

The Lawyer and I got to try three of Sartoria's signature dishes.  My favourite was The Designer - a duo of buffalo yoghurt hotcakes served with green tea cream, caramelised pineapple, tropical fruits and coconut cream.  The buffalo yoghurt gave the hotcakes a gorgeously fluffy texture with a hint of lactic acid.  While this looks rich, it isn't overly sweet - you'll be licking the plate clean, like we did!

Our joint favourite was The Seamstress - a wonderful golden crispy hash brown that's served as a waffle - brilliant!  I could so easily eat a stack of these herby hash brown-waffle hybrid - they're just so yummy and morish.  It's served with poached eggs, baby beets, charred onion petals, pea puree, goats curd and topped with sliced wombok and pea shoots.  It's a great Melbourne autumnal dish - it's warm and filling yet light.

The Necchi is a gorgeous dish of textures.  Imagine sticky black rice pudding with banana, fleshy lychee, silky young coconut black chia jelly and topped with matcha foam.  Contrasting with the soft textures are the chewy black rice and the granola-like biscuit on top.

For drinks, we tried a soy chai latte and a Sartoria signature drink - the red velvet hot chocolate, which is made with cold-pressed beetroot.  Although you might not be able to see it in the photo, the hot chocolate does have a dark red tinge to it.  It's an incredibly smooth drink.  The subtle beetroot flavour gives the drink an earthiness and it isn't overly sweet - this would be suited for those who usually aren't fans of the sickly sweet hot chocolates.

Inside, you'll find lots of personal family treasures that pays homage to the family's dressmaking business - from the lace that lines the inside of the overhead lights, measuring tapes running down the walls and onto the floor, and even photos of their past dress designs being projected onto the back wall.

Verdict

We loved it.

Overall

The established cafes in Melbourne take note - you've got a serious competitor for the title of 'best brunch in Melbourne'!  With a menu that's more than just your plate of poached eggs on sourdough, Sartoria is winning punters from all across Melbourne.

Apart from the great food, friendly service and ambiance, what was particularly notable about Sartoria are the prices.  For the quality and creative dishes that they serve, you'd normally expect to pay about $5 more per dish at a similar cafe that's located in, say, Brunswick or Fitzroy.  As the dishes are all around the $12-18 price point - this is incredibly great value for money (there's only one dish that's over $20, and that's the eight-hour slow-cooked lamb).  Adriana explained that Sartoria is a labour of love - it's not about the money for her, it's all about wanting to share her love of food with as many people as possible.

Find it at

Sartoria
115 Plenty Road
Preston VIC 3072
Phone: (03) 9480 5664