A little bit of Italy in the heart of the city...
On Kent Street in the centre of Sydney, there’s a little bit of Italy tucked away.
Vicolo Café’s exposed brick and gold accents create a seamless marriage between modernity and provincial Italian aesthetic. This is the kind of place my backpacker travels around Rome lusted after while my wallet only stretched to sharing a hostel dormitory with eight strangers.
As we sat down, I was a bit overwhelmed by the menu. Trying to decide between the seared tuna salad ($16.00) and the steak sandwich ($14.20) proved tougher than I thought (if somebody chooses a better meal than me, my food envy turns real grumpy, real fast), so for everyone’s sake we got both and shared.
The salad was stuffed with enough baby potatoes and fresh chunks of tuna to make sure you won’t need a 3:30pm snack. The dish is still light, and is refreshing enough to not feel like you cheated on your I-swear-I’ll-actually-stick-to-this-one diet.
The steak sandwich... Oh Lord, the steak sandwich!
Okay, so I consider myself something of a steak sanga connoisseur. My versions of the sandwich have been known to change lives, and the secret is adding beetroot and asparagus.
I went into this experience with the smug conviction that mine would be better. How very wrong I was. This was close to, if not, the best thing I’ve ever eaten. The steak was medium rare and soooo juicy, while the salsa verde and toasted panini took the humble steak sandwich to heights I didn’t know existed.
AND it was the last one of the day. If I didn’t believe in a higher power before, I definitely do now.
We were also in and out in about 40 minutes, and it only took that long because we spent so long making a shrine for the steak sandwich. So if you ‘re dreaming of an escape to provincial Italy and only have a lunch break to do it, Vicolo Café is the place for you.
Vicolo Café
346 – 348 Kent St. Sydney NSW 2000
02 8084 8475
