Orto

This site has been the home of many various restaurants… from Canvas, to Chester White and now Orto. Having worked in the area for many years, I have visited all of them and the latest brand ‘Orto’ is in a love/​hate relationship with me!
I’ve dined here about 5 times now. It definitely has some perks, the venue is pretty, has a solid wine list and a lovely outdoor space for the warmer months. However I find the menu a little uninspiring. Don’t get me wrong, the pizzas are solid but just not exciting and the pastas can be a little bland at times.
The tiramisu is a standout though and the venue is great for larger groups and is very family and child friendly.
Orto, you are solid but you just don’t wow me over… it’s like being married for 7 years, I get you but we just don’t have that spark…

I finally dine here after the Elite event…
I decided to have my family birthday dinner here which is always quite eventful as my sister has three young kids. The last time I went to Orto was for an Elite event and the food they had an offer was amazing, the place also looked really intimate and I wasn’t sure how appropriate for kids.
I called up and made our booking for 10, asking about a kids menu to which they replied they have certain pizzas available for kids. When we arrived at the restaurant we found out that a «Kids» Margheritta Pizza meant no basil but was still the same size and a lot cheaper. *WINNER!*
None of us were to open to starters so we went straight to mains, I had been eyeing off the blue swimmer crab spaghetinni since I first looked at the menu and did not fail to satisfy! Wow it was amazing, the crab was amazingly cooked and there was chopped zuchini throughout. and lemon infused breacrumbs on top.
Tiramisu for desert was so authentic and amazing, wish I could have fit in more…
The service was also amazing, don’t know her name but she did an excellent job at serving us all night, will definitely be back!

What a cool space!
The menu looked delicious and I couldn’t. I went for the steak, trying to be healthy.
Yup, that’s right. At an italian pizza and pasta restaurant, I ordered steak. Whyyyyyy?
Anyway, so I ordered the Sirloin — it was cooked well, so well that used a butter knife as the chosen utensil. I guess that’s good coz it showed how tender it was, but it was bad coz it was just a bit weird and also hard to cut around the fat.
The steak came with a side of peperonata which was interesting. I would have preferred a sauce.
The hand cut chips were awesome but felt it wasn’t a great accompaniment to my steak. Plain fries/​chips always work the best for me.
Had a bite of a couple of other people’s pizzas. Overall was awesome but the base was quite soft so it got soggy pretty quickly. Not a pick up with your hand sorta pizza.
Spaghettini with crab was amazeballs. The textures of all ingredients worked well. There was a crunchy sprinkle on top which added to the taste. Like, this was seriously awesome.
For dessert, we ordered the Italian Donuts and Tiramisu.
Bambino (Italian donuts) — Sounded amazing but didn’t taste as great. The Nutella came on the side and there wasn’t a whole lot to really make the Nutella goodness shine through the ‘nut. I could have asked for me I suppose? I think I would have preferred the Nutella already in the donut and for it to be oozing out as I bite into it… YUMMMMM
The tiramisu on the other hand, was fantastic. Strong coffee flavour and in my opinion, had just the right proportions of all the different layers.
The service was phenomenal. The wait staff were super friendly and smily :)
The outside area looks pretty funky — definitely coming back here on a Sunday arvo and sitting outside!

Fabulous outdoor decking, light and spacious inside dining and a great list of wine and nibbles. Excellent choice for a sunny summer’s day.

«Want to come to a Sunday session on the sunny deck at Orto?»
Errr, only a fool would say no to this question! Of course I want to get my pasty white arms out in the sunshine, drink Aperol and bottomless glases of Rose while nibbling on white anchovie salads, chicken liver parfait and olives…
Of course I want to listen to the Sunday DJ, run my hands through the planter boxes filled with herbs and spend leisurely hours solving all of the world’s problems with my closest friends. Of course I want to read the menu over and over and wish I had more room to eat their homemade breads, slow cooked goat or the Spaghettini with crab, lemon, garlic and pangrattato…
All of this. Of course I want it all.
So… who’s coming next Sunday?