Fatto A Mano

I am a little addicted to the organic meat pies but the chicken sausage roll is good to let alone the vegi parties and I haven’t even mentioned to sandwiches or soup, let alone some of the best organic breads in town .I love this place even If I have to wait out side it is so worth it.

I keep going back for the roasted veg pizza slice and vegan pie…
Always good…

There was a consistent cue out the front of this place for at least half an hour on a Wednesday. This speaks volumes.
It’s near the corner of Smith and Gertrude so there are a heap of different places you could go to get yourself lunch. But this is the only one that had a line. One hefty, mother of a line.
So I came back when things had calmed a little. And boy. The smell… Nothing like a classic bakery smell. Walls covered in delicious lunch options, dessert options and loaves of bread.
They pack a whole heap of gluten free bread too, so us, the intolerant, get to play along.
You’ve got to try the brownies. THE shiz. Absolutely. Amazeballs. There aren’t enough stupid expressions to describe my love for this pace.
This is what bakeries are, none of this chain-​bakery nonsense. Move your buns here and buy some. BAM!

A little hole in the wall organic bakery on Fitzroy’s Gertrude Street, Fatto A Mano is chock a block full of slices, pizzas, breads, rolls, cakes and pastries.
This place is so small that it is not immediately obvious that it sells anything at all, that is until you catch sight of row upon row of its yummy looking baked goods or catch a glimpse of the queue of devotees that invariably snake out Fatto A Mano’s distinctive red door and onto the street.
Me? I was in the market for pastries. Lots of pastries when I stumbled in yesterday for a browse. The owner was a little brusque — but then in a space this small she probably feels as if people are literally and metaphorically standing on her toes — but the selection is wonderful.
I opted for one each of the raspberry and blueberry Danishes which were nice — not exceptional — and, it must be said, a little stingily topped with custard and berries.
My one qualm is what looked to me like burnt Danish undersides, but was apparently caramelised sugar. Either way the Danes tasted a little ashen.

Positioned near the corner of Gertrude and Smith Streets, Fatto A Mano is a small organic bakehouse that boasts a wide variety of breads, as well as pizza’s sold by the slice, cakes, pastries, and soups. With a queue that often spills out the door, the ordering process has a rather regimented vibe to it (a la Seinfeld’s ‘Soup Nazi’), and you can almost hear the eyeballs roll (from both patrons and staff) when someone doesn’t know their exact order by the time they arrive at the counter. Thus, my query of «which is better — the roast pumpkin pizza or the spinach pie?» is met with the deadpan response: «well do you like pumpkin or spinach?» I suppose I had that coming.
In terms of the breads on offer, Fatto A Mano is most popular for its sourdoughs, which are free from ascorbic acid — apparently quite a selling point for the more discerning foodie than I. At $ 6 a loaf (around ²⁄₃ the size of your standard Woolworths white), it would want to impress, and fortunately, Fatto A Mano does just that — reminding you what bread is meant to be. The bread is moist, hearty and full flavoured and the various pastries on offer (both sweet and savoury) are dangerously decadent.
Make sure to try the Blueberry Danish and the Bread & Butter Pudding when available (though most things on offer are so rich that one of anything should satisfy).
Fatto A Mano is open Mondays-​Saturdays (and closed for the entire month of January).