La Botte Da Ercole — Italian
16 July 2005 - We’ve actually driven past La Botte Da Ercole many times before since Domino’s is right across the road from it, of which we are regular customers. We’ve always peered in enviously and thought we must try it someday. Having read Sydneyeats’ description of it as “that sweet, local trattoria that exists in your mind, the one with the great food where the cheerful owner always remembers you, and no one ever screws up your favourite few dishes,” we decided that yeah, tonight’s the night. So William called to make reservations and the hospitality was instantly felt: “Mr William, 8.45, 2 people, No Problem! Ciao!” Wow, sounds like a good beginning oredi.
Upon stepping in, my first reaction was that the place was rather “white” and we did get a few strange stares from the other customers. However, we were very warmly greeted by the host, and made to feel at home soon after. The decor was very ecclectic, a mixture of Italian-style furnishings and family momentos. Baby photos stood alongside beer bottles. Clearly, family and alcohol are amongst an Italian man’s prized possessions. Overall, the place had a very homey feel that seemed to span several generations. In the least, the stuff on the wall kept us entertained while waiting for our food.
When it came to ordering, William and I were both a bit disappointed by the selection on the menu, mainly just pasta, pizza and veal done in several different ways. We had hoped for more variety. Turns out the good exciting stuff were all on the Specials board, which unfortunately for us was all written in Italian?!? Thank goodness the host came and patiently explained each and every item to us. We finally settled on the Salsicce – Italian pork sausages served with beans, Fettucine Bascaiola – ribbon pasta with bacon, mushrooms, shallots and cream, and Misto Grilla – grilled king prawns and scampi served wth salad. Woohoo! While waiting, we finally had the Chandon champagne that Kate gave me as a graduation present. We don’t usually drink a lot, and occasions like these are perfect for BYO.
First came the sausages. Quite tasty, not too fatty, just slightly saltish but ok with the beans. The seafood dish was more aesthically pleasing than gastronomically satisfying. I was disappointed that the scampi was soft and mushy, if it was fresh, it should be more crunchy right? It was also rather pricey — 3 prawns and 2 small scampis for $39! Finally, the fettucine, yeah, pretty yummy I guess. Then again, anything laden with cream, cheese, and mushrooms usually is. If I had to rate the food, it would be 6.5/10 — alright, but nothing fantastic, and no value for money.
If something was to keep me coming, it would have to be the service. As mentioned, the host was very friendly. But when the cook, Roger, found out that we were Singaporeans/Malaysians, he just couldn’t get enough of us. (The waiting staff had been guessing which nationality we were, probably don’t get many Asians in there, they settled with Thai for me, and Korean for William.) As it turns out, Roger was also from Singapore, used to live in Yishun, but moved to Australia in 1973. I’ve always wondered about that. How come when you ask these old-timers how long they’ve been away from home, they can always get the year down pat? 1973, so specific. If you ask me, I would say, erh, not sure, 2000? 2001? Must be a pretty BIG thing for them.
So for the rest of the night, we ended up chatting lots with our 同乡Roger, probably had a drop too much to drink, and were in rather high spirits when it came to settling the bill. But no, the host wasn’t going to let us go without trying Ercole’s (the owner) self-brewed Limoncello. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, it’s a traditional Italian lemon liqueur with only one word to describe it — POWER SIAH! well, two words. After downing that, we were REALLY ready to go… oooh… oozy doozy… Roger saw us to the door, and insisted we keep in contact. He even suggested that we go for yum-cha on a Sunday, my kind of guy. So all in all, value or no value, with some help from the champagne, limoncello and good ol’ Italian hospitality, I dare say we had a brilliant time! *hick*
Mr Ercole himself
oooh… champagne
babies and beer
menu cover
Italian bric and brac
pizza board
antique coffee grinder
ornamental plate
Salsicce — Italian pork sausages served with beans
Misto Grilla – grilled king prawns and scampi served wth salad
Fettucine Bascaiola – ribbon pasta with bacon, mushrooms, shallots and cream
Wil & Roger the chef
oozy doozy…