One of my favourite ever books is the very controversial American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. Sure it’s not a book for everyone and whilst I didn’t enjoy the squeamish, darkly murderous parts I really enjoyed his take on modern day looks and appearance obsessed “Masters of the Universe” (and yes I do know people kind of like him). One chapter that I remember vividly was when the main character Patrick Bateman tried to get a booking at an impossible to get a booking at restaurant. He rings the restaurant and when he asks for a reservation the only response he gets is mockingly condescending laughter and then a “click” as they hang up on him.
Ever since then, I’ve wondered if I would ever get that reaction when trying to make a booking. As what I do involves a lot of eating out at a lot of “hot” places I’ve feared encountering this. One of the latest places in town and a place that is very hard to get a table at is Soffritto in Newtown. Given rave reviews by many including friends, I was apprehensive when I first rang, worried that I’d get the attitude. You know the attitude that popular places get (well they do in Sydney anyway). The kind of attitude where they tell you that no they are fully booked “for like…forever” and if you’re lucky you might dine there one day. I was actually surprised and pleased to hear the voice on the other end of the phone was friendly and without attitude and actually seemed apologetic about the long waiting queue. Good lord, had hell frozen over? Well it was Winter so perhaps it had…
A soffritto literally is a roughly chopped mixture of vegetables (onion, carrot and celery), garlic and herbs that forms the base for sauces, stocks and stews. The best way to get a booking here (and yes you do need to book pretty much any night) is to go on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday where they also have a dining special. For the very reasonable price of $20 you get a bowl of entree sized hand made pasta (a choice of two) and a glass of wine. It’s also a good night to dine out as we can imagine noise levels here can be quite loud on a Friday or Saturday night. There is also a 3 course for $49 or a 5 course degustation for $70 available.
Truffled potato gnocchi and parmigianno $17
We are given some bread and olive oil to nibble on but if I can offer any advice it’s this: hang onto your bread so that you can dip it in the sauces (or eat it and they’ll kindly bring you some more). As soon as this is set down in front of me the aroma gets me-I’m bewitched. I’m twitching and squirming in my seat as Mr NQN takes photos. I finally get a taste of this and the gnocchi is beautifully light. None of this heavy, gluggy potato water mess that can be served up. And the sauce with the truffle paste in the centre is perfection. It’s rich with reggiano and creamy. Holy heavens it’s moreish (and don’t even think about calculating the calories!).
Tortellini filled with duck, balsamico & sage $17
The tortellini has five pieces of tortellini filled with soft, dark duck meat and balsamic vinegar with a sage and nutty browned butter sauce. It’s also delightful and well balanced in flavours only pipped slightly by the gnocchi.
Pappardelle with beef ragu $20 with glass of wine
The pasta specials of the day were a linguine with clams or pappardelle with a ragu. I find it hard to resist pappardelle and ragu (when the ragu is the really nice slow cooked stuff not just the mince) . So even though I love clams too, this is always going to be my first choice. It’s sizeable too for an entree size and the ragu is rich in tomato and beef juices from tender slow cooking. The pasta is fine and delicate in texture and suits the thick cut ribbons. Mr NQN enjoys the cab sauvignon which is from Margaret River.
Roast fillet of beef wrapped in pancetta with mushrooms and garlic spinach $26
I’m on a bit of a pasta high so the roast fillet of beef is a nice change. It’s slightly chewy at one en where it is cooked all the way through but in the centre it is medium rare and tender. It’s stuffed with mushrooms, rolled and wrapped in pancetta and served with creamy mashed potato and lightly cooked garlic spinach.
I should also mention that service throughout the night is fantastic and even though there are only two floor staff, our water bottle is regularly replaced and they take plenty of time to make recommendations.
Quince and apple tart with cinnamon ice cream $12
I can’t really fit in any more but an apple and quince tart can easily convince me otherwise. It comes out on a short buttery pastry round with lovely slightly glazed rubied quince and apple with a cinnamon ice cream which could perhaps be a little creamier. I steal the apple pieces from the top and the pastry and Mr NQN takes the quince and ice cream. Fair trade I’d say.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you try and go out to restaurants that are hot and of the moment or do you wait until things calm down and they’re easier to book?
Soffritto
367 King Street, Newtown, NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9565 4660
Open Tuesday to Saturday 6pm until late
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51 Comments | Add your own
Hmmm…that pasta looks magnificent, especially the duck and sage tortellini! Never ever count calories..
I never bother trying to get into heavily booked restaurants. We really don’t eat out much, and we have our favourites where we can almost always get in!
So this place was WORTH it! I guess many people don’t really think about calling to book a seat, having the same fears as you did? Everything looks heavenly…especially that gnocchi!
1. This review rocks because one of my obsessions (Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho) got a mention.
2. That food looks to die for!
3. Newtown is one of my favourite drinking/eating areas in Sydney!
Quince + apple tart + cinnamon icecream??? I AM SOLD!!!!
It sounds like there’s a reason for the long wait!
oh my. the duck tortellini looks Ah Ma Zing!
Hi Lorraine, I usually wait til things have settled down – I am not as adventurous as you! So lovely to hear that service is not dead, even at a popular establishment that doesn’t have to try. The quince and apple tart looks fab – perfect for our cold winter nights at present.
I tend to wait until things cool down. I’ve never been quite fast enough to be trendy.
I love hand-made pasta, thanks for the great review.
I’ve long admired this place too and finally got there for some dessert with friends a few weeks ago after grabbing some Thai down the street from here. Unfortunately we got the attitude that you’d feared Lorraine! After waiting several minutes being ignored we seated ourselves at a dirty table only to be approached by the Waitress “Do you have a reservations” me: “No, we’re just after some dessert” W: “We don’t DO walk ins but you can wait out in our courtyard and we’ll get the table cleared for you’. Said ‘courtyard was their concrete pathway leading to the loo where we waited for 10 mins before being allowed back in…. Once inside the dessrts (Choc puddings x3 and the Caramel Semmifreddo)were beautiful!! Hopefully that was just an off night for them as the food looks fabulous!
We tend to be the unorganised types who don’t book and wander about looking for somewhere that appeals – I’m sure we miss out on the good stuff because of our chilled out attitude
It’s 9.12am and you have me desperately craving gnocchi!
Those pasta dishes look great, especially love the look of the parpadelle. Perfect winter comfort food
Okay I’m sold – sounds like a great place to go to and very reasonable!
I love everything about this post.
It all looks so good!
I have been interested in Mamak on Goulburn Street for a while now, every single time I walk past it, the line is out the door and almost around the corner! Has anyone eaten there?
I’ve been wanting to try Soffritto for about a year now and still haven’t got there. It’s only 5 minutes away! It’s a shame about the attitude that comes with higher profile restaurants in this town. Red Lantern has still lost me for the attitude someone dished out when making a booking
O dear, now you’ve done it Ms NQ Nigella!!! Cue Terry Durack review next month, with obligatory line about the lack of Rodd & Gunn wearing people walking along the footpath…
Great review of a great place.
Ahhh.. I have heard about this place. The food looks amazing!
I don’t make a habit of going to restaurants that are ‘hot’ because I figure everyone else will be and I wonder whether they’ll be too busy to maintain the standard they’ve become known for. I prefer to let the hotness die down, and then I’d go (provided there are vego options for me!)
Looks impressive AND in my fav part of town.
ah man all that is like pure winter comfort food to me.. dangerous!
I love eating out. I usually wait until things calm down a bit so the restraunt is running smoothly. It’s hard to get into the swing of things when you are smashed with hundreds of customers every night!
Everything looks completely delicious! there really is nothing like ‘proper’ gnocchi. It’s the perfect weather at the moment to be eating that kind of food!
ive been wanting to try here for a while! will have to look into the mid-week thing i think… that beef ragu looks amazing!
Always been apprehensive of ordering pasta as I always find very generic stuff whenever eating out, guess I havn’t found the right place. Also, we don’t usually plan for a night of dining out, generally whatever we feel like on the night and wherever we can get to, if a place can’t accomodate us we’ll keep walking. Maybe that’s why we keep missing out on the good food =D
I’m a total carb-loving gal, and those pics of the pasta look so outrageous. With a couple of platefuls of pasta and a nice glass of wine or two, I’d be happy enough to call it a day even without that luscious looking dessert. And that’s saying a lot, since I love dessert, too.
Oooh ooh ooh, creamy pillowy gnocchi! Mmm… and I’d like a pint of that cinnamon ice cream, thank you very much. Cinnamon is one of my current obsessions, you see
Go immediately when it’s still hot of course….then at least we can talk about how that stage was …
BTW Lorraine, would you be able to find/explore good/trendy “nightowl” venues ie for those of us who land on the streets around or after midnight hungrily looking for suitable sustenance/supper/nibbles after say those frequent (not only weekends) long nights of ballroom/other dancing which strenuous exercise is necessary to burn off calories accumulated due to giving in to the temptations suggested in your reviews….?
The gnocchi and the tortellini look so tempting, an excellent meal!
American Psycho was my favourite book when I was pregnant with my first.
My friend smuggled me in a copy from Canada cause it was banned here.
Brilliant book.
Depends if I can get a booking and if the prices are reasonable
I’ve always wondered about this place -I’ve passed it so many times.
Love American Psycho as well- I remember it was wrapped in brown paper! *L* The pappardelle looks yum
OHHHH God that pasta looks to die for, my mouth has started watering reading this blog Lorraine, nice one
I have been craving a Beef Ragu for a while now. Live in tropics but heart and stomach knows it is winter back home
One of the most disappointing things and it has happened a few times to us at home is you get in to that “restaurant of the moment” only to have all gourmet expectations totally trashed by crap service or the chef “having a bad night”. Then to top it off you have to pay a high price for the lack luster experience. Ok yes I am one of those who tends not to cause a scene but rather tell friends later not to bother. So yeah now try and wait till it has been around for a while when you can really see/taste that it was not just a novelty but is a truely great place to dine.
I wait till they are no longer the IT restaurant. I tend to feel they try less have a snooty attitude. This place sounds great though. I’m not the type of person to go out for pasta,usually it’s bad. This pasta though looks amazing,especailly the Ragu I’d definitly go out for this pasta.
Oh my – could there be any more perfect food for the cold we are currently experiencing! It looks phenomenally good! I am going to have to make a booking – for whenever the can fit us in!
mmmm the food is very good looking. For every 4 failed gnocchi comes a gem. This one looks great.
Thank god *some* people know how to be polite. I never get service people that have a bad attitude. I hated waitressing eons ago when I did it, but I did the job, ie: was polite to customers. Is that so hard?
This pasta looks incredible – I am a pasta fanatic, but it doesn’t like me very much. We have a Carluccios Restaurant in Exeter and that is my treat destination when I crave naughty Italian. I once tried to book at The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow a few days before Saturday night. I expected hysterical laughter but thankfully, they were very patient with me. I booked Rick Stein’s St. Petroc’s Bistro instead and it was very good.
OK finding light as air gnocchi is like my holy grail. My Mum makes the best and my girl-friend makes the best version with ricotta. I rarely order it out because 1) it’s too filling and I want to have other things and 2) it’s rarely light enough. This looks sinfully delicious and sounds like it lived up to it’s looks. Great find!
A few years ago a friend and I decided to visit a new ‘trendy’ restaurant bar in the city, we turned up and they said they were full. We were well presented and not old grannies and didn’t believe them so we went away and called up and made a booking for about half an hour later and were welcomed with open arms. How silly is that !
Wow, everything sounds wonderful esp the really creamy looking Truffled potato gnocchi and parmigianno! We tend to wait till much later as I hate to keep calling just to make a reservation and for some places, you can’t even make reservations and you have to queue!
i was all set to say that the gnocchi looked amazing and must’ve been the very best thing that night. then i saw the cinnamon ice cream and everything changed. not creamy enough? what a shame!
I’ve paid twice as much for truffled gnocchi at a place that no longer exists that didn’t look as good as the plate you had! I will try it some time when it’s “trendiness” dies down, I hate crowds and queues!
That gnocchi has my name written all over it, looks fantastic. I feel like I can smell it in my living room….it’s calling me!! I can see that it will be all I think about until I get some – nice post!!
Food looks great , I have to go to Soffritto and take my daughter as she loves anything with duck. Those tortellini would be the first thing she’d order.:-) Haven’t been to Newtown to dine for a while , so this has to be our next food outing.
Most places I’ve been to at either end of the scale have been customer friendly but I certainly don’t hold back if I’m not happy with service or food and won’t go back.
I once called a week ahead to book a birthday dinner for 17. The response I got was, “17 people?! Miss, you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere to accommodate you at such short notice.” He sounded huffy and I’m sad to say this place no longer exists. And guess what, I did manage to find a place to take us =)
I would usually wait till the hype dies down, but that truffled gnocchi would have me squirming in my seat too! I have to go try it!
I’m drooling over that tortellini, Lorraine. Wow. And I really must make something with quince. I never have..going to look into it.
Lovely post as usual and it always makes me sad I live so far away!
I have to wait. I worked in a brand new and very popular restaurant, and we didn’t take reservations.
in france there is an internet site “lafourchette” monitored by a famous guide whereby if you book through this site you can have up to 50% discount on the bill yes 50% !! that has happened to me many times and recently and it works even for very nice restaurants ! Pierre
How funny that you mention American Psycho! Just yesterday at work I was joking with one of the girls I work with that someone who was applying for a position at our agency reminded me of the guy from the movie American Psycho! More evidence that we’re long-lost twins.
The gnocchi looks pretty fabulous!
OMG, my mouth is watering!! Not sure my dinner of leftovers is really going to cut it tonight!!
Thanks for yet another awesome review
Oh that all looks so good!!
Wow! Maybe if I can ring now I can get a booking for my b’day in July. I love the look of that duck ravioli.
Thank you.
I have been to that ‘site’ before – a long time ago it was the site of a French restaurant. I love it when you review in my ‘hood
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