Bella Cucina, Rowville
The Overview…
Bella Cucina is now closed. For great brunch nearby try lorna or The Hatter and Hare.
Food: Potato and Corn Rosti, Bacon Benedict, Raspberry Pancake
The details…
Bella Cucina in Rowville is a good sized restaurant with a well organised scattering of tables inside the main space that seats close to 50 people, along with 2 outdoor dining areas. The design is clean and modern with great consideration for the atmosphere they want to project, resulting in a spacious and comfortable place to relax and enjoy a good brunch in. The large main dining area feels cosy and even though it was a bright sunny morning when we arrived for brunch, the design of the space minimises how much sunlight is glaring in and instead relies on the beautiful, oval ceiling fixture with dozens of individual light bulbs hanging down to give the room a warm, cosy glow.
Staff greeted us promptly and allowed us to choose our seats before coming over to talk about the menu and offering helpful suggestions – Brunch is a new addition for this restaurant. Even though it was an early start, we got a little bit greedy and ordered three dishes; the potato and corn rosti, the bacon benedict with a side of avocado, and, no surprises here, the raspberry pancake as a sweet dessert to finish off.
The rosti comes with a good heap of crispy bacon and sautéed spinach on top of a huge, square block of rosti. Finished off with 2 poached eggs and a generous amount of hollandaise and capsicum puree, this was a decent sized dish. Taken individually, all the elements tasted great. The bacon had a nice saltiness to it, the rosti was soft, with the corn adding a good bit of texture, while the spinach had a great freshness to it. The eggs were well done and had a lovely runniness to them when poked and the capsicum puree and hollandaise mixed well and had a strong, lemony taste. Unfortunately, when put together as a whole, it was all just a bit too rich, with many strong flavours vying to tempt your taste buds. As such it was an incredibly filling and enjoyable dish, but as someone who prefers their breakfasts to be on the lighter side we think this is something better suited to a lunch option.
The same could probably be said for the bacon benedict. It was such a good collection of individual flavours, with a lovely sweet sourdough, crispy bacon, well cooked poached eggs and lemony hollandaise, and the addition of a full avocado on the side is also a great touch, but as a whole it was, once again, just a little too rich. The presentation of the dish, much like the rosti, was decent, but could definitely benefit from a little more finesse. The hollandaise covers a bit too much of the ingredients and a little more restraint here would serve them well.
After such flavourful and filling dishes, the raspberry sweetness of the pancake was a welcome change. A single, thick, soft and fluffy, sponge buttermilk pancake topped with a great raspberry compote, vanilla bean ice cream and a crown of fairy floss, this dessert had a great taste. The pancake itself was not overly sweet and worked well with the toppings, the lovely sweetness of the compote worked especially well and tasted great. This was our favourite dish, and could be a real star with just a few extra touches to the presentation.
We enjoyed our visit to Bella Cucina. The guys here are obviously working hard to make this a must visit brunch spot. They’re on the right track with some good dishes, and with a little work on some of the flavour combinations and some added touches to their presentation, in a few months we think they’ll be really flying!
Everything else…
Website: https://bellacucinarowville.com.au
Address: 13/7 Fulham Rd, Rowville
Opening Times:
Mon 8am to 9pm
Tue 8am to 9pm
Wed 8am to 9pm
Thu 8am to 9pm
Fri 8am to 10pm
Sat 8am to 10pm
Sun 8am to 9pm
Parking: There is a car park next to the restaurant and quite a bit of nearby street parking, so you shouldn’t have any issues finding a space!
Getting here on PT: The closest PT is the 900 bus, alight at Stud Park Shopping Centre and you’re just a few minutes walk away.
Disclaimer: We dined as guests of Bella Cucina, Rowville. Reviews are honest and based on our own personal experiences. We cannot guarantee things at a cafe won’t change including, but not limited to, menu items and opening hours, so please confirm any details with the venue before visiting.