Motorino Pizzeria – The Overview…
Food: antipasto platter, tagliatelle pollo Alfredo, Moroccan lamb pizza, raspberry and lemon curd dessert pizza
Ratings:
Food: 4/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Service: 4.5/5
Value: 4/5
The details…
We visited early on a Saturday night and already the restaurant was bustling: it’s a popular choice with local families and it’s easy to see why with its extensive and affordable list of children’s options. For the grown-ups there’s a great range of traditional Italian entrees, salads and a vast range of pizzas and pastas for main course. There are also some really interesting specials: a four cheese pizza at an affordable $10, an Indian-inspired slow roasted cauliflower pizza, and a veg heavy spaghetti verde.
The decor is minimal with dark wood tones accenting a largely white venue while the lighting helps to create a more intimate ambience despite the bright sunshine outside. Families are provided with crayons so the little ones can happily occupy themselves colouring the paper tablecloths while mum and dad enjoy a glass of vino or two. After perusing the long menu for a while we decided to start with an antipasto platter, moving on to the tagliatelle pollo Alfredo and the Moroccan lamb pizza.
If you judge a japanese place by its sashimi platter, then in my opinion you judge an Italian place by its antipasto platter. There’s no hiding the quality of ingredients on this, and while the pizza of course is vitally important I think it’s the antipasto that lays bare how serious a venue is about its products. With three balls of chunky cocconcini, wafer thin sliced pepperoni and a heap of olives, Motorino’s is a good one. They’ve balanced the meat and veg well. Keeping it middle of the road enough to fit their clientele (we’re talking mid-range accessible Italian, not fine dining) while also showing off beautiful Italian flavours. You’ve got salty prosciutto and olives, sour toasted capsicum, spicy pepperoni and creamy boconccini. We really enjoyed this start to our meal.
The pasta arrived heaped into a bowl with a nice, richly coloured sauce running through the thin tagliatelle. It’s a big serve and a rich dish, yet Motorino manage to make it surprisingly light. The Gorgonzola really shines through, perfectly complemented by the parsley and there was plenty of roasted chicken breast tucked throughout the whole dish.
The Moroccan lamb pizza was delicious. It was definitely far removed from a typical Italian pizza and they did a great job of bringing the Moroccan flavours through to dominate the dish. The thinly sliced lamb was well flavoured and the lemon and yoghurt topped off the flavour combo perfectly. The pizza base itself was enjoyable, light with a thin crust. It struggled a little under the weight of the toppings but there’s always that trade off to get that thin pizza base.
Finally we ended with a raspberry and lemon curd pizza. Honestly, all the dessert pizzas are drool-worthy classic flavour combos: pear and chocolate, Tuscan fig and honey etc. A friend and I used to just go to restaurants to order dessert and Motorino would definitely have made our list! The pizza was delicious, like a huge lemon tart. They’re only about 6 inches too so not overwhelming after a large main. I particularly liked that the dough was sweetened and it helped give the dish a real dessert feel. Don’t leave without ordering one of these!
Everything else…
Website: http://www.motorinopizzeria.com.au/#motorino
Address: 29A Vernon Street, South Kingsville
Opening Times:
| Mon | 5pm -9pm |
| Tue | 5pm -9pm |
| Wed | 5pm -9pm |
| Thu | 5pm -9pm |
| Fri | 5pm -10pm |
| Sat | 5pm -10pm |
| Sun | 5pm -9pm |
Parking: It’s a little hectic to park nearby, as it’s such a popular little shopping strip, but bear in mind it’s a one way street, so as you’re driving up keep your eyes peeled on both sides of the road. We found a spot fairly quickly, and if you don’t mind a little walk, you’d easily grab a spot slightly further afield.
Getting here on PT: It’s about a 18 minute walk from Spotswood train station, but you can jump on a 432 bus from nearby Yarraville Station, which will drop you just a couple of minutes away (alight at Watt Street).
Disclaimer: We dined as guests of Motorino, South Kingsville. 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.