Tuesday 28 August 2007

gattica

I remember when ... oh dear, am I really old enough to be saying things like that? I have lived here in Balaclava (with a couple of side trips) since I was 14, so that's almost 19 years. I do remember when the only place you could get a beer or glass of wine on Carlisle Street was the pub. And a cup of coffee? Ah, no.

Now the dilemma is not where to find a coffee (I use the term 'get a coffee' here loosely because as previously declared, I loathe the stuff) but where can you get a table. There are now more cafes on Carlisle Street than I can count and on weekends they are all packed. There are also a couple of bars and quite a few restaurants that serve alcohol. Hooray.

The issue for me though is where to find a good hot chocolate. What makes it good? Well, that it is hot and that it is chocolate. While these may sound like two self-evident features of a hot chocolate, it is amazing how many are a lukewarm cup of milk atop a layer of gluggy chocolate powder.

But not this one, this one is my favourite. It's served at Gattica (223 Carlisle Street, Balaclava; tel. 9525 8282) where you can also get good food and friendly service. The trick seems to be that they make a uniformly chocolate milk and then warm that thoroughly - yippee, no sediment. You'll have to ask someone else about their coffee though.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Yes Gattica is ace. What's really ace about them, though, is that they're also perfectly happy to serve me take away coffee in my own daggy mug. I hate paper cups. I wish this was a photo of gattica hot-chocolate in our own daggy mugs.

Anonymous said...

couldn't agree more about the warm milk factor... when in Melbourne I will have to try this place, and when in Adelaide I recommend Lucia's at the central market. Mary

delamare said...

Their coffee is just fine. And if you want to try another great cafe just near-by, try the little one right next door to the park on the corner of Orange Grove and Inkerman Street (it's in Inkerman Street). I've not tried their hot chocolate (I much prefer coffee), bt I can tell you that the food is wonderful!