Turning a deli into delicious, Alimentari in Smith Street, Collingwood is a much-loved Melbourne food spot for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
This is a convivial casual cafe/restaurant with a fresh, airy feel both inside and out. Upside-down bunches of flowers and glowing lamps hang from the high ceilings, service is fast and friendly to suit the chatty atmosphere and the outdoor courtyard made the perfect lunch spot for our business brainstorm session.
In Italian, ‘alimentari’ simply means food and every bit I have ever had here has been very good, and anything but elementary!
On this day, on our table we had a sprightly clam spaghettini with a touch of chilli sprinkled with pangrattato and a wild mushroom risotto rich with earthy flavour and a creamy dollop of ricotta in the centre, followed by the flakiest portuguese tartlets with a good coffee to round things off.
Always busy, and no reservations for under groups of 12, go early to nab a table or if you are driving by, pop in for home-style take out.
