Master food by a Master chef

Poh might be a family friend, and although we love our asian food, we have to say that Andre Ursini was sensational at Martini Ristorante in Norwood when we went to his restaurant for a 'company dinner' earlier this month. It was a great night, memorable of course because of the Martini kitchen's wonderful Italian fare.

Andre suggested that we select the "Chef's Table", where the Head Chef chooses each and every course of our entire meal, from dishes not available on the regular menu. We had no idea what would come out next, so it was really fun anticipating what the next course would be! It began with an antipasto plate of thinly sliced roast pork ('porchetta'), tomatoes, basil, rocket, fetta cheese and balsamic. Next was a tray of baked Tasmanian scallops, followed by 2 fantastic pasta dishes - one with crab meat, and the other with yellowfin tuna. Then there was scampi in polenta, grilled lamb cutlets with pesto, fennel salad, prawns and more scallops! After this, we barely had room for the dessert, which was a plate of mini doughnut type pastries with melted chocolate chips inside.

The staff were pleasant, and the restaurant fit-out is understated and modern, yet very warm and inviting. We would definitely go back and highly recommend the place!