Great dinner spoilt by crispless crackling
Stretta Cafe 50 Old Main Road, Hillcrest 031 765 8862 Open: Daily 7am to 9pm I’VE always enjoyed Stretta Cafe. I like its funky vibe, prompt service, and I’ve always thought the food was a cut above the average suburban Italian eatery. In addition, Stretta often offers some exceptionally good value specials, especially at lunch time.
So when a cousin was up from Cape Town and staying in Hillcrest, I had no problem recommending it. In fact, I looked forward to the trip “up the hill”.
I had liked the fact that their home-made pastas weren’t overcooked, or swimming in thick creamy sauces. That their sauces had real Italian flavour. And they make a mean burger. A big plus is the coffee by winning barista Craig Charity’s Lineage coffee, it alone is worth the trip. As it happened my cousin had popped in there for a pizza the night before and was fulsome in his praise. And was quite happy for round two. The staff were pleasant and efficient and our gin and tonics arrived pronto. We also enjoyed the complementary garlic focaccia.
Stretta is open for breakfast which includes the likes of a Bolognaise breakfast or a panini breakfast. The Benedict is the classic served on a croissant and a Tuscan takes in beans and potato rosti.
Lunch might take in a number of interesting salads or the burger I remember so fondly. The traditional woodfired pizza oven would work overtime. Here options might include buffalo mozzarella, Parma ham and rocket; or chorizo with mushrooms and mazavaroo. There’s a traditional Siciliana with olives, capers and anchovies that I had also enjoyed previously.
We were catching up so much we sort of weren’t interested in starters. These might include an anti-pasto plate of artisanal produce, or grilled calamari, or creamy peri-peri chicken livers.
Instead we went straight for mains. Chicken breasts topped with Parma ham and served in a white wine butter sounded good, as did fillet medallions in a creamy bacon and feta sauce with hand cut chips. There’s a full range from the grill. A 300g fillet at R150 and rump and sirloin at R140 offer good value. Steaks are served with onion rings and a side of choice.
My cousin tried the crispy pork belly (R145) which was slow roasted in the pizza oven overnight and served with mash, vegetables and an apple cider and balsamic sauce. Sadly this was the first disappointing meal I’d seen here. The meat was tender but the “crisp” crackling was anything but, and the apple and balsamic sauce merely a heavy and overly-intense gravy.
I went for the veal in a mushroom and marsala sauce with linguini (R160). The veal was delicious and tender, and the sauce tasty, good and rich. The linguini too, was cooked al dente, but, and I don’t know what possessed them, it was covered in a very sharp tomato sauce, which clashed with the lovely delicate and buttery mushroom sauce on the veal.
Desserts could include lemon tart, an interesting Snickers tart, home made chocolate brownie or Huberto’s ice-cream. My cousin instead went for a Dom Pedro (R36) which got the thumbs up. Naturally I finished with an Americano which was simply ambrosial.