Cavallini, Clifton Hill

I motivate myself to exercise by treating myself with baked goods. Apparently I don’t know the meaning of the word “counter-productive”!

When we have a day of aikido training at the Clifton Hill dojo, we usually head across Queens Parade to Cavallini bakery. Most of our dojo-mates head to the other cafes with more seating, but I am an unforgivable food snob, after all. I almost don’t even want to invite the others since a) there’s barely any room and b) they’d just complain about all the carbs sitting heavy in their stomachs at training.

They’re just soft. Like my tummy :)

Warning: this post is very carb and photo heavy! Please note that all of these photos have been taken over many, MANY visits to Cavallini. If we actually ordered everything in one sitting, we wouldn’t be able to fit through the door to leave!

Sweets

The Doctor’s personal favourite, the Ciambella (giant sugar doughnut). Roughly about the size of your hand. $3.50

I didn’t catch the name or price of this vanilla custard filled doughnut, but I assure you that it’s worth it.

Chocolate and vanilla Sicilian cannolis – where the chocolate one tasted very vanilla-y, but the vanilla one didn’t taste of much at all. The shells was delightfully crispy on both, though. $3 each.

The slow baked cheesecake with “exotic” fruit and whipped cream might be overly descriptive, but it was lusciously dense. $6.20

This sticky pear and almond tart perfectly matches soft fruit with *just* enough caramel and darkly toasted nuts. The pastry was crumbly but not too delicate. A new favourite! $5.80 slice, available as a whole tart ($6.80 with cream, but it’s really not necessary)

The caramelised lemon tart has a surprisingly thick, almost hard, sugar crust. But the filling was thick, tart and extremely smooth. I’m sad that the Doctor didn’t share enough of it for me to form a proper opinion. $6.20 (available as a whole tart)

Drinks

Latte art is luck of the draw – this time I was lucky to get a pretty one

Cappucinos are consistently fantastic, though.

A summer special, Turkish Apple Iced Tea. Tangy and very refreshing, served with slices of Granny Smith apple, mint and strawberries. $5.50

Savouries

Spinach, pecorino and pine nut quiche, served with salad. The vinagrette is quite oily in my opinion, but good for cutting the richness of the quiche. ($5.50 on its own, $7 with salad)

Generous amounts of button mushrooms and two cheeses (tallegio and mozzerella) on the funghi pizza here, definitely my favourite savoury dish! $6.50

Pepperoni pizza with olives is as simple as it’s name. The crust is thick and chewy, but still manages to be very crispy. $6.50

Verdict

Food
Pastries are fantastic, savouries are a reasonably good standard, but only in contrast to the sweets. A lovely treat but it could get taken for granted if you come here too often.
Ambience
Cramped inside, some outside seating and a small back room. Crowds of locals come in waves, get in line but make sure you know what you want before you get to the order counter.
Location
Typical inner-Melbourne suburb with not much street parking. You might be lucky parking around Darling Gardens on the opposite side of Queens Parade. Tram route 86, stop 24 (Michael Street/Gold Street). Clifton Hill train station is on the opposite side of Darling Gardens, about 10 minutes stroll.
Service
Polite but rushed. Only takes cash, and ATMs are not convenient if you’ve already ordered and there’s already a line behind you. Probably a victim of their own success, but I couldn’t imagine how it could improve without losing it’s own character.