D.O.C Mornington was recommended to me by a few friends, and since I was told to go on a nice sunny day, E and I kindly obliged. It was a gorgeous day, and a very pleasant drive down to Mornington.
I love the traditional Italian atmosphere at D.O.C - it set E and I off dreaming about our trip to Europe that we have in the works. The restaurant was very open and with it's long communal tables stretched out through the main dining room, it gave off a real sense of comradery. When we arrived, there was a short wait for tables so we wandered through their deli next door to pass the time. I was in heaven here. Everything was so fresh and looked so delicious - I only wished they had samples out!!
Before we knew it we had been seated on a table in the outdoor area and our order had been taken. The time we waited for our pizza to be delivered seems like a blur - between talking about how fantastic going to Italy would be, and gazing over watching the chefs do their thing in the kitchen, time passed quickly.
Having had subconsciously accepted Epicure's challenge I was set upon ordering the pizza they reviewed. It being a special - I was doubtful that ordering it would actually be possible, so you can imagine my pure delight when I saw that the Tallegio, radicchio and porcini pizza was on the specials board that day (Hooray!). I'm glad I tried this one - it's not the kind of pizza that I would usually order, but it has definitely broadened my pizza horizons. The bold flavour from the radicchio was a great match with the tallegio cheese and the nutty taste from the mushrooms. No wonder this one is a favourite with the Epicure writers!
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| Tallegio, radicchio and porcini pizza |
E fell in love with the San Daniele pizza - and when I tasted a slice, I found out why. We had never had San Daniele prosciutto before - this ham is pure perfection, there are no other words I can use to describe it. It was sliced so delicately, that each tender shaving melted in your mouth, and, with the comforting taste of it's tomato base made for a sensational pizza party on my tongue. I was suddenly overcome with food envy. This was one of the best tomato based pizzas I have ever tasted.
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| San Daniele pizza |
If you do know either E or I, then you will know that we are suckers for dessert, and especially, nutella. Therefore, we could not leave without trying the Nutella Calzoncino with fresh vanilla icecream. The waiter also convinced us to try the Tiramisu - because it was his mother's recipe. He had the funniest little story about this, but the twinkle in his eye might have meant that it wasn't the most accurate story. Stories aside, these desserts were fantastic. A special thankyou to E's food styling for the calzoncino pic - he wanted to convey how delicious and melty the nutella was. (Yes, I said melty!)
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| Nutella Calzoncino |
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| Tiramisu |
Prior to our visit, I had read up about D.O.C and was surprised to find so many negative reviews - many saying that the staff were very arrogant. After our visit there, I can say that this couldn't be further from the experience we had. The staff that served us were all very friendly and efficient, and our waiter was lovely and had the best stories to tell us about Venice.
I'm looking forward to returning to D.O.C Mornington on another sunny day - and maybe have a nice family lunch in the sun.
