Bronte Cucina

Fantastic Italian cuisine.
We went all out with our orders. Delicious, fresh Iggy’s bread as appetizer — crispy on the outside and wonderfully soft on the inside served with buttery olive oil and salt.
We hoed into a shared entrée of the thyme pappardelle with duck ragout and porcini mushrooms. The perfect size and perfect balance between fresh, wide sheets of pappadelle and succulent duck ragout. Definitely the standout dish of the evening.
After seeing one of our fellow restaurant-​goers thoroughly enjoying the panfried cuttlefish strips on pea purée, tomato and squid ink crumb, I decided on this as a main. And I was not let down. The dish is a perfect balance of flavours — light and creamy purée, delicate strips of cuttlefish and beautifully presented mixture of colours. Loved it — so different!
The boy opted for the eye fillet with hand cut chips, cavolo nero and tarragon aioli which I was very lucky to grab a bite of. Perfectly cooked medium rare steak cut in half with giant wedge-​like chips on the side. I was more than happy to help him out with the hugely flavoursome cavolo nero, a great addition to really make this taste like an Italian dish. Yum!
Wine was okay. Not the best Pinot I’ve had, neither the best Sangiovese. Could improve on the wine glasses too — they were those small ones that look like they were mass purchased, maybe even from the local woolies — sorry!
Great atmosphere that does have the tendency to get a bit loud but is still fun.
Would definitely go back if we were in the area.

Bronte Cucina is the newest addition to the Bronte Strip of cafes and restaurants on the waterfront. It’s owned by the same people who run Swell next door and it offers a good selection of Italian dishes at reasonable prices.
This is a tricky one for me because when I’m near the beach, it usually means the weather is warm which makes me feel like light meals, so Italian wouldn’t be my first pick however the menu is good and the meals are not too heavy.
Given the strip is mostly cafes it’s good to have a restaurant offering different options.
Much like it’s sister restaurant next door, the décor is simple but nice and the service is good. This restaurant will come into its own in the cooler months.