I’ve talked about it before in this column. There seems to be a plethora of urban, switched-on cafes opening all over the west and Seddon is certainly getting its fair share of them.
Chicco opened only a few months ago in Charles Street.
The room has been freshened up, or made more retro depending on your opinion of macrame pot plant holders. The room is liberally dressed with the knotted twine and it works, creating warmth against the white walls, the front bar area and a clutter of bottles and jars gives the room a central focus.
Arrive for breakfast and you’ll find well-made Padre coffee (roasted in Brunswick) and a menu that includes lots of good bread from Dench bakery served with various accompaniments — simple poached or scrambled eggs ($9), or housemade baked beans with red onion, spinach and feta ($15.50).
Finding ourselves there for lunch, the menu maintains the ethos of good quality produce treated well at a great price. A minute steak sandwich ($18) is impossible to pass on.
The thinly sliced, seared beef is just the right texture and tenderness to sink into the good bread and it’s smeared with a good beetroot relish, cheddar cheese, lots of Dijon mustard for a subtle kick served with a side of fries. The menu also features some good vegetarian dishes, a falafel salad with housemade pickles, spinach and a smoky baba ganoush ($15) is a textural earthy dish with the added acidic bite of the pickle and depth of the smoky eggplant dip.
The ricotta gnocchi ($16), not the easiest dish to make, is a plate of buoyant and well-cooked puffs of gnocchi with pesto and shaved pecorino cheese.
Overall, the servings are ample and generous and the ingredients well-seasoned and cooked beautifully.
Chicco is also licensed with an ever-changing wine list on the blackboard and a neat little beer and cider list where you can enjoy a Kirin beer from Japan or an Italian Moretti beer. It’s that kind of place, broad in its options and good value. There are plans to open nights soon too — watch this space.
