Upstairs, 130 West Coast Drv, Sorrento
Phone: (08) 9447 0616
Fabulous Food on the Sunset Coast
Fratelli means ‘brothers’ in Italian – a fitting name for a restaurant owned and run by two brothers. Sam and Norm Stavreski have made a huge success of their venture in the restaurant business. Over the past eight years they have built up the business from a very quiet start to its present level of popularity. They now recommend booking, especially on weekends, as they have become a favourite place for many people to visit and enjoy a delicious meal while watching the sun slowly sink on the horizon. The view from Fratelli’s huge tinted windows overlooking the Indian Ocean and the beautiful Sorrento coastline is just breathtaking.
The restaurant seats 130 people and the menu is typically Italian/Mediterranean in style. Open for dinner (from 6pm until late) from Tuesday to Sunday, and for lunch (from noon to 3pm ) on Fridays and Sundays, the venue can also be booked for private functions.
They are fully licensed – or you are welcome to BYO wine ($4 corkage) – and out of personal preference serve WA-grown wines only. We enjoyed a delightful bottle of Killerby April Classic White 2006 with our meal, as well as a nice drop of Lilac Hill Estate Cab Merlot 2006 for Scott, who is a red wine fan.
We started off with the Honey Sesame Prawns ($16.50). The sweet, tender prawns coated in a tasty honey and sesame sauce and served with fragrant rice were exceptional. This was a great entrée, and would make a fine main course ($29.90) as well. We both agreed they were the best prawns we’d tasted all year.
The Tasting Plate for Two ($21.00) was a veritable feast, consisting of crumbed calamari rings, olives, tender pieces of fish in a spicy crumb coating, tasty slices of chicken breast, creamy Persian feta cheese, marinated artichoke heart, sun-dried tomatoes, a mini-version of the classic prawn cocktail in a shooter glass, and slices of spicy chorizo sausage and European salami, all stacked up into a mound, and topped with crisp slivers of garlic toast.
Next came the Chicken Risotto ($24.50) – a filling mixture of tender pieces of chicken, mushrooms and green peas gently simmered with Arborio rice in a rich stock, pressed into a firm cylinder, and garnished with fresh herbs, a wedge shaped slice of grilled parmesan and a decoratively sliced piece of spring onion. This dish was beautifully presented – as indeed all the dishes were – and went very well with the Killerby April Classic White 2006.
The Fish of The Day is one of the most popular dishes – and with good reason. Today’s fish was salmon, served on slices of potato, topped with sweet potato crisps and a fruity raspberry and soy sauce which was absolutely fantastic – it made the dish and was truly superb. I’ve never had raspberry with fish before, but it was a great combination.
We finished off our meal with a leisurely cup of coffee as we watched the sun go down. The verdict overall was that it was definitely one of the best meals we had enjoyed this year. If you’re in the northern suburbs and looking for some great food and wonderful views at a venue with tasteful décor (mainly black and white) and friendly service as dished out by Sam, Norm and their team, I’d highly recommend Fratelli.
By Georgina Goss
