Emilia reviews: A Sydney institution’s regional Victorian outpost

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Not to bring up the state rivalry… but this week’s food review is a Sydney institution that has been brought to Melbourne. Is it willfully ignorant to say I thought we had Sydney covered in terms of restaurants? Perhaps this changes things…

This week I went to Totti’s in Lorne to put the newly-opened Italian-influenced restaurant to the test. So, the question is – how did it stack up against Melbourne food?

I hate to say it… but really well. I was so pleasantly surprised by just HOW good it was. 

Let me set the scene: You walk into the bottom floor of the familiar Lorne Hotel — an institution in its own right — you’re overlooking the ocean and the surf club. The day I went it was raining and the huge view-exposing windows give you the perfect view of the rain rolling in whilst you’re tucked cosily in the warmth of the wood-fired oven perfectly framed by the cork floors, soft arches and terrazzo everywhere but with the perfect ‘unfinished’ charm. You didn’t feel like you were in a display home, it felt purposeful and welcoming.

Here’s ‘How to Totti’s’! You must start with their famous wood-fired bread, it’s airy and light and warm and completely iconic. The antipasti menu makes up about half the menu and for good reason, the antipasti selection matched with the bread is so perfectly delightful, exciting and reliable. Each thing on the menu is a hit but some must try items are: the tomatoes, burrata, nduja and chicken liver parfait.

Can I just tell you about the chicken liver parfait for a second… even if you’re not a big pate/parfait fan I think you should try this – it’s the perfect softness to smear on bread as a base, bit of burrata on top, maybe topped with some tomato, but it’s the sweetness that was so satisfying. It’s one of those dishes, be it small, that you would travel to a restaurant along the Great Ocean Road for specifically. I got the gluten free bread and it was so so fluffy, some of the best gluten free bread I’ve tried.

We also had the kingfish which I could take or leave, a slight bit bigger than I generally like crudo to be and the octopus which again didn’t blow me away but didn’t let me down either, neutral good if I had to scale them.

Don’t be discouraged from having a look further down the menu, the mains do not disappoint for one second. There’s a choice between fish, pork schnitzel and steak. We had already eaten half the menu before the mains, so we opted for the fish fillet which was beautiful but I’ve heard such good things about the schnitzel too.

They wouldn’t be able to claim they’re an Italian restaurant without some pasta though, could they? The pasta *enter angels singing and the spotlight to hit the pasta section of the menu*.

This is where you’ll find the bulk of the vegetarian options, friends of mine at the table got the spinach paccheri (paccheri is a type of pasta in the shape of a very large tube, originating from Campania), kale & pistachio — and it looked beautiful. We tried the ragu, as a temperature test, and the campanelle milk-braised pork & chili. The ragu was solid, great ragu, but the pork blew us away — sexy and satiny topped with parmesan. Is it acceptable to call pasta sexy? (You may notice different pasta in my photos, we got all gluten free but it didn’t take away from our experience at all)

I haven’t even gotten to the dessert!! I tried the special which was meringue topped with poached quince and there was tiramisu floating around the table which had about 8 spoons trying to dig into it to try a bit.

The mates I took with me all commented that we actually liked that there was no pizza on the menu. It allowed the woodfired bread to have its moment and didn’t overcrowd the menu. It also did a nice job of not cheapening the menu or making it ‘too easy’ but forcing you to choose things that you might not normally pick out.

You know what I really liked about Totti’s, especially in Lorne? It felt like a destination. It felt like worthwhile travel — a day trip — and even more so, it left me wanting to come back, vowing to come back! 

I went with a group of girlfriends as we were on a girls trip, but on the table next to me was none other than Mark Davidson and his wife having lunch for his birthday! On that very same weekend Russel was also sipping beers at a Totti’s in Sydney. How very continental of us!

Russel did comment that the beers aren’t the cheapest, instead I would opt for the Totti’s spicy watermelon margarita. Yes, yes, 100% yes. I would get this every single time I go without fail.

Let’s talk about pricing. Not the cheapest but not going to completely break the bank. You could easily get a feed and a drink for $50 but there’s every chance to blow the bank and try as much as you can, have a couple of drinks and hit around the $90 mark. Given the travel required it’s a special occasion, treat yourself, you deserve it — a winter getaway moment.

Totti’s Lorne
176 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne VIC 3232
merivale.com/venues/tottis-lorne