Emilia reviews: Zero95 — ‘you go back again and again’
Zero95 is that solid, reliable restaurant you go back to again and again, it’s for everyone but especially the locals. To give credence to this, when I brought home the left-over pizza boxes; one of my housemates told me she used to go there with her family in high school and my other housemate said she had one of her first dates there. This is exactly what we saw when we went there for lunch – families, dates, friends gathering for a coffee. The restaurant is at the front of a suburban Doncaster shopping strip, one of those strip shops locals walk down to on a Friday night to pick up their weekly take away. They also have locations in Chirnside and Dromana. They had “2016 World’s Best Pizza” plastered on their front window and I was ready to put them to the test.
So, the restaurant. Let’s start with the name: 095 is the area code for the second largest town on the east coast of Sicily called Catania, it sits at the foot of Mt Etna and it’s known as “the black city” because of the colour of its buildings, blackened by the soot and ashes from the volcano.
Zero95 was started by four Italian boys who wanted to create a meeting place where family and friends could come together to share their love of food and paid tribute to their family and Italian heritage.
As soon as we opened the menu and saw a cocktail called ‘The Doncaster’ ($16) — there was no way I wasn’t going full hog whilst in Donny and giving it a go. Vodka, Aperol, pineapple juice and passionfruit puree — much like many of the boys I knew from hanging around Shoppo in my teens, it was very sweet but had a bit of a kick, something your mum would love.
Two of the things Catania is known for are street food and its bustling fish market, so we started the meal with Nonna’s meatballs ($16.50) and grilled octopus ($22/$35).
The meatballs were big and no frills – as the name suggests it tastes like the real deal, like it would be served up to you as soon as you entered Nonna’s house. The octopus was bursting with flavour and the ends were grilled with a bit of crunch, which is always my favourite part. If you have any issues with texture, I would avoid the octopus as the meaty part can be a little chewy.
This would be a great restaurant to have a couple of share plates or even a smaller meal as they have quite a wide selection of share meals and entrées with lots of seafood options; cured salmon, calamari and Cozze Alle Siciliana (Sicilian mussels).
Naturally, next we had to try the pasta. We both chose simple pastas to let the flavours do the talking. We had the Bolognese ($28) and the Ziti corti alla puttanesca ($28) which is actually a Napoli dish but with a Sicilian feel; fresh tomatoes, capers, olives, anchovies, touch of garlic & chilli. The bolognese tasted like someone’s Nonna was waiting in the kitchen, spoon-ready to serve out a second heaping as soon as you got halfway through the bowl — it was slow cooked beef, with sauce clinging to the pasta, bolognese as it should be.
The Puttanesca was beautifully light and salty, and the tubed pasta was al dente. Nothing too pushy or loud, a truly reliable meal.
This whole time I was eyeing one thing off. They had a massive, beautiful woodfire pizza oven and that massive claim of ‘world’s best pizza’ we still had to test. The Salina ($27) was a white based pizza: truffle paste, mozzarella, mushrooms and San Danielle prosciutto. They perfectly balanced the truffle paste, (which if you’ve ever cooked with truffle is not always a given) with the other ingredients and the cheese could have stretched for metres. The margherita ($23) followed suit with the rest of the meals, another classic done superbly; they did not miss. The base was exactly how I like it, not too thick or doughy but soft on the inside whilst still having the crustiness to keep it bity. They let the woodfire smokiness show through and didn’t overload the flavours. We tasted the gluten free base, and it was one of THE best gluten free bases I’ve ever tried. If you know anyone who eats gluten free, you MUST take them here. It’s non-negotiable.
For a family restaurant the prices were a little on the higher side but well worth the money. Every dish we had was authentic and delicious, the leftovers I took home stayed that way too.
If you’re looking for somewhere to gather that you know everyone will enjoy, even your fussiest mate or your sister with an allergy – they’ve got you sorted. If you want an easy dinner, and you’re thinking about going down to that crappy, local pizza joint where the ham always looks questionable and they never remember to hold the olives on your order – don’t. Find your closest Zero95 instead or make the trek and check it out. You’ll still get the local feel, just a bit higher up the shelf and without the disappointment.
I must give a shoutout to our waitress who had just gotten back from a snowboarding trip where she’d broken her arm, but it didn’t slow her down whatsoever. The waitstaff were all local 20 something year old’s who made us feel comfortable ordering well over what the table could hold and quickly offered to move us to a double table to fit it all. They do a great job at making you feel right at home, Italian done beautifully without the pretentiousness.
Zero95
904 Doncaster Road
Doncaster East 3109 VIC
zero95.com.au
Other locations:
Chirnside Park
Dromana
Prices: Entrees – $16-$22, Pasta – $28-$35, Pizza – $23-$32