San Daniele

I’ll keep this short since I recently wrote about D.O.C. Mornington, which is the sister of the original in Carlton.

D.O.C. Carlton is special to me for many reasons. Mainly because it is the venue of my third date, with my now wife, when she took me to Nova for the first time, and pizza afterwards.

It is actually hard to think of better places for a date. You turn up when the restaurant is already full (hopefully not too full) and wait your turn while having a chat on a nice evening outside, or huddled on the tiny bar, dodging the waitstaff as you sip on your aperitif. An aperol spritz, a prosecco, or even a glass of chianti perhaps? Then you get to enjoy great food in an atmospheric restaurant with the fantastic service you associate with Italian restaurants.

Radicchio salad

Tonight we’ve arrived early; very early actually. A movie out at Rivoli in Camberwell was sold out so instead of late afternoon popcorn we changed up to late afternoon pizza. We ordered the San Daniele pizza that is full of its namesake prosciutto, and DOP Mozzarella cheese on a tomato base. It is outstanding in its simplicity, its execution, and more importantly, its flavour.

The Salsiccia pizza has D.O.C. Deli made pork sausage on a base of creamed broccoli, and we ordered extra DOP Mozzarella too. It is also a nice pizza, but the broccoli cream is a bit too healthy, and to be honest we didn’t realise it would be the main ingredient. Like last time we were in Mornington, we ordered the radicchio salad which includes orange segments, walnuts, gorgonzola and fennel, with a balsamic dressing. It is an excellent combination, perfect to break up the heaviness of the pizza, but certainly not lacking in punch.

Salsiccia

I’m driving but my Peroni Leggera (3.5% alcohol or 0.9 standard drinks) is fine, and Catherine’s Aperol Spritz is excellent. We are surprised how many people are here eating dinner before 6pm. It is certainly a healthy business and that shows the product being provided over many years is high quality.

Whether it is a date, or several years of marriage, kids, or otherwise, D.O.C. Carlton fits the bill for a quality traditional Italian pizza restaurant.