Image via The Italian Project Facebook Page
Italy stole my heart over a decade ago and I am continuously pining to return to my beloved Rome and introduce my kids to my favourite place. These days I dull the longing by seeking out Italian restaurants that allow me to close my eyes and pretend I am mere kilometres from the Mediterranean. Sometimes I make do with a little Gelato.
The Italian Food Project can be found it the beautiful town of Camden a little south of Sydney. It is a restaurant that has been making a big splash recently with an appearance on the Sydney Weekender and a few mentions in the local and city paper. The stunning images regularly posted on the ITP Facebook page was the icing on the cake – we had to go!
After over a month attempting to make a reservation we were finally introduced to The Italian Food Project by one of T’s best mates. We looked forward to a drive to the country and some Italian pizza.
When we arrived we were shown to our seats inside the restaurant. The Italian Food Project does have a gorgeous open air area but we thought we would contain the kids a little better inside away from the autumn breeze. We were immediately made comfortable, drinks provided and a menu to study while we waited for our friends to arrive.
I was very impressed when the waitress provided all the children with their own pizza dough to knead and prepare. This kept all four of them blissfully occupied for the entire time we were at our table with short breaks in concentration to eat their meal. This little touch made the whole experience perfect. We could engage in adult conversation with the kids enthralled with the dough!
Ordering wasn’t easy. There was so much goodness on the menu! Whilst the kid’s menu was not extensive it did offer a pizza of their choice, Spaghetti Bolognese or Veal Schnitzel with hand cut chips for $10.00. It also included a gelato (chocolate, strawberry, vanilla or nutella flavoured). Between the four of them we had one of each, doubling up on the Schnitzel.
Oh my goodness! What to order! Our friends assured us that the orders leaned towards the large size so we put our faith in their experience and ordered a Salumi plate and calamari to share between the four of us for our entrée and 3 pizzas for the main.
With the conversation flowing I can’t really tell you how long it took each dish to make its way to our table, but it all seemed perfect. The Salumi plate was a great size for the four of us and the calamari was super soft, cooked to perfection and not a hint of the rubbery texture often experienced. While we enjoyed sharing this meal the kids tucked into their own. For one of the first times in Miss N’s life, she actually ate her way through and entire schnitzel! Their were murmurs of pleasure all around our table.
Our children are notoriously slow eaters so while they continued to eat their meal we finished our entrées and shortly after started our pizzas. Yum, yum, yum!! If you have eaten pizza in Rome you will know that the base is typically thin with as thin layer of ingredients which provide a punch of flavours as you bite into them. The pizzas at The Italian Food Project were perfect and filling too – so much so that we had a couple of slices left over.
Dessert….well we were super full by this course so we chose Italian doughnuts to share while the kids devoured their gelato. I was a little upset that we couldn’t have the dessert sharing plate I kept seeing leave the kitchen (it’s for function menus only) but loved the doughnuts. Served with fresh strawberries how could I not!
What I was most surprised about was the bill. With all of us eating, copious amounts of drink ordered (hot while we perused the menus, soft drinks and sparkling water during the meal and hot drinks to finish), individual kid meals, entrées and mains I was a little surprised to find the total bill under $200.00 for our group of eight. Totally worth it and much better than expected.
If you are interested in enjoying The Italian Food Project make sure you ring and book a table on (02) 4655 3280. Don’t be surprised if they are already totally booked out for the weekend! The restaurant can be found at 40 Elizabeth Street, Camden and it is perfect for families.