GET TO KNOW YOUR BYO with Kellie Larson

Buona Sera, DEVONPORT

BYOs are often viewed as the “cheap” alternative, not a dining experience. I’d like to think this isn’t entirely true. BYOs on the North Shore are integral to the local restaurant scene that we love to rely on for great food and a friendly atmosphere. Relaxed, in a good way. Not lacking in flavour. Just delicious, enjoyable dining experiences in our local communities. But these BYOs aren’t always easy to find. Online searches produce very little for the North Shore, and personal references tend to only take you to someone’s local Thai restaurant. So I have placed it upon myself to seek out the best BYO experiences to add to my “black book” of restaurants.

Buona Sera, DEVONPORT

I have been nagged by a very persistent friend (I am talking about you Robert Johnson) to visit Buona Sera ever since I started this BYO column. And, after gorging myself with the most delicious Italian food, I now know why. This romantic restaurant located at 99 Victoria Road in Devonport is the perfect local restaurant in atmosphere, service and food.

We entered the restaurant on a Wednesday evening with about half of the tables in the small restaurant full. The host motioned for us to choose wherever we would like to sit and immediately brought us menus. With a slightly rocky start to the meal when the bottle of wine we were brought wasn’t what we ordered, I can assure you that is the only hiccup we experienced the entire night.

Let me jump into the food – for as our host described, “Everything is homemade. I’m homemade!”

We began with pizza bread with basil pesto which barely saw the light of day as my partner and I systematically chowed through it from each side in less than 5 minutes.

For entrée we shared the Beef Carpaccio. The thin slices of rare beef were just a tad too cold but oh so delicious with arugula, parmesan and a very sticky, rich balsamic dressing. It was a lovely treat that we don’t often indulge in.

Timed perfectly, our mains arrived at our table 5-10 minutes after our entrée. The light and fresh ravioli was incredible. The filling was a smooth puree of flavourful ricotta, vegetables and Italian sausage. Not a bite of this $22 special was wasted by us! And, the veal parmigiana, was warm, comforting and addictive. The veal was tender, the tomato sauce had a rich capsicum flavour – and melty cheese will always win me over! Yum, yum.

As if we hadn’t had enough, we ordered the tiramisu. And, if the pizza bread went fast, the pudding went at the speed of light. Rich but not too rich. This was a fabulous tiramisu.

All in all, my partner who doesn’t like Italian left raving about the meal, and I will definitely drive to Devonport to eat here again and again. Great value. A focus on quality food. And, a warm setting. I couldn’t ask for more from this local BYO.