Mangiare at Giulio’s Cafe

This quintessential Italian cafe is the long held dream realized by Chef & owner Giulio Lorreggian, formerly employed by Jamie Oliver. His passion for food and family is clearly evident through his dishes, one can almost taste the love with each bite!

An authentic Italian restaurant where the flavour of love just oozes through the food!

For many a Capetonian city dweller this Italian corner cafe has been serving up fresh and wholesome Italian breakfasts and lunches since it’s inception in 2015. Soon it will be opening for dinners too. We were fortunate enough to pre-view the new dinner menu recently and I’m happy to give you a sneak peek of our 7 course extravaganza!

Eat, Drink & be Merry!

Upon arrival we were warmly greeted, by the lovely hostess Chef Sue Anne-Allen and Owner Giulio, who firmly plonked a bright orange Aperol aperitif in our hands.

The ever lovely Chef Sue-Anne Allen and myself

Feeling decidedly festive, I merrily sipped on my aperitif whilst admiring the clean lines and subtle Mediterranean influence in the decor with hints of Christmas on the window.

….that’s Amore!

If you had to imagine the taste of Italy, what instantly comes to mind?  Pizza, of course! Imagine a thin golden crispy pizza, with fresh basil, tomato, pure mozzarella, parmesan shavings and lashings of olive oil with a light sprinkling of garlic and herbs. Heaven in your mouth!

Pizza with Mozarella Cheese, Tomato, Herbs, Parma Ham, Rocket & Parmesan Shavings

Il Primo Piatti / Starters

Caprese salad has to be one of my favourite salads. But Giulio’s Burrata Mozarella with balsamic roasted tomatoes and pesto was out of this world! By far my favourite item on the menu. The mozarella literally melted in my mouth!

Burrata mozarella, Balsalmic roasted vine tomatoes, Roma tomato, sundried tomato, basil pesto, yellow pepper gel toasted pine nut crumble (photo from www.giulios.co.za)

Now I’m not typically a beetroot fan, but I have to say that the combination of beetroot, light and airy goats cheese mousse with parmesan went down a treat.

Beetroot carpaccio: Textures of beetroot, goats cheese mousse & parmesan net

Il Secondo Piatti / Mains

Veal Masala served with Crushed baby potatoes in rosemary garlic, green beans, almonds and thyme-fried shmeji mushrooms

Grilled calamari tubes and Falkland Heads, chilli oil, salsa verde, potato strings and caramelized lemon

Spinach and ricotta ravioli, burnt butter, crisp sage toasted walnuts, deep fried pickled peppers, parmesan shavings

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There was a little something on offer for everyone in this course. Some seafood, veggies and meat options. Calamari can have a tendency to be chewy if not cooked correctly, however this grilled dish (tentacles and all) did not disappoint.

The flavoursome sage toasted walnuts in the spinach and ricotta ravioli suitably piqued my senses. But my favourite of the mains served would have to be the veal masala. I’m not sure if it was the thyme-fried shmeiji mushrooms or the crushed rosemary garlic baby potatoes, but this dish was undoubtedly moreish!

La Dolce Vita

My ABSOLUTE Favorite part of this menu has to be the dessert! Chef Giulio definitely won me over with his La Bomba di pcioccolato. It looks like an oversized Ferrerro Rocher truffle but tastes a thousand times better!

La Bomba di pcioccolato

Vanilla yoghurt panacotta with berry compote, sweet ricotta canoli & la bomba di pcioccolato

Need to Know

Chef Giulio does cater for vegans and there are vegan options available on request.

Opening Times Monday to Friday, 7am to 4pm. Dinner times TBA on Thursdays & Fridays
Telephone 021 418 6304                                           Website: https://www.giulios.co.za                             Email: in**@gi*****.za
Location: 16 Loop Street, Cape Town          Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GiuliosCafe
Instagram: https://instagram.com/giulios_cafe Twitter: https://twitter.com/Giulioscafe