Svago

"Switch off, relax". That is suppose to be the meaning of Svago in Italian. Nothing more suited for a dinner with a friend on a Friday night after a long week at work. I picked this place as it was relatively close to home (Svago's is on High St, Kew) and it has been given quite a few good reviews, one in particular stating that it is an Italian version of the Spanish tapas place, Movida. Svago serves dishes to share, which is the type of dining I like, as you get to try out more dishes on the menu.

"Bueno serra" was the greeting used by all the wait staff as we entered the door and throughout the night we were both called "bella", which was nice :). We felt very welcomed immediately despite the place being quite busy. There was a warm and 'homey' feeling to the place. The menu was fairly extensive with about a dozen entrees and a dozen mains. We quickly ordered as we were both starving.

As I mentioned, all dishes were to share. We started with a grilled calamari with fregola (a type of pearl-like pasta) and a croquette of smoke cod and eel. Both really tasty.

For mains, we had  roast pork belly with fennel. I am really loving pork dishes at the moment. If cooked right, it is just the best thing in the world. If I dare say, better than chocolate! The Svago pork belly was better than good, but not the best I've had.

My favourite dish of the night was the eggplant parmagiana. It melts in your mouh and the sauce was made of fresh tomatoes and the eggplant layered with buffalo mozzarella. Just so beautifully sweet. The tiger prawns came grilled on a bed of fennel and orange salad, which was a so-so dish.

For dolci, or dessert, we ordered the trio to share. It had a cassata (Sicilian ice-cream cake with candied fruits), a carrot cake and amaretto semifreddo. Again, it was good but not great.

Overall, great experience. One of the best service I've ever had. I also just realised on their website that it has been awarded The Age One Hat, which is well deserved. Although, if I were to compare it with another Italian restaurant, Balzari (also One Hat), Balzari's food is better. The other downside was that the acoustic at Svago was pretty bad, to a point that you had to shout in order to have a conversation.