Thursday, August 20, 2009

BEZZINI - Chatswood

Chatswood is not a foodies paradise, which often surprises me. However, there is a few nice spots for eats amongst the towering office and apartment blocks to be found, if you look hard enough (or try enough of them!). One of the favourites of our office girls is Bezzini in Help Street. Essentially a weekday food source for hungry office workers, it springs to life early in the morning and by 5pm is well on its way to winding up business. However, instead of the usual suspects (and usually suspect taste and quality food in these cafes), it has a creative and tasty menu on offer with daily specials. As with most of the local cafe's they have an outdoor seating area which is preferable to the few tables inside as, due to the variety and quality of food on offer, it is extremely busy and gets quite loud and bustling inside and you can often find your elbow in an untoward place on a customer waiting in line! We chose a sunny spot out front, next to the neat garden, slightly elevated from street level, great for perking up a little after being inside an office all morning. We ordered inside, and the array of food on offer always is the hardest part. Lines of salads which change each day. Thick wholesome soups, home made pies with hugely puffy pastry lids, roll-up sandwiches with lashings of fillings, and their breakfast roles with eggs and bacon will fill any gap ! During our quick get-together (and it is to be noted they are quick to serve), we chose an assortment today including Bezzini fried rice which was a more than ample serve. Unfortunately, "B" was well into her meal before I managed to take a shot, so please disregard the "low tide" look about the bowl. It is a modern twist on the fried rice with quite a spicy element to it. As hungry as she was, B couldn't finish the lot, but enjoyed immensely. Super Sally enjoyed a thick and tasty leek and potato soup with toast which was the soup of the day. I can tell you not a lot was left of that one when it came time to leave! I had a huge spinach and fetta pastry, with a side salad of my choice. I had the pumpkin and fetta to keep with the theme. The helping was really quite generous, and I'm no slouch in the eating department so I was suprised that I only just managed to finish my plate! Caro had a nice array of salads including the pumpkin/fetta, a pasta and pesto variety as well as a greek salad. The bowl was huge, and I'm not sure with all that content, that it was the lower fat option, but again, delicious just the same. Lolly had one of the wraps, which was packed with greens and a tasty beef risole. There is many varieties of wraps including meat lover and vegetarian options. I've enjoyed the roast vegie combo in the past and it really hits the spot. Minnie was only joining us for a minute before racing off to a meeting so took the quick option of choccie and coffee - how very civilised! They also have a great range of little cakes and sweet things, if you do have room for any after you meal. Perhaps its better to pop in for morning tea and a cake, then have a later lunch to beat the crowds? Maybe I'll try that. All of these dishes and lunch specials are around the $10 mark or less so good value for the good food and good variety on offer. That, along with the happy and efficient servic makes it one of the better options for lunch time food in the Chatswood CBD. They also offer catering for office functions but so far we've made it down to the terrace for a quick and satisfying lunch. Happi Eating !

3 comments:

  1. It's so true, Chatswood is pretty woeful for eating places which is a surprise considering how many people work/live there! That wrap looks amazing. I always like when they include a generous serve of protein in a wrap :)

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  2. Lunch in a proper cafe makes a nice change from the food court, doesn't it? This places looks good, especially the fried rice.

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  3. There are some pretty good Vietnamese places and the new dumpling restaurant but yes, Chatswood is more full of fast food chains than it needs so good find! That fried rice looks amazing!

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