Kava Cafe is located in Bicton at the end of a leafy green street nestled between a liquor store and a hairdresser. It’s unobtrusive frontage means it almost goes unnoticed if you didn’t know it was there.

Recently, foodie cravings attended an intimate dinner by one of the three owners of Kava Café, Hamond.We were treated to an incredible three-course meal from their new dinner menu.

Hamond bought Kava Cafe two years ago with friends and since then, the restaurant has gone from strength to strength. It is clearly a favourite with the locals as people came and went throughout the evening to pick up their takeaway. Diners were also enjoying the intimate atmosphere inside which was considerably full for a Thursday night. It was lovely to see a number of families with their children enjoying the evening.

Kava Cafe’s dinner menu is fantastic with a great selection of mains and an abundance of pizza options.

Hamond chose a selection of entrees for us all to share and then we chose our main and dessert. The menu caters for all palates and it was a difficult choice, everything sounded amazing. Kava Café makes almost everything in-house from their dips to pastas. You can taste the quality in the food and even with the amount of food eaten; it didn’t leave you with that heavy full feeling that you often have if the food is heavily processed.

The entrée selection was impressive and the flavours didn’t disappoint. The pizzas were fresh and had a lovely crispy base. The Pescatore ($24) was covered with white wine and garlic cream as a base and then topped with mozzarella, premium prawns, salmon and squid with in shell mussels. This is a seafood lovers dream and tasted as good as it looked. You could tell the seafood was fresh and every mouthful was ridiculously delicious. Paired with a glass of white wine, we were more than satisfied to eat this for the entirety of the evening.

The Quattro Di Carne ($23) came with an abundance of meat – smoked ham, chorizo, bacon and prosciutto, and was equally as tasty. It was not at all greasy and if you have a carnivorous lover, then this is the ideal pizza for you.

Antipasto boards can be created yourself with a selection of dips and meats on offer. This is great as you can make the entrée as big or small as you like, depending on the number of people you are dining with.

After all the entrees were polished off, mains were next to be devoured. All the discussion and cries of being too full were soon abandoned when the meals were put before us. Plated beautifully, there was a flurry of photography of the dishes as we all wanted to tuck into the latest offering.

What we liked about the meals is although side salads can be ordered too; the meals are substantial and come with a variety of accompaniments that make it a complete main course.

The barramundi fish and the duck were both incredible. The confit duck ($28) had been rendered down beautifully which left it with a crispy skin but with tender, moist, flavoursome meat. The tortellini were filled with duck and mushrooms and smothered in a sage butter sauce. It wasn’t the time to be counting calories and each mouthful was a delight.

The Barramundi ($32) was also cooked beautifully with a crispy skin coating. The flavour was light and it was complemented by the pan-fried gnocchi, which it rested upon. These really are delightful pillows of heaven and they even feature as a main meal.  Who knew that the humble potato could produce such an appetising dish?

By the end of the two courses, everyone was more than satisfied with what they had eaten. Conversation was flowing and Hamond really went out of his way to interact with his guests and keep us entertained at Kava Cafe. Talk quickly turned to dessert and even the people who had declined ordering one initially, decided to bite the bullet and go for round three as the food so far had been outstanding.

Crème brulee ($11) stood out to us and it was divine. Appearance wise, it had a lovely, golden caramelised top that cracked perfectly with the spoon. The rich, smooth cream was so indulgent and the chef executed the ratio of egg:cream:sugar impeccably.

Kava Cafe are clearly committed to their customers, changing the menu every six months. A little secret that we will let slip is they have a new pancake variety due for release once they’ve perfected the flavours. For those of you who are fans of their macha pancakes, this new creation is sure to be a success. It’s definitely worth heading to Kava Cafe for dinner and making the most of this suburban restaurant. Love it.

This post was written by foodie cravings writer ROS.