Amano Dolce & Salato

My south of the river bestie Lauren, loves D & S. Unlike me, she is super fit and slim and can blithely ignore a counter full of tempting cakes and delicacies. So when she suggests meeting there for coffee, I am instantly mesmerised by the cannoli, the profiteroles, the tartlets and rum-soaked babas, while her focus is on the healthy vego salad rolls on display. She assures me she regularly drops in for a container of their in-house gelato, but I'm somewhat skeptical that in her house of ever-ravenous teens, she actually eats any of it.

For the moment I settle on a large arancini filled with veggies and mozzarella, and enjoy this dish served warm, while Lauren chows down on her healthy roll - it does look pretty damn good with that generous slab of silky avo wedged inside. There's also a range of pizza slices that smell and look tempting, but as it's only 10am I doubt my stomach would readily accept such an offering.

Lauren assures me that the coffees here are always good, and my latte certainly is hot, robust and satisfying to the last drop.

There is a small range of savoury food here, but the focus is on the "Dolce" part of the name. The cakes and pastries look insanely good, and you can take home a tray of 12 little lovelies for only $18. It would be seriously greedy of me to buy 12, so I settle on a few cannoli and profiteroles to share with AB later.

D & S also does a range of large cheesecakes and slices fit for a small crowd, and I was pretty excited by the look of their baked ricotta cheesecake. I've eaten various versions of this (and I've even made one), and I've never tried one I didn't love. However, there's no small crowd to feed so I content myself with my little bag of goodies, which later prove to be as good as they look.

D & S is a no-frills patisserie where you order and pay at the counter. It's constantly busy with tables filling up inside and out as quick as you can blink. I get the impression there's a loyal local following who pop in for coffee and cake in the mornings, and there's a table of older men sipping coffee and speaking Italian, who look like they are part of the furniture. The lady serving us is a delight, and we end up having a chin wag during the quieter moments, about life and the weather in Singapore where she tells us she hails from. Sometimes finding a good wait person really makes the occasion for me; I just love it when wait staff show enthusiasm for their products, and take the time to engage and connect with customers.

If I didn't live in Dianella and if I didn't have access to good coffee and cake nearby, I'd be tempted to venture to D & S more often. I hear they have a counterpart in Morley, so I might have to mosey on over there and check it out for myself. Purely for research purposes of course :)

Rude service and decent food.
Open and clean environment but the atmosphere was far from comfortable and inviting.

I was working the worst day job I've ever worked (and I have had some doozies) on Fremantle's cappuccino strip when Dolce & Salato originally opened on Collie Street. The thought of their amazing pizza slices and super tasty Italian bakery goodies got me through many a hellish Saturday. Suddenly, one day, without notice, they were gone. I'd quit my job within a fortnight, which ended up being a great decision. But there were more glad tidings: the store hadn't closed, but moved to South Freo. It's quite a distance to travel, and I don't get my tasty pizza and bakery treats from there very often, but any time I'm in the hood it makes me very happy indeed to stop in for lunch (or second lunch - there is always room for pizza when it's this good). I don't have any recommendations from the pizza menu, as they're all amazing. Call me crazy, but this is the best pizza I've ever had. I love this joint.