D.O.C Pizza e Mozzarella Bar

295 Drummond Street, Carlton

A bit of background first: D.O.C stands for Denominazione D'origine Controllata, which is a label given to foods and wine that are deemed to apply to the lofty standards set by various Italian agricultural bodies. It is basically an Italian quality assurance, developed by a few Italians worried about the poor reputation of many so called "Italian" food and wine. (Please note that no such body exists for Italian cars...)

By naming a restaurant D.O.C, the restaurateur is clearly trying to tell us that their food is authentic, guaranteed, stamped & signed Italian goodness. And so was it? Well yes it was, right down to the imported Italian waiters in their shiny white 1980's sneakers and cardigan knits with collars.

While D.O.C emphasises their selection of Italian small goods, cheese and wines, they also serve a number of Australian items, including cheese and wine. The menu is divided into four categories: D.O.C Mozzarella Bar & Antipizza Bar (cheeses & smallgoods); Insalatone (salads); D.O.C Pizza Bar; & dolci, cafe e digestivi. As for the rest - see our comments below:


pizzas sampled:

1. foccaccia potato c/ caramelized red onion e rosemary

2. pizza abruzzese c/ porchetta, montovana fruit mustard, mozzarella & radicchio

3. pizza cicoria c/ chicory, piave cheese & lemon

4. pizza ai porcini c/ wild mushrooms, truffle oil & mozzarella in bianco

5. sweeet pizza c/ belgian white chocolate & fresh strawberries & vanilla bean ice-cream


the verdict:

base 8.5
thin enough to not be bread-like, but still soft with enough crusti-ness that all good pizza bases should have.

topping 8.5
very interesting selection of pizza topping departing wildly from the standard cappriciosa and aussie specials. every pizza is carefully conceived to produce a simple arrangement of ingredients. solid range of vegetarian pizzas that are very tasty.

ambience/service 6.5
very noisy, but the service was good. the couple flirting in the kitchen out the back added to the authentic italian experience.

wine list 7
good traditional italian style wines, produced both inn Australia and Italy. extensive beer list with large number of Italian beers.

price: $$
pizza prices range from $14.90-$18.50 with three selections of pizza above $20. not quite porchetta prices, but you do get what you pay for - excellent pizza!