Tucked away in a back-alley in Moonee Ponds,
Garden Tuscany is an Italian inspired cafe known for its coffee and Devonshire tea. Garden Tuscany is set apart from the countless cafes in Melbourne by its adorable décor and abundance of plants. Stella and Sam, the owners of Garden Tuscany, are quite involved; with Stella being the chocolatier while Sam cooks pizzas in the wood-fire oven.
The luscious garden provides a backdrop for enjoying delectable desserts.
Sam preparing a pizza in the wood-fired oven.
The lunch
menu consists of a variety of pizzas and salads. Reasonably priced at $11 - $13, the nine inch diameter pizzas are perfect to share for two (or just one very hungry person). When I went on the weekend, I ordered the salsiccia pizza (pictured below), which, covered in gourmet sausage and green capsicum, was just as delicious as it looks.
The salsiccia pizza.
A selection of chocolate-based desserts are on offer, including bite-sized chocolate balls and zeppole. Each dessert is made by Stella, who is in charge of deciding upon what chocolate treats to serve. The handmade chocolates are priced at $2 each, with interesting concoctions including a spicy chilli chocolate available. The newest addition to the dessert menu is the delectable chocolate, macadamia and almond brownie, which arrived with a drizzling of warm melted chocolate.
The selection of handmade desserts.
The chocolate nut brownie alongside some other desserts.
The hot beverages served at Garden Tuscany have consistently received favourable
reviews, with their house-blend coffee being awarded a three bean rating by the
Melbourne Coffee Review in 2011. Their Devonshire tea and hot chocolate have been featured on top five lists online, and they have received two high ratings on local Moonee Ponds coffee blog
Petaonpuckle- a fair effort for a backyard café which has only been open since December 2010.
Garden Tuscany, while not too hard to find if you know it's there, is the kind of place you wouldn't chance upon, being hidden in the twist of laneways behind the main enclave of shops on
Puckle Street. A short walk from Moonee Ponds railway station, it is also in an area serviced by the number
59 and
82 trams.
No Eftpos facility is available and purchases must be made in cash.
