La Dolce Vita Cafe

La Dolce Cafe
12/20 Park Rd, Milton



I was Christmas shopping with some friends last weekend. It was 100% ineffective and we all left empty-handed. As a reward for poor efficiency, we thought a coffee break was well-deserved and I put forward Park Rd as a suggestion.

Gelato bar

After roaming a bit, we settled for La Dolce Vita Cafe, affectionately nicknamed within our group as the 'Eiffel Tower'. There aren't many tables indoors but La Dolce Vita has an expansive outdoor dining area. Food offerings are the standard cafe affair with an Italian twist.

Pistachio gelato shake

I was originally just going to grab a coffee but the gelato bar was too irresistible so I ordered a pistachio gelato shake. It wasn't very thick but the flavor was gorgeous - a natural, subtle pistachio.

Iced coffee

My friend got an iced coffee which looked pretty impressive. We both slurped our drinks down real quickly. My excuse is that I was thirsty. My friend just drinks and eats fast on every occasion.

Baklava

We also tried a couple of desserts. The baklava is extremely nutty and has the standard, rosewater, syrupy sweetness. I quite liked the bit I tried but my friend commented that they were a bit lazy with the layers. Rather than having obvious distinction between the layers of nuts and filo, there was a thick layer of nuts with flakes of filo piled on top.

Italian sponge cake

Nuts seemed to be the flavor of the day because I wanted to share a cake with my other friend and he wanted something 'with nuts'. I consulted the waitstaff and he suggested either the shortbread coated with nuts or the Italian sponge cake. I asked which tasted better and he said he personally preferred the Italian sponge.

Inside of the sponge cake

This is a small, individual sponge cake filled with cream and chocolate mousse and coated with hazelnuts. It was quite nice but nothing special to me. The texture of the sponge seemed a bit on the dry side and I felt like it needed a sauce or something because despite the complexity, it was a bit bland in taste.

Bowl of wedges

We also ordered a bowl of wedges to share. The wedges have a kind of crispy, battered finish. I really liked them. The bowl came with um... a sauce that we couldn't decide on. I thought it was sour cream and the other 2 thought it was hollandaise. Regardless, there was sweet chili with it and it tasted good :D.

Dessert case

Service at La Dolce Vita was robust, speedy and very friendly. We were there chatting away for a long time and the staff never showed any impatience. I think it's a nice place to hang out and chat and the gelatos are lovely.