La Botte Ercole- Willoughby Road Willoughby

Who says you need to head out Leichardt or Haberfield to get good Italian food. In Willoughby you will find La Botte Ercole. Nestled amongst an ecletic mix of cuisines, this tiny restaurant almost resembles a home and you do feel that you are visiting a friend when Ercole bellows out a welcome on entering the main dining area.
We were seated by the kitchen but that was fine, we knew though that we would be straining our vocal chords this night as the guests to the right of us had obviously already enjoyed a bottle or two of the Italian house wine.
Menu options are many and varied. You have a range of breads, pastas, pizzas and mains. The specials board is full of enticing treats, and it is a shame that I was craving a good pizza.

Our breads arrived promptly, I had chosen the foccacia. Serving size was huge, there were at least 8 pieces of bread. A good start to the meal.

The salmon pasta was perfect. Not too heavy and the freshest of ingredients. It was one of the many specials on the blackboard.


The only negative was that this main arrived about 10 minutes before the other mains, and as it was a family dinner, my sister and I were left waiting for our pizzas while dad launched into the pasta.
On a cold, damp night, I thought some spice would heat me up. My choice was a mexicana pizza. Perhaps not exactly paying homage to Naples, where pizza originates, this looked the best bet.


Olives, peppers, onions, anchovies and sausage. Toppings were delicious, though the only let down was the base and the sauce.
Sure there are better pizzas in town but I still enjoyed the fusion of flavours.
A quality pizza will not leave you bloated and feeling sick and Ercole & Co's creation did not leave me feeling this way.

After filling up on pizzas and pasta, there is always dessert and coffee. I could not resist a cappucino and was glad after taking my first sip. Not too bitter, and nice creamy milk. It was a fitting finish to dinner.
Waiting staff were friendly and helpful. Hats off to our waiter who went through the more than half dozen specials. Ercole is a real character and wanders around injecting his warmth on to every table he visits.
A good honest restaurant that caters well to families and small gatherings. In an immensely competitive restaurant scene, this restaurant does not disappoint.
I would definitely come back to try the specials.

Rating : ***