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Read the il Puntino Espresso review ALEX CAUCHI >> HERE
Reprinted courtesy of Rouse Hill Times

This article is reprinted courtesy of the Rouse Hill Times >> Read the full review
23rd Sept, 2010

Cafe owner means business
By Alex Cauchi

ITALIAN-BORN Max Elbied is extremely fussy when it comes to service. He spent four years at hospitality school in Switzerland, and completed his apprenticeship at the renowned Cafe de Paris in Rome. Along with his Czech wife Gaby Noll, Mr Elbied has been operating Il Puntino Espresso in the Lexington Corporate building complex for two years, and the long list of regulars says something about the quality food and coffee served at the cafe.

The menu is a mix of pizzas, foccacias, wraps, mains and salads that have proved a hit with the corporate crowd, and Mr Elbied prepared four dishes for Rouse Hill Times photographer Carmela Roche and I to try.

Ms Noll brought out Il Puntino’s take on the classic chicken foccacie ($12), which went one step further than you would usually find in a suburban cafe. This was followed by the Moroccan lamb salad ($18), which Ms Noll insists has become a favourite among the regulars. It’s easy to see why. The dish has a wonderful blend of flavours, each complimenting one another.  There’s enough chilli to give it a kick, but not too much to overpower the wonderful marinated lamb, capsicum, haloumi, avocado, mesclun salad and lemon dressing.

Mr Elbied is a Roman of Moroccan heritage, and the menu contains several Moroccan, Spanish and, of course, Italian dishes, which Mr Elbied insists are as authentic as you can get. One of those is the prosciutto and rocket pizza ($18), which tastes fantastic and doesn’t leave you feeling heavy and bloated as pizza often does. If that wasn’t enough we were finally treated to a Nutella pizza ($9) to go with our coffee. The coffee is made from a blend of five single-origin beans chosen by Mr Elbied. There was plenty of food to eat and we couldn’t help having one last bite - over and over again.

That satisfied feeling you get after a great meal is what you take away after lunch at Il Puntino. It makes me wish I worked closer to the Bella Vista cafe.