Inferno Caffe, Herring Road, North Ryde

Inferno Caffe, Herring Road, North Ryde
Wednesday 27 December, 2006

Inferno Caffe (what were they thinking with that spelling??) is located on the top floor of Macquarie Centre at North Ryde. It also spills out over the bus interchange and across to Macquarie University. Inside there is a bar where you wait until you are seated. The decor is reminiscent of a large American diner and the maitre'd showed us to our table but did not speak to us which was a little odd. We were seated by the window and our waiter arrived full of enthusiasm and good humour.

We ordered a couple of Salt & Pepper Calamari's as starters - tender strips of calamari, spiced & lightly fried, served on prawn crackers with dipping sauce. Our waiter came back to check on us and politely kept his distance as we kept talking and hadn't even looked at the mains yet. The calamari was delicious - it had more pepper than salt and the choice of dipping sauces (sweet chilli and soy & garlic) were perfect.

When we were finally ready to order our waiter returned joking that if we didn't order now the kitchen would close. The menu is made up of wood fired pizzas, pastas, wraps, salads, steaks etc and I ordered the "Broadway" Beef Burger - char-grilled beef, bacon, egg, onion, cheese, lettuce, tomato, cucumber and BBQ sauce. My dinner buddies ordered a couple of pizzas, pasta and risotto:

Mexican - Pepperoni, bolognese, onion, jalapenoes, fresh tomato, topped with sour cream, guacamole & corn chips
A Taste of India - Tandoori chicken marinated in Indian spices, topped with shallots & cucumber yoghurt
Fettucini Salmone Di Mare - Strips of salmon, avocado & roasted pine nuts in a creamy sauce, with a hint of garlic
Risotto Pollo - Chicken breast fillet, fresh asparagus, leek, green peas, spanish onion, basil & garlic in a cream sauce.

My food was average - my burger bread was dry and bordering on stale but the burger filling was OK. My dinner buddies enjoyed their food but none of us finished our meals as the servings were huge - again, that Amercian influence coming through.

I think Inferno would be the perfect place to take kids as the menu variety is extensive and you could go & see a movie at the Greater Union Cinemas afterwards.

Inferno Caffe - Shop 454, Macquarie Shopping Centre, Herring Road, North Ryde - (02) 9888-9992

http://www.infernocaffe.com.au/