Salvatores Cafe

Salvatores Cafe is a broad, all-day dining option in Darwin’s Waterfront area, with a menu that moves from breakfast and coffee-style cafe fare through to Italian mains, seafood, burgers, pizza, pasta, cakes and cold drinks. The website also lists pick-up and delivery ordering, making it suitable for a quick meal at home as well as a sit-down visit. The cafe is open daily from 7am to 9pm, so it can cover an early breakfast, a relaxed lunch or an evening meal.

Breakfast has a distinctly generous feel, with options including Sal’s Big Breakfast, Mediterranean and classic omelettes, pancakes, toasted croissants, fresh fruit salad and several versions of Eggs Benedict. The menu also caters for lighter or dietary-conscious choices, including modern muesli and a gluten-free section with dishes such as modern lasagne, grilled chicken with saffron sauce, steak and barramundi. Cakes and pastries are made in-house according to the website, with choices including brownies, banana bread, tarts, cheesecakes, tiramisu and chocolate mudcake.

Italian food is a major part of the offering. Pasta choices range from Napolitana, Bolognaise and Carbonara to seafood marinara, pesto with sun-dried tomato and saffron cream pasta with Italian sausage. There are also several gnocchi dishes, risotto and lasagne. For a casual meal, the menu includes pizzas such as Margherita, Four Cheese, Seafood and Salvatores Special, along with burgers served with chips. Seafood is well represented too, including beer-battered barramundi and chips, oven-baked barramundi, salt and pepper squid, creamy garlic prawns and a seafood basket.

Families are catered for with a dedicated children’s menu featuring smaller pasta dishes, pancakes, toasted ham and cheese, chicken nuggets and grilled barramundi with chips. Groups can share buffalo wings, pork ribs, wedges, chips or the ribs and wings combination, while solo diners have plenty of straightforward breakfast, salad, sandwich and pasta options. The website does not provide detailed information about the interior, views or the people behind the cafe, so the strongest reason to visit is the unusually extensive menu and the flexibility it offers across breakfast, casual dining, takeaway and dessert.