Cotto on Prospect has come out with an all new menu to start the year off fresh.

The fun café offers up vibrant and delicious meals that won’t send you heading for the gym afterwards.

Their focus on healthiness doesn’t cut out any of the deliciousness, showing that healthy food doesn’t have to be bland.

We started off with the Manchego Cheese, Leek, and Potato Fritter, which was served with grilled spicy chorizo, capsicum and cumin salsa, roasted cherry tomatoes and two free-range poached eggs with a rocket and pear salad. The fresh crisp salad gave off a slight tang from rocket, but balanced well with the soft and creamy fritter that held a lovely crisp outer coating. The two poached eggs were deliciously runny and oozed through the dish, coating the fritter and the salad. The lovely rich and deep tomato paste paired perfectly with the light fritter, with a bit of spice and smoky tones coming through from the grilled chorizo. The beautiful ripe cherry tomatoes gave a pop of tang, while the sweet pear in the salad helped to lift and balance the dish, tying in all the different flavours.

The Fig and Cinnamon French Toast was topped with a lemon ricotta mousse, summer fruits, a toasted hazelnut crumble, and lime infused honey. The French toast was presented beautifully and almost looked too good to eat! The lovely thick slices of toast gave off subtle earthy and sweet tangs from the infused fig and cinnamon. The paired lemon ricotta mousse was to die for; a lovely thick and velvety substitute to cream. The lemon zest was prominent but not too overpowering and gave a lovely subtle acidic tang to the dish. The toast also presented lovely earthy tones that balanced with the fresh summer fruit. The soft kiwi, strawberries and yellow peaches gave off slight tangy but sweet tones that complimented with the earthy crunch that was added from the hazelnut crumb. And a generous drizzle of the sticky sweet lime infused honey, was the perfect way to top off the dish.

The Brekkie Burger was made with a free-range egg, bacon, haloumi, rocket and smoked capsicum relish, on a brioche bun. The sweetness of the bun balanced well with the rich egg and the salty tang from the wonderfully crispy bacon. The haloumi was soft and creamy which paired perfectly with the sweet smoky tones from the capsicum relish and the fresh and crisp tang from the rocket. A complete mix of sweet and savoury made for a delicious combination of flavours. Overall a relatively simple but deliciously yummy brekky burger that I would happily come back for.

The Chicken is a southern fried chicken burger with cheddar cheese, slaw, spicy chipotle sauce, served with rustic slaty sweet potato fries and your choice of a side sauce. We just went with tomato. The lovely and light brioche bun gave off a slight sweetness that helped to tie in the fresh and crisp coleslaw. The slaw held a rich and creamy tang that balanced well with the perfectly fried chicken. The soft and tender fillet was lovely and juicy, with a beautiful thin but crispy coating. The softness of the chicken helped to balance the spice from the chipotle dressing, while the freshness of the slaw also helped to cool the mouth. The added capsicum however, gave a stronger tang to the coleslaw but also gave off the perfect crunch. It was a delicious burger and with the combination of fried chicken and slaw, how can you go wrong?

The Pasta was made of zucchini noodle ribbons, tossed with roasted cherry tomatoes, broccoli, parmesan, basil pesto, and toasted pine nuts. This dish just oozed out healthiness but did so without the bland taste. The lovely fresh and warm zucchini ribbons still held a wonderful crunch that complimented the relatively soft dish. The tang from the olive oil dressing was balanced by the prominent basil pesto tang that was just perfect the with a sprinkling of fresh parmesan cheese on top. The roasted cherry tomatoes gave a lovely, slight smoky but sweet tang, while the added nuts gave off lovely earthy tones to tie in the whole dish and add another level of crunch.

The Noodles were green tea soba noodles, served with mushrooms, capsicum, cucumber, red cabbage, fresh herbs and edamame, tossed with a house-made creamy miso peanut dressing and topped with tofu and sesame seeds. The Asian inspired dish was a delicious surprise. The green tea flavour in the noodles was subtle and didn’t overpower the entire dish, only complimenting the other earthy tones throughout. The miso flavour of the house-made dressing was prominent but not too overpowering, allowing the freshness of the unique pasta, as well as the vegetables to shine through. The earthy tones from the peanuts added a lovely crunch to the dish, while the crisp cabbage and edamame beans created a lovely freshness that helped to lift the more prominent deep tones of the rich mushrooms as well as the sesame seeds. The soft and spongy tofu gave a warm balance to the dish and added a creamy element, which also helped to soften the tang of the dressing and tie in all the other components perfectly.

To accompany our meals were also treated to some drinks: Watermelon Squeeze: Fresh watermelon juice; Vitamin Boost: fresh pineapple, orange, lemon and carrot juice; and Green and Lean: fresh cucumber, ginger, apple and pineapple juice. Each drink was delicious and perfectly refreshing for the warm summer days. We could taste each component but neither one was overpowering, with each vegetable and fruit perfectly complimenting one another.

Each dish at Cotto was not only beautifully presented but tasted amazing. With the meals we tried, Cotto certainty showed that indulgent dishes can also be healthy and packed full of flavour.

The delicious food as well as the friendly staff, makes Cotto on Prospect the perfect location for your next healthy indulgence.

Words by Cyndal King

WHERE: 112 Prospect Rd, Prospect