An Italian restaurant chain has come up with a unique twist on a classic dessert that brings together the best of both worlds – gelato and alcohol.
Salt Meats Cheese has taken the classic affogato – a scoop of vanilla gelato topped with a shot of hot espresso – and mixed it with an expresso martini.
The result? Quite possibly the most perfect cocktail combination ever, especially as the weather heats up.
The espresso martini gets a modern make-over courtesy of Australian restaurant chain Salt Meats Cheese
The restaurant group, which operates as a food emporium dedicated to modern Italian cuisine, have only recently launched it’s new range of cocktails from it’s Brisbane branch.
Drawing on tradition, the restaurant have also concocted a selection pre-meal apperitifs and between meal sorbets.
Speaking to FEMAIL, co-founder Stefano de Blasi explained these ‘palette refreshers’ are served in Italy at the start of a larger meal.
Bubbles are often served at the start of a meal as a way to increase hunger, said the restaurant’s co-founder Mr de Blasi
‘Brisbane is very hot, and the heat dulls your appetite. A bubbly aperitif at the beginning of meal increases your hunger,’ Mr de Blasi said.
Salt Meats Cheese offers an aperitif made from strawberries mixed with Prosecco, or a mid-meal vodka-infused lemon-gelato sorbet.
The restaurateur said their range of gelato-based cocktails came about as a result of wanting to offer diners a more modern dessert experience.
A palette-cleansing lemon sorbet is made with a combination of fresh lemon, lime juice infused with vodka
While most will be familiar with affogato, Salt Meats Cheese has re-imagined this classic dessert dish as a decadent expresso martini, served with a side of salted caramel gelato.
Made with vodka, Kahlua, cold drip espresso, muscovado sugar, the dessert cocktail is a hit among those visiting the Brisbane restaurant.
Mr de Blasi said so far locals have been going ‘crazy’ for it.
The traditional affogato now comes served as an espresso martini with a serve of salted caramel gelato
‘It’s really hot in this area and not really a place where people tend to drink cocktails. But we’ve found the whole cocktail experience it working well.’
While the cocktails are so far limited to the Brisbane venue, there are plans to roll out across the chain’s other locations.
In addition to its aperitif and cocktail menu, the Italian eatery will also be serving their incredibly Instagram-worthy cappuccino cone.
The cappucino cone: The Italian eatery is also famous for it’s cappuccino cone
The coffee in a cone is served in a waffle ice cream cone layered with dark chocolate to make it leak-proof.
The caffeine-dessert hybrid doesn’t have to be drunk straight-away, the coating will hold for about 10 to 15 minutes before it begins to melt.
‘It’s an amazing way to have a coffee and dessert at the same time without feeling as guilty as ordering a cake,’ said the restaurant’s founders.
The caffeine-dessert hybrid is the perfect combination of coffee and desert, minus the guilt