Putia Pure Food Kitchen - Review

Putia, you may be saying to yourself?  What the heck is a Putia? Yep me too.  So I looked it up; it is an old Sicilian word for a small corner store selling food, wine and household goods.  It's also a Maori word for butcher's shop, just by the by.  But in this instance it is a café cum cooking school cum caterer cum function venue.

gorgeous day; tasty lunch at Putia 

Mr P. and I headed out to Banyo one sunny day to try out this intriguing place.  It is owned and run by Dominique Rizzo, she of Sicilian heritage and TV fame.  She used to chef at an organic café in inner Brisbane, but has now turned her hand to her own place which aims to provide healthy, seasonal food, as well as the catering, and the cooking school.

cappucino $4 and vanilla milkshake $8

We both had our usuals.  These were both fine; not much you can say about a coffee unless it is bad:=)  Mr P. said his milkshake was fine too.  He does have very high standards in regard to milkshakes - i.e. it has to be ice-cold and creamy.  I get the feeling this was okay but not outstanding.  I chose grilled house-smoked salmon from the breakfast menu, which goes till 2 pm.  It too was okay but not my fave lunch dish ever.   

grilled house-smoked salmon $21 

I appreciate that the salmon was house-smoked, but to be brutally honest, I would have preferred just plain old grilled fish.  I couldn't really discern much of the smokiness, and for my tastes, the fish was a bit drier than it should have been.  If the smoking had given it more depth and flavour, I could understand why you would go that extra step.  Sadly it just wasn't to my taste.  But the eggs were soft and runny, just how I like them.  The greens on the plate I found a bit trying.  They were just in the way, and not pleasant.  I had to fight them off!  

truffle polenta fries $10 

We absolutely adored these polenta fries.  Even better than Jamie Oliver's, said Mr P. And boy, does he love those!  So crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside, with only the teensiest hint of truffle, if any.  That didn't worry me as I am not a huge fan anyway. My only quibble is that they seemed a wee bit expensive; there were just 6 fries.  We were begging for more.  

handmade tagliatelle pasta with Italian pork sausage $23 

This dish also had rocket, pancetta, peas, onions and parmesan.  A bit surprisingly, Mr P. said it didn't have much flavour.  He felt it needed some kind of lift - herbs, spices, chilli - something along those lines.  He found it a bit bland and lacklustre.  He is a big fan of pasta though, so he wolfed it all down anyway.


Service was okay; not bad, not good.  Yes it was lunchtime, and yes it was fairly busy, but we weren't inspired by the friendliness or service.  It was average and okay.  The atmosphere is nice; it is an open space on a back deck with plenty of air and light.  And I would love to go back for a cooking class sometime.  I loved the train station being just across the road; it gave an air of excitement and interest.  All up, a decent place to spend a bit of time and have a healthy bite to eat.

the seat outside the café

Yes that's the train station just across the road from the café.  Fun to watch the trains go in and out.

Putia interior shots

After our lunch, we were served by the lady herself, Dominique, who took our money at the cash register.  She gave us a big smile, and was quite lovely.  She was a nice end to a pleasant meal.



Ph: 07 3267 6654
Shop 4/17 Royal Pde.,
Banyo 4014