The two-month-old Italian café at Tanglin Mall is the Melbourne chain's latest outpost and its first in Asia. Taking over what was formerly the eclectic cafe Oomphaticos, Brunetti features grand counters proffering chocolates, cakes, pastries, freshly baked breads, gelati, pizettes and paninis. Judging by the crowds, it seems to have given the more established and always packed Caffe Beviamo upstairs a run for its money. Or has it?

Curious to see how it compared to Beviamo, we went in search of an available table and scored one indoors within minutes (it is free seating so don't expect the staff to do the searching for you). Parked in full view of the café and its pastry counters, we were tempted by the mouthwatering display to indulge only in pastries and coffee but since it was lunchtime, we decided to share some savouries and save the sweets and coffee for later.

The savoury menu offers a small selection of breakfast items the likes of truffled scrambled eggs and buttermilk pancakes, plus a handful of appetisers, soups and mains such as pizzas, pastas and risotto. There's no queue system here. To place your order, simply walk up to the pastry counters and catch the attention of any staff. If you're rather petite, the tall counters can be a bit of a hindrance since you'll need to talk and pay over the counter.

The food didn't take too long to arrive. The roasted vine-ripened tomato basil soup was served piping hot. Sweet, tangy and full-bodied, it warmed our tummies instantly and helped to temper the richness of the other dishes that followed. The aglio olio grilled prawns with caper lemon butter and pineapple and cucumber salad that came wasn't what we'd expected. Instead of a judicious serving of caper lemon butter sauce, the prawns, which were fresh and had a good bite, were blanketed in a too-rich sauce that even the accompanying tangy salad couldn't counter. The baked macaroni with ham, cheese and truffle sauce, however, was a winner. The maccheroncelli were cooked just right and beautifully gratinated. What we enjoyed very much, too, was the generous smudge of black truffle sauce beneath the pasta tubes. This dish is rich, so share it and save room for sweets.

Desserts are Brunetti's strength. The wide selection of cakes and pastries will satisfy the fussiest sweet tooth. From the mignons selection, we loved the cannoli, which boasted a delicate pastry shell that yielded with a gentle bite, as well as the pistachio profiterole filled with fragrant pistachio custard. The moist flourless orange and almond cake and delightfully light millefoglie (layers of puff pastry filled with vanilla custard) were among our other favourites. Drinks-wise, the coffee here is good but Beviamo's is superior. For something different, try Brunetti's Grandma's iced tea, a refreshing concoction of iced tea spiked with a scoop of zesty lemon sorbet.

Our verdict? It's a pleasant spot for an afternoon tête-à-tête and worth the wait if you're after sweets and teatime treats.

#01-35 Tanglin Mall, 163 Tanglin Road, 6733 9088

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