Sink into a booth under trailing plants and talk intimately while easy, breezy, super-smart staff bring you a succession of pretty plates. Radishes and ruby grapefruit with cured swordfish, perhaps, or delicately-pink beef carpaccio, maybe the Parmigiano flan that is cloud-like in texture, with a whiff of ragù for substance. Or pull up at a communal table and prepare to be plied with (always) perfectly cooked pasta and gnocchi, made in-house and always served with a twist. Like the smoked egg in the carbonara, for example. The seating at the bar here – which in other places can leave you feeling like a ring-in at the kids’ table – is more like the cool corner. And outside is a perfect spot for people-watching with a glass and snacks to hand. The ever-shifting wine list is adventurous in the best way – Italian varietals, of course, backed up with small-batch finds that someone’s mate in the Adelaide Hills made, or a keen eye spotted on their travels. Like all the best Italian, it starts with the best – and that includes the staff, the sommelier and the attitude, as well as the produce.
This review was made independently for the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide. The guide’s reviewers visit unannounced and pay their way.
Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide 2022
Our guide gives a yearly snapshot of the best restaurants to eat at right now. The best-rated restaurants, as judged by the reviewers’ first-hand experience, form our national Top 80.
Jacqui Way
