Best rustic and authentic Italian restaurant in Brisbane...period. make sure you consider the grilled whole fish of the day or their T-bone. Getots of snack and entree dishes to share including amazing pastas with flavour loaded sauces that are unmatched. Make sure you book plenty time ahead too. They even got a private function dinning room.

Amazing place - excellent service, wonderful food, atmosphere, design, présentation of dishes, great wine list and knowledgeable staff, all in a relaxed vibe. But especially interesting and delicious menu and flavour combinations. It felt like we were dining in Europe… or Melbourne. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Pilloni, West End- a mixed bag.... I’ve been meaning to get to Pilloni in West End for ages, and finally made it there on a lazy Sunday night when the thought of cooking felt like too much. Pilloni promises to bring “the soul of Sardinia” to your plate, and the ambience starts delivering on that claim, food well you decide. The open kitchen, complete with its impressive fire-powered stove, sends warmth through the dining room and fills the space with the comforting crackle of woodfire. The wine list is extensive, catering for most budgets and tastes, from premium drops by the glass to bottles under $90 and a few well-chosen cellared wines. To cool down at the start of the evening, we opted for a Hibiscus Margarita. It arrived vibrant and beautifully coloured, with a solid hit of alcohol that didn’t shy away. For wine, we chose a bottle of Terre dei Buth Pinot Grigio, one of the few 100% organic wineries in the Prosecco DOC region. It was nice enough, though not a drop I’d be rushing back to. We kicked off the food with a couple of entrées. The house-baked focaccia with whipped bottarga and lemon myrtle oil was simple but satisfying, light, salty, and fragrant. The polpo (Fremantle octopus with potato foam, black olives, and octopus mayo) was the standout starter, it was tender, well-seasoned, and evocative of the sea. I’d happily return for this dish alone. For mains, we had the fish of the day, swordfish, served with acqua pazza sauce, a panzanella salad, and the carpaccio di zucchine. The swordfish was fresh and cooked well, though a slightly larger portion would have made the dish feel more generous. The panzanella was bright and refreshing, and the marinated zucchini with goat cheese, pistachio, burnt yuzu, and mint oil was delicate and balanced. To finish, we opted for a cheese selection. The Foglie di Castagno was outstanding, creamy and earthy, but the Castelbelbo had sadly been kept too long and carried a strong ammonia smell and taste. The waitress was genuinely apologetic, had it removed from the bill without fuss, and offered us dessert. We chose the Millefoglie Sardo, a Carasau mille-feuille layered with white chocolate namelaka, vanilla and basil strawberries, and macadamia. It was sweet, textural, and a lovely way to end the meal. Overall, I’d return to Pilloni for the flavours and the atmosphere, but it’s worth noting that prices are on the higher side and both portion sizes and quality were a bit inconsistent across the night. Service was friendly but needed some polishing, a few wines were sold out, and it took a while to catch staff attention at times. Still, there’s enough promise here to bring me back for another go but not in a hurry sadly.

Good experience!! Had my birthday here. Food was delicious, the environment is quite dark but I enjoyed it. The only thing maybe can be improved is add more food into the menu.

This was a bit disappointing unfortunately. The venue is beautiful. The service was passable, mistake with order, forgotten drink and not very attentive, although friendly. The focaccia was fine - a few burnt bits. The flavour of the granita of the oysters was nice although they weren’t shelled properly and had mouthfuls of shell in more than half of the oysters. Not acceptable at $7 per oyster. The plate of meats and THREE pieces of one type of cheese was $54. This was supposed to be enough charcuterie for three people, I’ll say it again, that’s ONE piece of cheese each??? The presentation of the kangaroo tartare was gorgeous and I really wanted to like it but the flavour was just really off, I couldn’t have more than one bite. It was minced, not chopped as it should be and had a very strong juniper berry sauce which I didn’t think paired well at all. The portion size of the octopus was also incredibly small. 4 tentacles. It wasn’t bad but nothing special. Calamari was also really disappointing. There was three pieces of calamari and the rest of the pile was anchovies which was a shame as the batter and sauce were nice. Overall the flavour was lacking, the portions are small and it was overpriced.