The home that housed Mama Luigi’s Italian restaurant

It once housed Brisbane’s first foreign-cuisine restaurant, and the pending removal of this inner-city Queenslander is another nail in the coffin of the city’s heritage.

The Mama Luigi’s site in modern times

THE last bowl of spaghetti bolognaise was served long ago at 240 St Paul’s Terrace in Brisbane’s Spring Hill.

Mama Luigi’s was the first place to serve Italian food in Brisbane, and was also believed to be the city’s first foreign-cuisine restaurant.

Developers have applied to move the iconic Mama Luigi’s out of Fortitude Valley

Developers’ plan to demolish century old Mama Luigi’s restaurant site

Dutton Park’s Ribbetts restaurant resumed by state government

But while the century-old Queenslander it once occupied has long stood as a pivotal place for the local palate, its imminent removal is a reminder of something that has become hard to swallow for the city.

Significant cultural and historical landmarks have had a habit of disappearing in the Queensland capital — usually to satisfy the appetite of developers to knock things down and build anew.

Controversial demolitions of buildings such as of the Bellevue Hotel and Cloudland ballroom in the late 1970s and early 1980s have left the city’s heritage-proud residents with a lingering bad taste.

“The city’s infamous for a few of those,” concedes Malcolm Middleton, the Queensland Government Architect.

“We’ve certainly made mistakes here but it’s not something unique to Brisbane.

“Australian cities are all relatively new cities, by world standards, and it took us all a long time to value some of the things we had built and had demolished.”

Mama Luigi's after it closed in the 1980s.

While Mama Luigi’s closed its doors in the early 1980s, it was revered for generations and, unknowingly at the time, served as an entree to what would evolve into one of Australia’s most sophisticated and innovative food scenes.

Sandwiched between two commercial buildings, its former home will not be destroyed but it will be moved from its original site and restored into a stately Queenslander in the suburbs.

The quaint Spring Hill dwelling changed hands in 2016 and was bought by Berson Properties, headed by Hutchinson Builders chairman Scott Hutchinson.

“The thing as it is now is a bit of a disaster,” Hutchinson says.

“It’s riddled with asbestos and a bit of a mess.

“Sure, it has got some memories for people but it’s not going to ever be what it was.

“And although it doesn’t make commercial sense, we can’t see a Queenslander die so we will remove it in a couple of weeks.

“We’ve got a great spot in Toowong to put it on and we’re going to completely do it up and it will be brought back to the beautiful four-bedroom Queenslander it once was before it was turned into a restaurant.”

Filippa Merenda was the co-owner and cook of Mama Luigi's in 1980.

Last year, Berson Properties applied to demolish the house, which is not heritage listed but was previously protected by the pre-1911 building overlay in the Brisbane City Plan.

However, a public backlash saw the application put on hold and was changed to relocate the building.

“I know there will be criticism but I’m not insensitive to its cultural significance,” says Hutchinson, a music lover who has long condemned the bulldozing of Brisbane’s Festival Hall.

“Mama Luigi’s was one of the first Italian restaurants when Italian restaurants were exotic.

“They’re not exotic anymore and it’s never going to be Mama Luigi’s again.”

Garlic breath was not a familiar culinary side effect to Brisbane’s pre-1940s diners.

The opening of Mama Luigi’s in 1942 changed all that and the restaurant was also an instant hit, especially with US troops stationed in Brisbane. Many of the soldiers were of Italian origins

Its menu was renowned for “Mama” Cesarina Deambrose’s popular spaghetti bolognaise recipe as well as chicken parmigiana and beef steaks.

Nat King Cole was a famous diner...

... as was General Douglas MacArthur.

Brisbane restaurateur Michael Gambaro recalls large bowls of spaghetti being placed on tables and diners invited to help themselves.

And Mama reportedly toned down the oregano and garlic because Queenslanders were not used to such exotic flavours.

Among its famous diners were visiting celebrities like singer Nat King Cole as well as General Douglas MacArthur, who arrived in Brisbane in 1941 to direct the Pacific war effort and reputedly asked the Catholic leader of the day, Archbishop John Duhig to take him to Mama’s. He obliged. The restaurant was a rowdy place but it fell silent as the archbishop said grace.

Middleton says public outcry over Brisbane landmarks such as Mama Luigi’s was a healthy sign.

“It’s an indication of the growth of the city and the sophistication of the city that you get these kinds of concerns,” he says.

“Cities like Venice and Paris and even parts of London don’t change a great deal and often they’re prevented from changing so that people can go there and enjoy the same sort of overall experience.

“We’re not that sort of city but we have got plenty of interesting heritage and various protection measures.”

Middleton says the Queensland Heritage Act is in place to preserve its important cultural and historical assets.

“But nostalgia is one thing and heritage significance is another,” he says.

Hutchinson says there are no plans for the Mama Luigi’s site once the house is removed but he will place plaques at both locations in a nod to the restaurant’s significance to the city.

“I think history is worth remembering and I’d bring the restaurant back if I could,” he says.

But instead his son, Jack, will move into the relocated and restored residence. If he can’t already cook up a tasty bowl of spaghetti bolognaise he better learn quickly. There could be quite a line up outside his front door.

Brisbane’s longest-running restaurants

Gambaro’s, Petrie Terrace: The Gambaro family’s substantial mark on Brisbane’s restaurant scene began with a fish and chip shop on Caxton Street in 1952. Gambaro Seafood Restaurant opened across the road in 1972 and after a major renovation in recent years is still going gangbusters. The group also has two Black Hide Steakhouses, in Caxton Street and the Treasury Brisbane, and glam Italian restaurant Persone in Brisbane Quarter.

Giardinetto, Fortitude Valley: Opened in 1966 by Gino Fiorini, this favourite has had many owners over the years including City restaurateur John Kilroy in the early ‘80s. The current owner, Jaga McGuinness, took over in 2006 and says some of his customers have been regulars for 40 years, still ordering spaghetti marinara, penne con pollo and calzone every time.

Ginos, Hamilton: After he left Giardinetto, Gino Fiorini opened this Hamilton institution in 1975. It was then operated by the Barakat family for 36 years from 1981-2017, then sold to cousin Eddie Barakat, who had worked there for decades, and continues to serve traditional Italian Cuisine such as pizza, pasta and veal scaloppini.

Jo-Jo’s, City/West End: Hairdressing magnate Stefan Ackerie’s Jo-Jo’s in Queen Street Mall opened in 1978 as a small cafe designed to service hairdressing clients. It closed the doors to its ultimately much-expanded 500-seat CBD premises in 2017 before reopening at Stefan headquarters on Melbourne St, West End.

Summit, Mt Coot-tha: In 1983 this room with a stunning view morphed from a tearoom and café to full-service licensed restaurant next to Brisbane’s major lookout. The owners, siblings Jacqueline Barrett, Russell Barrett and Jim Heron have now logged 36 years of lunches, high teas and dinners.

Enjoy Inn, Fortitude Valley: After winning a swag of awards since it opened in 1985 for its classic Chinese fare, this long-time Wickham Street favourite is still operated by the Cheung family, who continue to offer some of their original dishes such as salt and pepper quail and mussels in black bean sauce.

Lyrebird, South Bank: This stalwart at the Queensland Performing Arts Complex opened in 1985. The opening menu featured the likes of lamb chops with mint jelly and vegetables for $9.50; which has now morphed to lamb striploin and slow-cooked shoulder served with root vegetables and lamb jus for $38.

Kookaburra Queen, City: Hotelier Gary Balkin’s Bulimba-built paddlewheeler became Brisbane’s newest tourist attraction in the mid-1986. The Kookaburra Queen II launched in 1988 for Expo, and while Kookaburra Showboat Cruises now runs the operation, both Queens still ply the river offering lunch, dinner and high teas with a view.