Brisbane restaurants: Review of gnoccheria Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers in Paddington

I WOULD like to say that the ordering process was the worst part of our experience at this new joint, but, sadly, I cannot.

Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers in Paddington. Picture: Richard Waugh

FROM the owners of popular market food stall, Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers, comes Brisbane’s first gnoccheria of the same name at trendy Paddington.

The venue has been billed as a high-end takeaway and dine-in hybrid. There are a few tables on the footpath outside along busy Given Tce, while inside is dedicated to ordering at the counter and waiting for your meal to take home.

The only problem with hybrids is, while some are mind-blowing pure genius, think Dominique Ansel’s New York croissant and doughnut blending dubbed the cronut; others are as enticing as a Toyota Prius in a parking lot of Lamborghinis.

Sadly Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers falls into the latter category.

Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers in Paddington. Picture: Richard Waugh

Sure you are going to get maximum mileage for your dollar, with all gnocchi dishes just $12, but the eatery severely lacks the efficiency of a Prius, with the ordering process about as smooth as a dirt road in outback Queensland.

After making a booking, a must if you want a table, we had to queue at the counter among people placing their orders and picking up takeaway to let staff know of our reservation. Then, rather than being escorted to our table, we were simply told what number it was, to go find it, then return to the counter to order.

Forget trying to order dessert at the same time as your main to avoid lining up again, unless, of course, you want it all coming out together. You are advised that it will require another trip to the counter among the hordes of queuing takeaway customers and flustered staff trying to pump out a ridiculous number of orders and another Eftpos transaction.

The duck ragu gnocchi. Picture: Richard Waugh

It may be how the “brothers” have run their food stall, but, in their tiny restaurant setting, it is more annoying for customers than the IT department asking if you have turned your computer on and off again.

I would like to say that the ordering process was the worst of our bad service experience, but, sadly, I cannot.

The tiramisu. Picture: Richard Waugh

When making the booking on the phone, the staff were rude and my reservation seemed somewhat of an inconvenience. Then, just before our food arrived, one of the waiters tried to move our table to allow the table next to us more room.

That was not a problem, but the same level of care would have been nice when my guest and I were clearly getting wet as rain blew across our exposed table on the footpath that already failed on the ambience front. Halfway through our meal a waiter then tried to get us to leave, telling us we had been there too long, when, in fact, we had the table for another hour according to our reservation. Finally, when we ordered dessert, we watched it being brought out in a takeaway bag rather than for dine-in, before the waitress realised, retreated to the kitchen and presented the pre-made cake and tiramisu on a plate.

The reason for the chaos is not only an illogical and inefficient ordering system, but staff in over their heads. Thankfully, the gnocchi was good. The potato and flour dumplings were just as they should be, light, pillowy and soaking in the rich and flavoursome tomato-based sauces, one with prawns, the other with a complex duck ragu.

The caprese salad ($10), however, was a disappointment, with an underripe tomato cut into wedges seemingly thrown on a plate next to a knob of mozzarella splashed with some balsamic and finely chopped basil.

The Nonna’s lemon cake special ($6) was eye-twitchingly tart, while the sponge in the tiramisu ($6) was so dry not even the almost-centimetre-thick layer of cream could give it the moisture it so desperately begged for.

While the gnocchi would be worth returning for, it would only ever be as a takeaway customer.