Brisbane’s new Italian restaurant set to get Australia talking

With TV chef and cookbook author Guy Grossi at the helm, this new Amalfi Coast-themed restaurant is drawing the attention of the country’s biggest chefs and foodies.

Celebrity chef Guy Grossi is set to lift the lid on his highly anticipated new Italian restaurant next week, with the launch of Settimo in Brisbane’s CBD.

Tucked upstairs at The Westin hotel in Mary St, but with its own street access, the Campania-inspired eatery will be like “Nonna’s house meets the Amalfi coast”.

“We call her Sophia Loren – it’s elegant, classy, but she’s a little bit cheeky too and that’s the style we’re going for,” says Grossi, who has six restaurants across Australia including Melbourne institution Florentino.

This seventh project will be something new for the cookbook author and star of SBS’s Italian Food Safari, as well as for Brisbane, focusing on the food of Campania, particularly the popularity of seafood along the Amalfi Coast.

Restaurateur Guy Grossi at Settimo at The Westin, Brisbane. Picture: Josh Woning

Open from morning to night, servicing hotel guests and the general public, the 150-seater will offer everything from an Italian breakfast of pork and fennel sausages, handmade focaccia with beef, tomato and grapes, and rosemary roasted potatoes, to lunches of pizza fritte stuffed with tomato, spinach and provolone or a Caprese salad. Meanwhile, dinner will use the freshest of premium fish from Mooloolaba’s Walker Seafoods, beef from Kilcoy and pork from the Sunshine Coast. That may translate into dishes such as the beef and onion stew paccheri alla genovese, pork, tomato, olive and caper dish braciola alla pizzaiola, or a snapper cappelletti. All pastas will be made in-house, along with the sourdough bread, which will take three days from start to finish and will be served complimentary to guests – just like in Italy.

To bring this vision to life, Grossi has assembled an accomplished team with head chef Alessandro Pizzolato (ex-Hellenika, Fortitude Valley), restaurant manager Anthony Folio (ex-Nobu, Melbourne), and sommelier Deniz Hardman(ex-Lake House Daylesford).

Restaurateur Guy Grossi, Anthony Folio, Deniz Hardman and Alessandro Pizzolato at Settimo at The Westin, Brisbane. Picture: Josh Woning

Hardman will be rolling out an extensive Italian-themed drinks list, honing in on wines from the Campania region, including alanghia, fiano, taurasi, and aglianico, as well as Italian varieties grown in Australia with a total of about 100 by the bottle and 20 by the glass. There will also be a strong collection of Italian cocktails, including spritzes, and a Campari-infused version of an espresso martini.

Service will be just as relaxed and playful yet sophisticated and professional as the Mills Gorman-designed fit-out, which channels the ocean using sand-hued and blue-tinted render on the walls, brick paved floors, rustic wooden chairs and an open kitchen where diners can see all the action. A 20-seat private dining room bordered by floor-to-ceiling windows will also be available for functions.

Settimo will open to the public on Thursday next week.