Elementi launches new pizza sandwich

It could be the biggest thing since sliced bread, or even sliced pizza. And a new Brisbane eatery is using it to stand out from the crowd.

Forget pizza – the pizza sandwich is set to become the hottest new food trend in town.

New Brisbane Italian restaurant Elementi is looking to stand out from the pack when it officially opens on Wednesday at Paddington serving baciata – a pizza-type sandwich.

The Italian invention is made when two whole dough bases are cooked on top of each other, then split apart and stuffed with sandwich-style ingredients.

Elementi in Paddington will be serving baciata – a pizza sandwich of sorts.

Elementi will be the first restaurant in Brisbane to offer the crusty creations, which will be filled with everything from cured meats to cheese.

“It’s something a little bit different to your standard calzone,” said co-owner Mauricio Zarate Castillo, who is opening the business with former Beccofino, Teneriffe pizzaiolo Stefano Spataro and ex-Julius, South Brisbane sous chef Pedro Sanson.

Inside Paddington's new Elementi Italian restaurant

In addition to the baciata, the restaurant and bar will serve a range of white and red-based pizze cooked in a wood-fired oven, antipasti such as stuffed olives and arancini, three types of pasta including ravioli stuffed with artichokes and potatoes in butter, sage and mint sauce; and a fish of the day and a meat of the day, which will change regularly depending on what’s best eating.

The wood-fired pizza oven at Elementi Italian restaurant

“We want to stay a bit dynamic and we really want to just give people a different experience every time they come,” Mr Zarante Castillo said.

Also keeping diners guessing will be the wine list. While up to 60 per cent of it will focus on Italian varieties made both in Italy and around the world, the rest will be a mix of what wine and front of house guru Zarate Castillo declares as “interesting and delicious and different”.

That could mean anything from an Austrian or Macedonian wine to a Greek drop, with about 12 to 15 available by the glass. There will also be local craft and Italian beers available, plus a signature cocktail selection, with an emphasis on spritzes and negronis, so patrons can come in for just a quick drink and a bite or stay for the whole dining experience.

The restaurant will open from this Wednesday for takeaway, but will not open for dine-in until they receive the liquor licence.