‘Vibrant Italian escape in the heart of the city’: Melbourne restaurateur opens Brisbane hotspot
One of Australia’s most renowned chefs has launched an Italian restaurant so good you’ll feel like you’re in Europe.
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If getting to southern Italy’s Amalfi Coast seems a little difficult right now, consider popping into the Westin Hotel in Brisbane’s CBD. The website blurb says diners at the in-house restaurant Settimo will be made to feel “as if they have been transported to Positano”. I’m not sure about that but after driving into the city, ascending a flight of stairs from ground level and taking a seat overlooking the fag end of peak hour on Mary St, I did feel as if I had gone on something of a journey.
The designers have gone to some trouble to evoke a southern Italian vibe, with Italian background music, a beige fabric pelmet above the servery of the open kitchen, terracotta tiles, bowls of fruit and vegetables and stacks of loaves resting on the kitchen counter.
The 150-seater is divided into a number of spaces, some with fabric-upholstered banquettes, others with blonde wood, curved-backed chairs pulled up to linen-napkin adorned wooden tables; there are touches of blue and amber, and room dividers replete with glasses and crockery to create a sense of intimacy. There’s also a private dining space.
Settimo, which means seven in Italian, is Melbourne restaurateur Guy Grossi’s seventh venture, hence the name. Some of his other venues include Grossi Florentino and Ombra Salumi Bar.
Alessandro Pizzolato is the head chef at Settimo, which opened earlier this year and offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s Grossi’s second venture with the hotel group, opening Garum at The Westin Perth in 2018.
Settimo’s broad Italian menu ranges from oysters ($8 each) or pizza fritte through to antipasto, followed by a good selection of less commonly seen pasta; seafood such as Skull Island prawns or mussels with pepper, parsley and garlic; meat dishes including Amalfi lemon chicken or bistecca; and salads.
Set menus, including an option of $50 at lunch, $120pp or $150pp are an alternative if choosing is overwhelming.
The wine list has a strong Italian line-up (with a focus on the Taurasi wines of Campania, the region incorporating the Amalfi Coast) peppered with Australian varietals. The wines by the glass are priced at the higher end of the scale although there are a couple of options for the budget-challenged, such as a 150ml of Umani Ronchi Montepulciano at $13.
Otherwise, three Italians top the beer choices, cocktails include a Limoncello spritz and there’s also a line-up of Amari liqueurs for a digestive.
Pasta al limone ($28) seems like a way to embrace the Amalfi spirit, with the region’s famous citrus the hero here. A decent-sized serve of twisting strands of al dente pasta arrives clad in a lemon, butter and Parmigiano sauce creating a simple, fresh, impressive, inspirational dish.
But cappelletti ($35), a stuffed pasta from the Emilia-Romagna region in the north, is a standout with its filling of snapper, lemon, colatura (Italian fish sauce) and marjoram.
Papa’s lamb ($48) proves to be an inspired choice, the meat slow-cooked into tender submission and coated in breadcrumbs, parmigiano and sage. Similarly pork neck ($48) arrives as two thickish slabs on an oval plate attractively accessorised with tomatoes, olives, capers, oregano and finely shredded cabbage and is also a rustic, pleasing winter warmer.
To finish, options are gelato, tiramisu, rhum baba al limoncello, flourless chocolate cake with ricotta ice cream or delize al limone lemon sponge (all $22).
We keep the lemon vibe going by sharing the lemon sponge, but while it looks good, a lemon-scented dome of heavyish sponge covered in lemon scented cream, which is also piped around the base, is rather dull.
Service matches the care taken in the kitchen, with staff polite and attentive, the final component in an enterprise that is a far-better- than-average hotel restaurant, bringing an Italian escape to the heart of the city.
Settimo
The Westin Brisbane, Level one, 111 Mary St, Brisbane
Open breakfast from 6.30am seven days; lunch Tue-Fri 12-3pm; dinner Tue-Sat from 5.30pm
Must try
Cappelletti
Verdict – Scores out of 5
Food 4
Service 4
Ambience 3.5
Value 3.5
Overall 4
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