Best of the Gold Coast 2019: the reigon’s best Italian restaurants as voted by you
Pizza, pasta, risotto and focaccia — to Italian food, we say bravo. After counting the votes, Best of the Gold Coast reveals the top 10 Italian restaurants on the Gold Coast.
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Pizza, pasta, risotto and focaccia — to Italian food, we say bravo. After counting the votes, we reveal the top 10 Italian restaurants on the Gold Coast.
10. Pepe Italia
11 Connor Street, Burleigh Heads
Two worlds collide at Pepe Italia, where the ingredients are Australian but the passion is Italian. The Burleigh Heads restaurant uses local produce to create its dishes that taste as authentic as those from a ristorante in Rome. Pepe Italian manger Fabio Gallani says there’s no pineapple on pizza or chicken in pasta at this bistro — it’s traditional, simple and honest Italian food. The pizza bases, pastas and bread are all made fresh daily by the skilled chefs. The pappadelli is the most popular pasta dish, with mushroom, walnut, truffle oil and parmesan cheese, while the tropea pizza is a tribute to restaurant owner Andrea Fabrizio’s hometown in the south of Italy with san marzano tomato base, fior de latte, buffalo mozzarella, prawn and chilli.
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9. Cucina Mia Cafe
Corner of Gemvale Road and Somerset Drive, Mudgeeraba
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Everything on the menu at Cucina Mia Cafe is the best of the best. “Over the last 15 years we have perfected what people love, right now on the menu is what everyone really likes,” Cucina Mia co-owner Tina Lepore says. “We’ve got a beautiful pollo funghi and spaghetti marinara, our steaks are really popular. The veal scallaponi just goes out the door — there’s so many.” Recipes are family secrets at Cucina Mia, passed down by the Italian matriarchs of the family. “We cook very authentic Italian, the recipes were passed on by my mum and my husband’s mother,” Tina says. “We just got very popular, people have to book out a week or two in advance for the weekends. Being in the suburbs, it’s fantastic — we’re not in Broadbeach or Surfers.”
8. Ristorante Fellini
Marina Mirage, 74 Seaworld Dr, Main Beach
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Keeping its standards high for 23 years, Ristorante Fellini has staked its claim as an exceptional Italian dining experience. Fellini co-owner Calro Percuoco says while competition in the region is tough, being rewarded with accolades and a place in Best of the Gold Coast is proof in the tiramisu. “Like any business or profession we are always striving for perfection,” Carlo says. “Our commitment to upholding the highest standards over the past 23 years has maintained our reputation as an internationally-acclaimed Italian restaurant. To be selected as one of Gold Coast’s top Italian restaurants by public vote in such a competitive market is testament to our dedication and encourages us to continue to do what we do best.”
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7. Gemelli
2/2685 Gold Coast Hwy, Broadbeach
Translating as “twins” in Italian, Gemelli has replicated its winning formula with exceptional Mediterranean fares throughout three venues, but the original Broadbeach Gemelli is where it all began. The restaurant was set up by twin brothers James and Alec and their brother Paul Carney six years ago and features dishes the siblings “love to eat at home”, including antipasti, pizze, paste, secondi and sides. Sauces are slow-cooked for more than eight hours, pastas and breads are made from scratch, and the wood-fired pizza oven sits at the heart of the establishment. The rigatoni ragu is certain to keep the winter chills at bay with rich sauce of tomato, oxtail and pork skin, while the griffiti pizze excites the tastebuds with 24-month aged prosciutto, rocket and shaved reggiano.
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6. Don’t Gnocc It
90-104 Surf Parade, Broadbeach
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Fine dining isn’t about the price tag, says Don’t Gnocc It venue manager Nigel McDowall. He says his Italian restaurant offers every aspect of luxury at an affordable price. “Fine dining died seven years ago at the economic downturn,” Nigel says. “We’re bringing it back but making it cost effective for people. We are doing a higher level of service with proper table cloths, making it elegant.” A pun-tastic name attests to the restaurant’s obsession with the iconic potato pasta, however there’s plenty of other Italian and Australian options to try. “The gnocchi is handmade from scratch every day,” Nigel says. “We do your pizzas, pastas and gnocchi, steaks and chicken and calamari. The truffle mushroom gnocchi stands out, that’s amazing.”
5. Ioesco Cafe Cucina
3a Masthead Way, Hope Island
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Did you know the parmigiana originated in Italy as a vegan dish? Ioesco owner Max Alferi says every quality Italian restaurant should have one on their menu. “The eggplant melanzane parmigiana is a very traditional dish,” Max says. “It’s the most beautiful Italian dish that you can have. It’s laid like lasagne but it’s made out of eggplant.” Ioesco’s lifeline is its regulars that come back for classic Italian fare every week. “80 per cent of our business is locals,” Max says. “Our menu has 120 items, we do fresh seafood to wagyu steaks to pizzas. You’ve got to keep it down to earth — fresh, traditional, don’t reinvent the wheel. The reason why were are ongoing and popular is we cater for a very wide market, from three years old to 90.”
4. Balboa Italian Restaurant
1069 Gold Coast Hwy, Palm Beach
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This modern, industrial Italian haunt demands your attention from the moment you arrive, with the two-storey brickwork building home to some seriously satisfying mangiare. The Palm Beach restaurant combines a mix of traditional Italian cooking with modern interpretations, using locally-sourced and imported ingredients across its range of antipastis, pizzes, insalatas, primis and secondis. The rustic pizza options come in red or white sauce and feature every ingredient a European heart could ask for, including prosciutto, mozzarella, sopressa, fior de latte and more, while the handmade pastas come with beef cheek, sweet spiced goat meat, prawns or house made pesto.
3. Salt Meats Cheese
10 Beach Rd, Surfers Paradise
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A wheel of cheese set alight, pasta cooked in brie, 1kg of gnocchi — despite what owner Alex Vicinanza says, Surfers Paradise Salt Meats Cheese’s cuisine is anything but ordinary. “It’s proper Italian food, nothing too crazy and fancy, with some nice twist,” he says. “The flaming wheel is something we do for real in south Italy. During the week there are always some special night — we cook a kilo of gnocchi, we do Italian food as vegan, we do the Italian cheese feast on Sunday. We’re still looking at pizza, pizza is always a must. You can’t say no.” The company has repeated its success in seven venues across Australia, with Italian chefs in the kitchen replicating the decadent cuisines of southern Italy with a contemporary edge. “Behind every dish there is a little bit of story,” Alex says.
2. Cucina Vivo
The Star Gold Coast, Casino Drive, Broadbeach
Being Italian is all about la famiglia, and The Star Gold Coast’s Cucina Vivo warmly welcomes every customer that dines in. “From the moment you walk in, the team greet you with a smile and a friendly hello,” The Star food and beverage general manger Richard Gush says. “We are one big family at Cucina Vivo.” The traditional Italian bistro’s centrepiece is its woodfire oven where chefs flip dough and cook homemade pizzas in front of customers’ eyes. “Almost everything is made from scratch at Cucina Vivo. We make our own pizza bases and our own pastas of which we have about six to seven on the menu,” Richard says. “We have a lot of return guests, so the team at Cucina Vivo love to keep them on their toes by mixing up the menu regularly to showcase the latest in local seasonal produce.”
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1. Costa D’Oro Italian Restaurant
27 Orchid Ave, Surfers Paradise
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More than 30 years in the Gold Coast hospitality game is testament that Costa D’Oro is deserving of first place in our Best of the Gold Coast series.
The Italian restaurant has been part of the fabric of Surfers Paradise, humbly serving customers long before the G: Link came to town, before the Indy came and left and before the Q1 was built.
Owned by husband and wife team Michael and Nuccia Fusco, the couple put the eatery’s longevity down to “good food and good service”.
“If you can’t get to Italy, we bring Italy to you,” Nuccia says.
“All our staff are Italian. The difference is that being a waiter or waitress in Italy is a career and you do it for life.
“They put so much pride and joy into what they do.”
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A pizza, pasta or filleto (steak) for lunch on a weekday has become the go-to for office workers around the suburb, while the nights are for family feeds and romantic dates.
“Our Friday lunches, unless you book, you can’t get in,” Nuccia says.
“There’s second and third generation families coming through. So many people that came here as kids are married now with their own kids, they show us photos of them sitting here with their own parents as kids.”
“People love it because of the family atmosphere,” Michael adds.
“Many families that we serve can be here for a week, they’ll probably come in two or three times a week.”
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A broad selection of cibo means there’s plenty of options for all, with the vast majority of the dishes remaining consistent over the years.
“We’ve got lots of pastas and pizzas, we’ve got lots of seafood on offer, great steaks, salads,” Michael says.
“It’s very traditional to Italian sauces and things we make here. For 33 years, we’ve hardly changed the menu.”
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