Modern Italian pasta and wine spot Felix finds a home in Launceston
With an Italian restaurant on what seems to be every corner, we are spoiled for choice. This new offering serves up sophisticated food with a big heart, writes Stephanie Dalton
Food and Wine
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Even though there are no shortage of modern Italian restaurants around these days, I for one, think that there’s always room for more.
I don’t think anyone dislikes Italian food. Carbs, cheese, meat, and more carbs – I mean what’s not to love?
Felix Espresso and Wine in Launceston is one of the latest, and first impressions are cheery.
Located within the Milledge Lane precinct on Cimitiere St, the restaurant has the capacity to seat 30 patrons inside and an additional 12 al fresco.
Felix’s interior is like the food on offer: a mixture of the contemporary and the traditional.
Bright, airy, and easy to find, with terrazzo worktops, Mediterranean accents, and a broad yet concise menu that’s updated every few weeks, it’s the type of approachable place that should please every Tom, Dick, and Karen in the group chat.
Launceston’s David Straw, who owns Saint John St institution Tinka Coffee Brewers with partner Samantha Burton, said Felix serves up freshly made coffee, panini, breakfast, and lunch during the day before transitioning to an ambient wine bar at night.
I drag my sister along for the ride again, this time to try out Felix after five, sans children.
We start off the night by scoffing buttered slithers of squidgy herby focaccia, paired with our Campari spritz.
The wine list is a tightly curated selection of local varietals and imported wines and beers, but it’s worth taking a look at the cocktails, either to sample a barrel-aged negroni or to sip a cucumber sour with gin, elderflower cordial, and lime juice.
Soon, a decadent salume grazing plate complete with melt-in-your-mouth Kalamata olives, smokey salumi, ribbons of salted cucumber, and a hearty slice of triple cream brie arrives, accompanied by a trio of East Coast oysters, just for me.
They’re opened to order with skill and respect and served classically, with lemon and a mignonette dressing.
They need neither: sparklingly clean and briny with a long mineral finish.
They were gone just as quickly as they came.
Next up, Felix’s famous 12-hour lasagne. Made with precisely seven layers of meat, cheese, and fresh pasta, all simmered down in a hearty ragu-Napoli sauce and laced with a delicate bechamel, it’s understandable why this dish is a mainstay on the ever-changing, ever-evolving menu.
You’ll want to pace yourself, though, because there are other standout dishes, such as an incredibly fresh and soft house-made pasta in a delicate lemon, garlic, and white wine sauce, topped with fresh sauteed prawns.
Add Mandilli de Seta, a traditional, silky handkerchief-style pasta, lapped by a soft saffron butter sauce with anchovies to the mix, and you’ve got yourself an excellent meal.
Room for dessert? Try Felix’s featherweight tiramisu. Made with their famously good small-batch coffee, the house-made tiramisu is a sweet end to a delicious meal. When it arrives we inhale it in 15 seconds flat.
I’d heard good things about Felix and the cool, cosy, little eatery and wine bar certainly lived up to – and exceeded – all expectations. Felix is a welcome addition to the Northern dining scene and I can’t wait to go back.
Felix Espresso & Wine
4/112 Cimitiere St, Launceston
Opening hours:
Wed – Fri, 12–2pm, 6-9pm; and Sat, 9am-2pm, 5–10pm
On the menu:
House herbed focaccia, $8; salume grazing plate, $28; add triple cream brie, $6; East Coast Tasmania oysters with mignonette (3), $15; 12-hour Felix lasagne, $34; prawn fettuccine, with lemon, garlic and white wine, $32; mandilli de seta with saffron butter and anchovies, $31; small-batch tiramisu, $14
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