What a wonderful little gem in the Chermside area…read more The owner Vince is quite the host. Wonderful venue, great menu, excellent food and amazing service. Went here for a special anniversary dinner with my loved one and was certainly not disappointed. A wonderful little surprise dessert as a special gift from the owners was a lovely touch. Will certainly be back.

Bella Cosi is a nice little restaurant located on one of Chermside's quieter side streets, although…read moreduring peak shopping times these streets tend to get overcrowded and a bit hectic. Paid parking now being instituted at Westfield Chermside has caused a lot of the traffic to spill out over into the streets, which unfortunately can limit your parking choices for Bella Cosi. The place itself however is really quite lovely, with the choice of both outdoor and indoor seating. It oozes Italian charm, with red, black, and white seats and furnishings and an Italian street scene occupying an entire wall that gives you itchy feet and makes you want to travel. There's even the odd vespa outside, which only adds more Italian charm to the place. The tea they serve is made from real leaves, no fake tea here, and their coffee is strong and smooth, just what I love and expect from a true Italian restaurant. Breakfast is a treat here, with fluffy berry pancakes served with ice cream and excellent scrambled eggs. They also crisp the bacon if you request it. Breakfast isn't a busy time at Bella Cosi, so it's a really nice place to sit back and enjoy the Italian aura without excess noise or worries. Getting in early has its benefits, including easier parking and less of a crowd.

The best thing about brunch is that it's leisurely. You can sleep in, be dangerously hungover, be…read morelatex-clad after a massive ride or would just rather have someone else serve you a tasty fry-up. No matter what state you're in when you finally reach your destination to break your fast, it will always be on an empty stomach. So here enters my gripe. Like a bear, I become increasingly grizzly when time stretches between meals. So when the time to receive a menu after being seated feels like the amount of time it takes for three other tables to be seated, watered and menued; roaring more aptly replaces the feeling of grizzly. I don't think I've heard the words "just one second, guys" repeated so frequently in one sitting. Once we received our menus, chosen what we wanted, we promptly shut them to indicate we were more than ready to devour pretty much the entire menu. A good ten minutes, and three, "just one second, guys'" later, we ordered. By this stage, I could barely hold a conversation over the ferocious grumblings of my stomach, yet alone concentrate on sipping on what was the most watery tasting orange juice. The snail-paced, unfriendly, abrupt and just plain rude service was unfortunately not compensated by a delicious meal. Simple raisin toast was unbuttered, causing the diner to butter their own luke-warm toast. No salty-buttery, cinnamon-raisin explosion of a tastebud party here. The slightly over-cooked poached eggs looked like they had been poured straight out of the pan, as they slid around the plate in a pool of water. The bacon...well it just looked like ham; not at all crispy. Not once did the wait staff check on us, nor the other diners around us, and two more "just one second, guys'" later, we had our plates cleared and bill on the table. With a grand total of five one seconds', this was one very prickly grizzly bear.

Trattoria Italiana is a diner's delight - an enticing combination of French & Italian. If you…read moreenjoy good food, amazing coffee and excellent service then get yourself there! Located on Racecourse Road in Hamilton, on race days alfresco diners can enjoy the parade of frocked up fillies sporting extravagant fascinators that dawn the sidewalks. The food here is divine. Delicious fresh pasta dishes, succulent seafood stews, delectable pizzas and a great selection of entrees and desserts that will make your mouth-water. If you are a coffee lover like me, then you simply must order their affogato which is fit for a Queen. For only $6.00 you get a big scoop of creamy vanilla ice-cream served in a martini glass. This is topped with a crisp wafer biscuit and accompanied by a shot of hot, aromatic coffee which is served in a petite silver jug - very elegant. After eating out in Ascot I always take a walk along the Brisbane River, it makes me feel much better after overindulging and is quite a pretty walk with great views of Newstead House and gardens and Brisbane CBD.

This is one of those places that has me coming back because of one particular dish. They're an…read moreItalian restaurant so there's a range of great food to choose from. Pizzas are always a good bet here. But the best thing about this place is the calzone. It's a closed pizza with artichoke hearts, ham, mozzarella, tomato & olives alongside a nice little salad and pizza marinara sauce. It's a big meal so be sure you're hungry. The whole place has a nice atmosphere suitable for many occassions. It's not too spacious so depending on the patrons it can get a bit noisy but generally it's relaxed. The seats are not the most comfortable though. Like other Italian restaurants, this can be a little expensive depending on your budget but I always found sharing pizzas is a good idea particularly if you're in a group. Campo also offers catering services and do take aways as well.

I have a feeling we gambled on the wrong menu items as everyone around us were really enjoying…read moretheir meals. The bruschetta was nothing more than sliced tomato on bread with a very light oil/herb glaze, the pizza was not memorable, the special which sounded mouth watering was a seafood risotto that had listed swordfish and various shell fish as ingredients and though it appeared a lot of TLC went into it it fell flat on flavour. Now for the winner: the lasagne. On the scales of lasagne it was simply good - but in comparison to the bland or boring previously mentioned menu items we settled on it being the winner. Its a nice little setting filled with happy diners, its too bad we didn't ask one of them to order for us.

One of my favourite Italian places. Always clean, fast, friendly and they give free sparkling…read morewater. Also, presentation of the food is fantastic. Above all, the food is amazing and well priced, which is why keep going back.

From the owner: Vito’s Cucina & Bar Ascot offers a twist on modern Italian cuisine, with an appetising all-day…read morebreakfast and lunch menu, expert barista-made coffee, a variety of chilled beverages and desserts, all accompanied within a relaxed alfresco dining area.

Prova is a little gem in suburbia, it's tucked down a side street in Stafford Heights and has tons…read moreof parking. The pizza was authentic Italian cooked in approx 90 Seconds in a massive pizza oven. I love prawn on pizza and sadly this was off the menu so I picked the Prova pizza with pumpkin purée Italian sausage and lots of cheese. It came with a whole mozzarella ball on it. The base was thin and cooked to perfection. My husband had the Carnivora which I tried, the sauce was fantastic. We had a coffee after which tasted great. We will definitely be back!

Wow.. what a spread at this place! Come empty and ready to eat.. the bread and bases of pizzas here…read moreare light, sturdy and amazing to eat.. every ingredient was fresh and the combinations of toppings were amazing. Try the charcuterie plate, unbelievable, but bring 3 friends! Share for 2 is wayyyyy over committing!

I had a great experience at "What's in the Pot". Their food was great and their customer service…read morewas very friendly. A great place for a good meal and time with friends.

Actual Italian gourmet cuisine from actual Italians! In Australia! Awesome! Small cafe-type…read morerestaurant down an alley way. Casual dress, byob. Menu appears to be made up daily as they cross things off as they sell out. No tirimisu but they can make it for you with advanced notice.

This little authentic Italian restaurant/pizzeria is hidden away in the suburbs of Zillmere. Who…read morewould have thought Zillmere would have such great pizza? The restaurant is owned and operated by Carlo Sica, and by reading the framed news articles adoring his walls, he's been making pizza for years! They have an extensive menu including traditional and gourmet pizzas, pastas, meat and chicken main dishes, soups, salad and desserts. The restaurant is B.Y.O. only and you can either sit inside the dining room or out on the footpath. It's a very quiet street with little traffic, and the alfresco seating is very casual and popular. We were just picking up our takeaway pizza on Sunday night and the outdoor seats were all occupied, and there were a number of older Italian couples. I take that as a sign this food is genuine and authentic. The pizzas were amazing - $20 for the family size pizza (13.5inch), $16 for the large (12inch) and $11 for small (9inch). They also offer free delivery for orders over $20. There are mid-weeks specials too. Tuesday & Wednesday it's 2 large pizzas for $26, and Tuesday through to Thursday, if you spend more than $30 you receive a free small focacia. For the sweet tooth, there's imported Italian Gelati and home-made Tiramisu!

Pizza Naples is one of our favourite pizza restaurants local to us. The pizzas there are large,…read morewith plenty of toppings, and are consistently good. They also have a variety of pastas that my wife thinks are fantastic. One of the most convenient aspects of this restaurant is that they also deliver free of charge, which is very handy! It's not up to the standard of a flashy gourmet restaurant, but it is our favourite local Italian restaurant, and we think it's great!

I just found my favorite Italian restaurant on the Sunshine Coast. Everything from staff to…read moreflavoursom food worthy of the 5 stars awarded.

Came here on a Wednesday night, ordered online a salmon and avocado and the rustic tassie lamb…read more Service was fantastic, the girl that served us was cheerful and friendly, as was the rest of the staff we encountered. We were eating with a coeliac, so we ordered gluten free and when we received the pizza in a normal box, she politely explained that it was still gluten free but they were out of boxes, and we were really happy she said something because it would have just added unneeded stress. The pizzas were fantastic! Even for the brand they were noteworthy, the ingredients were fresh and the pizza was hot and tasty. Definitely going back