New Brisbane

I’VE BEEN going to this little place in Toowong for years now. Mostly Toowong is all Coffee Clubs and ZYX’s and slam-bam type food outlets. Toowong used to have that great Malaysian Experience restaurant where you could sneak in a goon cask and drown your sorrows in wine while getting your grub on with some Malaysian cuisine. But I digress.

After my dire Bella Notte experience I decided to stay right away from Park Road and its ilk. I decided St Lucia ville, West End and the occasional Toowong experience would be far more positive. The restaurant in question is great because it’s a quiet achiever. No big advertising, just good food, attentive service and opening hours on Monday nights!

Mariosarti

41 Sherwood Road, Toowong

Ph: 3870 4933

Dinner Monday - Sunday, Lunch Monday - Friday

Mariosarti is an Italian restaurant, snuggled in somewhere between Gloria Jeans and the nook-and-cranny dentists and physios ferreted away in neighbouring arcades. Mariosarti is the kind of place I take Dad every time he visits Brisbane. You have a bottle of wine, drink a little too much and enjoy a good catch up over flavoursome food in a comfortable, intimate setting (tactful music, low lighting- you know the drill).

We arrived on Monday night to find, to our delight, that Mariosarti was open and business was booming – but there was still room for us. Seating is outside and in, the division between which is almost seamless thanks to some majestically disappearing folding doors, or wrap-around windows – I know not what.

Staff had us seated with a wine menu in our hands before we could protest. Not that we would have. Alcohol, which is a serious matter here, gets its own menu and is available in a large and diverse range. Each spirit and wine type has its own list of variations. Bottles of wine are available for as low as $30 per bottle, reaching heights of $100 plus.

I commandeered the wine list and promptly ordered us a bottle of Sticks 2004 pinot noir (red, and yes it’s a reliable brand) for $34 a bottle. Pinot seems to be overlooked on a too-frequent basis, passed over for the dependable merlots and cab savs. Readers! I implore you! Try some pinot noir. It’s delicious and so subtle!

Equipped with our red we started a-sipping and a-choosing on the menu. Shall I enlighten you? I shall. Benvenuto! Welcome!, the menu says. Choose from pasta, risotto, poultry, game, meat, fish, salads, pizza and – of course – dessert.

We ordered the special: Sword fish with cherry tomatoes, capers and black olives ($27.90 on special). This was accompanied by crunchy-skinned potatoes which, upon biting into, revealed a creamy interior. Personally I found the tomato-based sauce a little over-whelming for the soft, tactful flavours of the sword fish. Dad really liked it- to each their own I guess.

My discerning brother ordered the Filetto con Rosmarino e Balsamico – eye fillet pan-fried with rosemary and a little garlic, finished with red wine and Modena balsamic ($28.90). Having reached over to help myself to his plate I discovered that he had by far the best meal. I nearly fell on the dish in unbridled greed- however I managed to hold myself back by taking a nonchalant sip of wine. But my eyes were blazing and my tastebuds were singing the song of that tender fillet soaked in thick, syrupy dark red wine and balsamic sauce made fragrant and delectable by the rosemary. In hindsight I probably ate more of his dish than my own and I’m eternally thankful to him for humouring me.

Have finished our bottle of wine, our starter: Bruschette Assortita (crunchy ciabata topped with tomato, roasted capsicum, grilled eggplant and zucchini, sun dried tomatoes and – the best bit – mozzarella) ($13.50) and dinner, there was little room left for dessert.

For all those curious folk, dessert starts at $11.90 for dishes such as the tiramisu, cassata and pizza dolce (with bananas and strawberries and other sweet things) and finishes around $17.50 with the cheese selection for two. If you have room, it’s worth the extra gluttony.

Mariosarti is great for a date close to home- if you live on the west side that is. I’d also recommend it if you haven’t been over to the west side and want a reliable restaurant. Food is a little more pricey than your average Lefkas, New York Pizza or Coffee Club (to name a few randomly selected cheap eats) but is easily looked over when combined with the intimate surrounds, attentive service and delicious meals. More than anything, though, Toowong is a bit of a black hole for diners looking for flavour and experience. Sure, there are a lot of coffee shops and quick Asian-food outlets- and even Two Small Rooms is just up the road- but Toowong village has a definite lack of cushy restaurants. Mariosarti fills that gap… and the parents love it. For more information click here.

Cheers, Alice B.