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Brisbane's best Italian restaurants 2015

Ravioli al tartufo Con Burro e Salvia,Truffle Ricotta Ravioli with Sage Burnt Butter at Il Locale Italian Restaurant in Rosalie in Brisbane.
Ravioli al tartufo Con Burro e Salvia,Truffle Ricotta Ravioli with Sage Burnt Butter at Il Locale Italian Restaurant in Rosalie in Brisbane. Harrison Saragossi

1889 Enoteca
In 1889, the Moreton Rubber Works dominated the 'Gabba skyline. Over a century later the original building remains, oozing character and charm. Classic leadlight, raw brickwork and foot-weathered floorboards borrow youthful elegance from the well-stocked marble bar, tending butter-soft banquettes. Signature gnocchi – potatoey puffs of caramelised gold encourage a fossick for nuggets of pork and fennel sausage and almost translucent kingfish carpaccio melts on the tongue, leaving ghosts of fennel, lemon and parsley. The wine list includes hard to find drops available by the glass.

12 Logan Road, Woolloongabba, (07) 3392 4315, 1889enoteca.com.au

Bar Alto
This arty industrial bunker is a contrast to the look of the usual Italian eatery, and the menu similarly blends some contemporary food trends with rustic tradition. Antipasti is offered 'da dividere'– to share – and includes, pigs' ears and trotters, fried crisp and heightened with a sweet and sour sauce. Gnocchi is light and fluffy and served with mussels and 'nduja, a spicy Italian pork sausage that adds heat to the dish. The wine list naturally has a strong Italian focus with knowledgeable staff happy to advise.

Simone Percuoco dough tossing at the Pizzeria Violetta in Kenmore.
Simone Percuoco dough tossing at the Pizzeria Violetta in Kenmore. Chris Hyde
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119 Lamington Street, New Farm, (07) 3358 1063, baralto.com.au

Beccofino
Even on nights where Newstead's tree-lined Vernon Terrace is quiet, Beccofino bustles, the energy enhanced by the no-booking policy that fosters a steady stream from the bar to any newly-vacated table. Venturing beyond their signature pizzas, an extensive specials selection offers dishes like octopus legs seared and served with spicy sausage and parsley oil. The broad pasta menu is augmented with specials – perhaps pasta snails with pork, fennel and chilli combined in a cream sauce, the richness magnifying the generous serving.

10 Vernon Terrace, Teneriffe, (07) 3366 0207, beccofino.com.au

Pizzeria Violetta in Kenmore.
Pizzeria Violetta in Kenmore. Chris Hyde

Bucci
Service is assured in this smart-casual restaurant, where the knowledgeable staff steer diners through the extensive wine list and plates designed for sharing. An entree of six Hervey Bay scallops, served in the shell with garlic aioli and bright green parsley crumbs, is the pick of the dishes; Moreton Bay bug cannelloni, Byron Bay veal scaloppini and lamb stuffed with pinenuts and raisins other solid choices. Dessert may be a refreshing blood orange and Aperol granita topped with pistachio nuts and marshmallow made with honey from rooftop hives.

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15 James Street, Fortitude Valley, (07) 3252 7848, buccirestaurant.com.au

Coppa Spuntino
For decades, CBD bars have served up lacklustre snacks and restaurants have touted token cocktail lists. But step right up, hungry thirsty people, because finally food and drink are given equal billing under a single roof. Dull old bruschetta is radically made over with crisp discs of translucent radish over tissue-thin slices of melting 'lardo' draped on wood-fired bread and a pair of calamari hoods are stuffed with chorizo and flash-charred. Pizze includes a litmus test wood-fired margherita –perfect in its simplicity.

88 Creek Street, Brisbane, (07) 3221 3548, coppaspuntino.com

Il Locale
It's not down a rustic laneway, nor does it offer terracotta rooftop views, but Il Locale does boast one thing the rest of the village envies: -that Rosalie rarity, on-site parking. The wood-fired pizza oven dominates and you could just enjoy an aperitif and an excellent pizza but there is more worth exploring. Half a dozen pastas include 'maltagliati con ragu di coniglio allo zafferano'– thin 'handkerchiefs' of pasta sauced with a hearty rabbit and saffron ragu. Service, swift and friendly, comes with charming Italian accents.

21 Nash Street, Rosalie, (07) 3368 2122, illocaleitalian.com.au

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Julius Pizzeria
There's a lot to like about Julius; the laneway location in Brisbane's cultural heartland, the sexy, semi-industrial fit-out with a cheeky nod to the Italian ristorante of old and a convivial bar full of jewel-like bottles of Aperol and Cinzano. What Julius does so well is wood-fired pizza, and a perfectly pliable and charry-crusted margherita with a glass of Chianti is perhaps the best example of the Italian ethos of quality and simplicity. The dessert menu includes a classic tiramisu and a more contemporary classic: Nutella pizza.

77 Grey Street, Corner Fish Lane, (07) 3844 2655, juliuspizzeria.com.au

Pizzeria Violetta
Named after the owners favourite opera character from La Traviata, Violetta is a modern interpretation of a traditional pizzeria. All eyes are on the action around the mosaic-tiled, wood-fired pizza oven, where charming pizzaioli roll, flour and cook an authentic offering of pizza on both 'bianche' (plain) and 'rosso' (tomato sauce) bases, from a classic Margherita to a charry-crusted pork and fennel. Settle in with the daily chef's choice of 'stuzzichini' (snacks) with an aperativo while you wait.

10 Wongabel Street, Kenmore, (07) 07 3378 2533 pizzeriavioletta.com.au

Tartufo
Sheets of smoky mirroring and the grand baroque-embellished bar are a nod to any enoteca with a contemporary twist. The menu too, is a clever mix of modern and traditional. There might be figs – fine fat fruit, prosciutto-wrapped and draped in a blanket of gorgonzola and mascarpone while house-made pasta comes in short and curly twists; linguine strands; or short fat tubes. Perfectly al dente and topped with a rabbit ragu or a forest of wild and cultivated mushrooms, this is earthy comfort food at its most refined.

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Emporium, 1000 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley (07) 3852 1500, tartufo.com.au

Viale Canova
Unapologetically old school, with white linen on timber, soft ruched curtains and a piano, Viale Canova's homely dining room is warmly presided over by owner Massimo Bortolazzo while co-owner Lorenzo Spezzamonte works the kitchen; handcrafting pasta. Spaghetti is served with scampi, slow cooked tomatoes, parsley and garlic while risotto changes daily and could include a garlicky, white wine saffron and prawn version. It's impossible to pass on the traditional tiramisu, soaked with a heady mix of coffee and liqueur and blanketed in cocoa.

828 Sandgate Road, Clayfield, (07) 3256 1901, vialecanova.com

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