LOCATIONClose to William Street, Hyde Park, Australian Museum. Five-minute walk from the CBD.
PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIASpigolo simply oozes green, white and red. From the fresh herbs, the imported pasta and its rich Napolitana sauce, the colours of the flag are represented in a delicious performance of dishes. Inside, the restaurant is surprisingly spacious, bestowing guests with plenty of elbow room to twirl into pasta or slurp down a few oysters. The walls are adorned with quirky black and white images depicting Italian landscapes, faces and scenes, and to one corner, there’s space for a band who strums out Italian classics and international music on Friday and Saturday nights. A few tables spill outside to the patio and continue out to the footpath; however, the vine-covered roof protects diners from the elements.
The staff potter about in uniformed T-shirts that proudly state “I heart pizza” – and you will too after one mouthful of Spigolo’s famous Margherita pizza pie, pulled fresh from the wood-fired oven. The restaurant has two authentic, dough-flipping pizza-makers at the helm, while the other Italian chefs toss pasta, pan-fry seafood and scaloppine, and stir risotto. The fettuccine and gnocchi are made from scratch while ingredients such as extra virgin olive oil, proscuitto da Parma and balsamic vinegar are imported directly from the homeland – so the highest quality is ensured. Angel-hair pasta with prawns, bacon, shallots and Napoli cream sauce is a mouth-watering example of the kitchen talent, as is Cartoccio-style snapper. The specials change fortnightly reflecting the whims of the chefs, and the wine list is chiefly Italian and divided into regions with helpful little descriptions of each grape variety.
Annabel Wise