PROFILE BY BEST RESTAURANTS
Suburban is a location, not a state of mind, as this lively two-level Kew restaurant shows. There's nothing
"suburban" about this place. The old brown-brick corner building houses a warm and welcoming restaurant that's very cool indeed. Downstairs the tables run the length of the room, all handsomely set with crisp white cloths and napkins, and good glassware. Upstairs the room seems bigger – that is, without a large bar taking up half the space – and it's a little quieter.
The food is, simply put, Italian. Yes there is pizza, but only among the entrees; and remember that if you fill up on pizza with Asiago (a northern Italian cheese), potatoes and rosemary, there might not be room for the great fish soup – a brodetto with scallops, scampi, prawns and barramundi, served with a delicious hunk of toasted sourdough. The menu treads a good balance between familiar dishes with a twist (like parmesan, lemon and thyme-crumbed veal scaloppine) and the less common, such as spaghettini with calamari, chorizo and toasted garlic breadcrumbs. The wine list is considerable, and includes a wide range of Italian choices as well as top Australian drops, and a decent selection by the glass. There's even the possibility of dining in the intimate wine room with a maximum of six people and a whole lotta bottles for company.
Rita Erlich