Quality! It Shouldnt Be That Hard! Love A Wonderful Mouth Full Of Wholesome FOOD!
+5
I was recommended this restaurant from a friend. So I took a friend with me as they have never experience a 4 course tasting experience before.
We walked into the restaurant only to be treated by the very on the ball waiter! He asked if we had a reservation? We said yes he said follow me this way. He took us out to the back area. It was amazing with a fire place.
The took our seats then the head bar guy asked what we would like to drink. We started with a spritz. It was strong and I loved it.
He explained the entree we don’t need to pick the whole 4 come out. We need to choose a pasta and a main and dessert.
The entree came out first was this raw meat. It was so full of flavour it was amazing.
Second came the sardines. My friend didn’t like it because it was strong so I ended up eating both. It was nice however it was so strong i kept on tasting it over the night. The eggplant was so yummy.
The pasta came out and that was the lamb neck ragu that was so full of flavour it was cooked to perfection.
We then had blue wagyu beef. It was really yummy when eaten together with the fennel.
Tiramisu was so authentic.
Through out the whole night the waiter was on the ball, and his choices of wine was on point. I highly recommend this restaurant.
Melinda Jenny May Salter
+5
Delicious. I don’t have to say any more. This place is just delightful. The staff were attentive and friendly and attentive, knowing the specials menu off by heart. The food is simple, but constructed with great ingredients and care. I would highly recommend this place. I will be back soon. Thank you.
I have been here about 6 times over the last 3 years and have never left disappointed. The food is terrific. The lamb Ragu pasta is my favourite dish in Canberra. The diavola pizza is mouth watering with the perfect amount of heat. If you want to impress someone, take them here. It isn't cheap, but you get your money's worth. This is, imo the most consistent fine dining restaurant in Canberra.
As a side note, I wouldn't recommend the tasting menu. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but wished I had stuck to my usual routine. Just stick to either the steak special if it is on or the pizza and pasta with tiramisu for dessert with plenty of good Italian wine.
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We had a fantastic evening here last night. The food was superb and the service excellent. The truffle pasta and the steak were great and my husband rated the desert (the baked bread and butter budino) as one of the best he had ever had. The waiters were super friendly and efficient (water glasses never empty, dishes came out at a good pace for a special evening) and recommended a great bottle of wine for us. Would definitely come back. Book ahead - it was packed on Thursday night (online booking through their website worked well).
Do not be put off by negative reviews!
Do not come here if:
You intend to bring small children and expect a fast food experience- this is a place for adults to savour exquisite cooking at a pace set to enjoy your meal;
If you agree to an early sitting with no intention to leave on time. This is just rude and fair enough the staff would remind you not to keep other customers waiting;
If you intend to ask the chef to change a carefully designed dish to suit your diet. The ingredients are on their website so manage your expectations and go elsewhere if you can’t see anything you can eat.
P.S. The owner wasn’t chatty but wasn’t grumpy either. He is a man concentrating hard so that you can have delicious food :)
Wow what a restaurant.
I decided to shout my work colleague dinner at Italian and Sons and luckily we booked a table as the place was heaving.
The service was very efficient and had the wine flowing (a Vernaccia di San Gimignano) while we read the menu.
We had the zucchini flowers, the dogs with prosciutto and scampi to share - they were all divine.
We then changed to a Barolo and had the slow roasted veal cheeks with risotto, pork belly and puttanesca pizza - the veal cheeks were a bit dry but the rest of the dishes were fantastic.
We finished with a goat and sheeps cheese and the chocolate desert.
The service was efficient and very friendly - our waiter was also damn funny.
We will be back.
Had dinner here the other night. The ambience, food and service were excellent. Started with two entrees, zucchini flowers stuffed with gorgonzola, and duck liver parfait and red wine gelatina. The zucchini flowers were paired well with the gorgonzola and the batter was light and crispy. The duck liver parfait was beautiful with a generous serving. We ran out of bread and asked for more to which they happily obliged. For mains we had one of the daily specials, clam spaghetti and a fior di latte pizza. Both were delicious. The pizza was light and authentic.
Amongst the best Italian food in Canberra City.Everything from Focaccia to casarecce with lamb to linguine with blue swimmer crab has the word perfection written all over it..To too it all such a cozy ambience with great service.Thanks for the experience guys..
Fantastic service and quick delivery of food (6pm - Saturday). We enjoyed a delicious platter to start and lovely red wine. Can't recommend the pasta more - both mine and my partners were delicious. The wait staff had a very relaxed and friendly attitude but still the standard you would expect with formal dining. Would definitely go again.
We had a lovely meal I had lamb pasta my friend had a special. We also had a side salad. The waiter was attentive and friendly. But they are over priced and the wood work made it too noisy to talk. Nice atmosphere for a romantic special night out if not for price n noise I would have given an extra .5
Always have an exceptional date night here ... Amazing food and nice atmosphere, great wine and friendly service. Will certainly be going back again
Excellent Italian. The food is fresh and authentic - I really enjoyed the wood fired oven! Pizzas were good and almost comparable to the likes of something like 400 Gradi in Melbourne. My company very much enjoyed their duck pasta.
The service was attentive, although it felt like they went out of there way to not be too overbearing, it was fine.
The restaurant itself has a very intimate atmosphere and was packed, but it still feels pretty relaxed and doesn't take itself too seriously.
I read most of the other reviews before coming here, and I was a little put off by the extremely negative ones. I experienced none of the issues described, perhaps they have improved themselves? In any case, I wouldn't feel deterred, it's a good place and definitely worth checking out.
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I can't understand the negative reviews of this restaurant - we had the most amazing meal and great dining experience here a couple of days ago whilst visiting from Melbourne.
The service was attentive but not bothersome. The atmosphere was great, even on a Monday night - a perfect mix of casual and sophisticated.
The food was outstanding. We started with the olives (very fresh and loaded with chilli) and garlic foccacia. The foccacia was far from standard fare - smoky, crispy and chewy wedges of bread topped with sweet, roasted garlic. A nice touch which meant that we weren't left with a lingering sharp garlic flavour that would have overwhelmed the other dishes.
For main course, we had the gnocchi and fish special. The gnocchi was outstanding - large pillows filled with oozing taleggio and topped with fresh figs and mustard fruits. I am not a big fish eater but I loved the fish, which was soft and moist with a nice crispy skin. Well seasoned and served with a delicious sauce and ribbons of zucchini. The desserts were good, but not quite up to the same standard as the other dishes.
I would highly recommend this restaurant and will definitely be returning when next in Canberra.
It was my sister’s birthday during her visit to Canberra. Seeing as we both love Italian food, it only seemed fitting to take her to one of the best Italian restaurants in town – Italian and Sons. The last time I was there was early last year and I was eager to revisit the restaurant. I made a lunch time booking during the weekday so it was very quiet in the restaurant that day.
Excellent Italian done simply and well. We started with delicious eggplant fritters and the meatballs in a rich tomato sauce followed by the maccheroni and the linguine. All nicely done. Best avoid the fig and spinach salad, basically just all baby spinach leaves. We finished off with three beautiful scoops of gelato. Wine selection was fantastic. Service was friendly and efficient.
I'd suggest always going with the Piatti del Giorno. Then ask the waiter to recommend a wine to accompany it. This has served me well every time I've eaten here
My first time eating scampi and I wasn't disappointed. The sauce accompanying was delicious and the scampi cooked perfectly. Great portion size and overall amazing atmosphere
WOW. If you live here or a passing through as we are don't miss Italian and Sons. It has the perfect Italian ambience combined with great service and food. My wife and I shared an appetiser of crispy baby prawns. For mains we had spinach and ricotta cannelloni with burnt butter sauce. Then the dish of the day- suckling pig served with cavolo Nero and mustard fruits was sensational. Altogether a special night in Canberra, don't miss Italian and Sons.
Amazing! The best italian food this side of Rome, great service and great vibe!
It was a pleasant evening. We went there for my partners birthday, just a quiet dinner on monday evening. We were quite happy, especially the food was amazing! For entree I had carpaccio and my hubby had octopus - amazing!! For main - special beef filet and goat ragu & finally for dessert - panna cotta and tiramisu. Everything was just yummy! Only the panna cotta was little bit over powering. The service is good, full on! Only thing I didnt like was that staff was keep looking at us and walking between tables, they sold us extras (saying that he will just add it cause we need it) and I could not understand the specials...very hard unclear language and italians names.
Overall I left very happy and will come back, as the food was worth it, even that is expensive!
Loved it! Delicious authentic Italian food. Friendly attentive wait staff. A little on the pricey side, but the food was so yummy it was worth it. The venue was a little crowded and people were pushing past our table to get to the facilities but still managed to have a great atmosphere. Do yourself a favour and treat yourself to a lovely night out at Italian and Sons.
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Excellent Food and good service - Sydney Diners Try Canberra. We read many of the recent reviews of this place on Urbanspoon and they all seemed to concentrate on the "grumpy owner". We drove down from Sydney and were looking forward to trying this restaurant as had heard pretty much positive things except these reviews - it appears mainly from Canberrans.
I just can't believe some of these reviews - have concluded that at least half the residents of ACT cannot tell excellent cooking from a chicken nugget. Canberra has the highest incomes in Australia and close to the highest labour costs yet when a restaurant owner wants to pump through two sittings on a Friday and Saturday night and makes that policy clear he's a big naughty rude man - well boo hoo Canberrans - all I can say is that we are used to far worse every day in Sydney and we don't go to restaurants to bond with the owner - we go for food and service and in the case of Italian and Sons they are top notch.
So Canberrans - suck it up and harden up !
We had garlic focaccia - excellent - served with good quality olive oil - they sure put that wood oven to good use - every table should try a dish or two cooked in it.
We started with school prawns deep fried - good - not outstanding and calamari - really very good - so tender - cooked to perfection - sweet, soft succulent - pretty much the best calamari I have had.
For mains I had kingfish with caponata - fish was fresh, perfectly cooked and the caponata beautifully made with a delicious sweetness ( muscatels ?) that offset the slight tartness of the fish - an incredibly well balanced dish - top marks. She had salt crusted wood oven roasted beef with horseradish cream and a capsicum sauce reduced in wine. Wow - I tried the beef (cooked med -rare) it was perfect - the best piece of beef cooking I have encountered in recent times and the capsicum sauce was rich, sweet went very well with the beef.
Wait staff were excellent - a bit crowded but not unbearable - as I said make sure you try something cooked in the wood fired oven - at Italian and Sons they seem to turn out great dishes from this unit.
Yes the owner made it clear when we booked we could come early and be out by 8-8.15 or come at 8.15-8.30 and that we both had to confirm our booking on the Friday when we got a text message and show up on Saturday or else ? ( maybe he has cousins in the same area as my ancestors around Naples). We did see the owner and he didn't exactly crack a welcome smile - more stony faced - but as I said - hey we're from Sydney and we won't take offense - if he has to be a bit grumpy an direct to make this place fire, produce both really good food and a profit - then more power to him.
Forget these petty local reviews - I give this place a big tick and recommend.
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I like it, but..... From my own experience at the early dinner service last Saturday night and the comments from others here makes me wonder what Italian and Sons are thinking with their approach to service. We had really lovely food, but the odd service really did detract from the experience. We started the night with a young male waiter who seemed to have cultivated an air of snobbish indifference which was communicated from the moment we chose tap water of sparkling (picture an almost eye-rolling look of disdain). It continued into an oddly self-conscious rendition of the specials and then some hilariously pompous advice on our wine selection (which we ignored because we did actually know better!). As frequent restaurant diners we all thought this was rather behind the times - these days people expect waitstaff to put them at ease (but perhaps that means they need to be at ease themselves). We were enormously relieved when our waiter was replaced (or perhaps as we suspect replaced himself) with a lovely bubbly young woman. The rest of our meal was much more enjoyable. I may eat here again, but service like that is off-putting and I wonder why the management doesn't see how this makes a difference to the experience. And the two sittings just seems a little greedy, but that's their business decision. Some come with lowered expectations and you may be pleasantly surprised.
Elegant. Delicious! Only good experiences to share! Great flavours and portion sizes for the price! Good service and knowledgable staff!
Great real Italian food. That's why you need to book ahead of time.
They tend to do two sittings and the menu has alot on offer from light thin Pizza, cured hams and proscuitto through to good old meat braises, pork bellies etc. They have a good daily specials (day of the week) as well as great main stays. Desserts, the Panna Cotta is to die for. They have a solid wine list with many Italian wines (worth the try as Australian wines can over power lots of food these days). The service is neat. They do two sittings, you should see the other restaurants in town who try that! So it tends to get a little bustly but it comes together in the end. Seating is a little tight, but in line with modern eating around the world these days. Remember book ahead.
Lovely atmosphere. Pleasant service-did little things like always making sure our water glasses were full. Amazing cheese and cured meats. Amazing ragu! The best Italian I've had in years
Expect quality. Food was of superior quality and taste. Service was attentive and polished. I love that the environment is warm, cosy and bustling. Whilst it isn't the cheapest restaurant in ACT Italian & Sons is well worth investing in whenever funds permit because i could probably guarrantee that your meals, vino and entire experience will leave a lasting, delectable impression. I will be back for the beef cheeks.
Love this place, best Italian restaurant in Canberra, can't eat anywhere else. Must book ahead but should try the daily specials... Love the Woodfire Crispy Suckling Pig. Actually everything is good.
Loved it!! Great food staff friendly and attentive and knew their food. Will certainly be back and recommend to friends.
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Would go again. The service was friendly and very attentive. They could probably afford to be a bit more relaxed. My partner interpreted their eagerness as being rushed (even though we were at the 8pm sitting), although I just think they were eager to please. Even though it was full, the food also came out quickly.
All the dishes were tasty and well presented. I had a seafood spaghetti with snapper and snowpeas - beautifully cooked. My main (albeit minor) criticism would be that the portion could have been larger. For an Italian restaurant, it was smaller than usual. I suppose the point of this place is not to be your average trattoria, and to encourage you to try primi, secondi, dolci etc, but even a 1/4 more pasta and I would have felt satisfied.
The waiter advised us to get a side dish (beans) with the other main (barramundi). We were glad we did. I always find this irritating, especially when you're already paying a fair price for the 'main' meal. Maybe include a choice of sides in the price of the dish - so you don't have to have the awkward 'how big is it?' conversation or be fooled into thinking any vegetables in the meal description will be anything substantial.
All in all, I enjoyed this place.
Despite having to wait for our table which had been booked earlier , the service was attentive and efficient for a Saturday night which was great to see. The food was sensational . The wood fired oven focaccia was a great way to start the meal , crispy and well seasoned with rosemary and cracked sea salt . Margarita pizza was also impressive with a perfectly cooked base, crispy and chewy with a delicate tomato and cheese tipping with fresh amounts of Italian basil on top. My dining partner chose the lamb with peas which also did not dissapoint . The lamb was soft , tender and was accompanied with a rich wine reduction . Definitely worth a visit if you happen to find yourself in the capital .
We travelled to Canberra for Anzac Day and got a recommendation from a local to go to Italian & sons. We got a seat which was awesome considering how busy it was. I suggest booking for sure. Awesome atmosphere. Fantastic food and great service. The menu was great. Shame we are not locals as we would certainly eat here more often.
This would have to be my favourite restaurant in Canberra and it has shown us again tonight.
The consistency of Italian & Sons is all but unparalleled, in food, staff and atmosphere. The food is great, I don't think anyone will argue that, but its the staff that makes a difference here. They manage to be attentive without being intrusive, friendly without being chatty, and all the while getting us through our meal before the next sitting without feeling rushed.
I would happily recommend Italian & Sons to anyone looking for a meal done perfectly.
Perfetto! Great food, service and atmosphere. We eat here often, despite it being a little pricey. Favourites: ocean trout with horseradish cream; eggplant parmigiana; salt cured beef; fish of the day with caponata; rosemary focaccia, always; and mixed olives if you can possibly fit them in.
Too Cool for ACT. We recently were in Canberra for a wedding and were taken to this great italian restaurant, felt l was more in Sydney than the ACT.
The Anti was terrific and spaghetti with prawns a must, Great service
On a whim, called on a Saturday evening on the off chance we could get a booking. Staff were casual but very knowledgeable and happy to talk us through unfamiliar menu items. Highlight was the charcuterie: melted in the mouth. The nightly special (lamb on this visit) was sublime as was my friend's pasta with rabbit ragu. A bottle of lusty prosecco proved a great accompaniment. Only criticism is the noisy atmosphere which doesn't lend itself to easy conversation.
Amazing - up there with the best in Canberra. Food was perfect - great produce and well executed. Service was top notch - especially appreciated the wine advice from Tony!
Excellent food!. I will definitely return to this restaurant...yummy bread to start with and fresh charcuterie. The pastas were al dente and sooo good. The portion of the pasta can be a little larger though. Overall, I was very pleased with the food and will go back again..
Dined here on Saturday night. Great atmosphere, fantastic food... Bottle of fiano a great addition to a superb meal
Great, random find. Excellent, although slightly expensive, Quattro Formaggio pizza.
Good wine list.
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The true trattoria experience. Had dinner at Italian and Sons last night and it is one of the best places I have dined at in the last 12 months. It is a great space, the interior design is well done, and it really encapsulates the whole 'trattoria' experience.
The food was rustic, but flavoursome, and I would go a long way to eat smallgoods of the quality that were served. The prosciutto had a real earthy quality, and little of the strong saltiness that I usually find disagreeable in more commercial varieties, and the capocollo had a delightful tang to it.
The pizza deserves a special mention as I have found pizza in Canberra to be fairly pedestrian on the whole, whereas I couldn't fault the pizza here. It had the beautiful light as a feather crust, with simple ingredients, mmmmmm.
However the clincher for me is the wine. Italian wine is the best food wine on the planet, in my humble opinion, and they have an awesome selection of top quality Italian, and other European, wines, at a range of prices to suit most budgets. Moreover Tony, is a maitre de/sommellier par excellence, who can help you open up your horizons.
All up a great night, and excellent value for money...
Canberra's Best Italian. This place is easily Canberra's best Italian restaurant. Wonderful food, great service & a cracking selection of Italian wine, cocktails & BEER! It's easy to walk past but well worth finding. My first visit here followed dinner at Iceberg's the weekend before & this place ticked the same boxes but without the view. Tony, on the floor, brings that much needed Melbourne level of service North of the Murray. Excellent.
We wanted something really nice on our last night of our honeymoon... This place did not disappoint! The food, service and ambience- just lovely! We went the tasting menu and loved every dish! Thanks so much!
Thien Vuong (fooderarri)
+4
We elected not to go for the tasting menu as we were in a group of 4 and wanted some variety in our dishes so we could share. We had a good variety of some of the finest Italian food including the following entree: Fremantle Sardine 'in short and chickpea panelled, Grilled octopus, Wood baked eggplant, Zucchini flower. For the pasta we had: Asparagus, leek & ricotta agnolotti, Squid ink tagliolini, and Rigatoni. We also had Jack's Creek Striploin with insalata caprese and that was delicious.
I rate the food, though it took a long time to come out and the service wasn't that great, especially when we told them we ordered the zucchini flower and the waiter denied taking the order and made some other excuses. There's a lot of tables in a small space and it is likely they couldn't keep up production for a near full capacity restaurant as I looked around and no one had any food for more than half an hour. Regards @fooderarri
Simple, classic, and good tasting Italian food. The tiramisu is absolutely to die for. The only downside I have to mention is that the meals are quite small and I was still hungry after the entree, main and dessert.
Otherwise the space itself is dim and moody (in a good way!) and the staff were nice and knowledgeable about wine.
I cannot rate Italian and sons more highly even if I could! The waiter was absolutely hilarious and certainly made us laugh, and their martini's are great! So many options for drinks I nearly couldn't choose! I will definitely be going back.
We had a lovely meal here and would absolutely return again. We started with the focaccia with whipped Ricotta and chestnut honey, which was light and delicious, and a serving of olives. Main course was pasta. I had spinach pappardelle, with lamb ragu, and the lamb was so tender. My partner had conchiglie with pork sausage, chard & pancetta, and greatly enjoyed it. Then tiramisu and a chocolate hazelnut and salted caramel dessert with meringue and poached pear. The service was excellent and I would absolutely return again. There were gluten free pasta options on the menu if needed.
Yet another fantastic meal from Pasquale and his Team. This is one of my go to restaurants when I want to show off how far Canberra has come in the field of fantastic, world class food. My suggestion is the Rigatoni... simply amazing! A lovely place for the family to visit or for a more intimate meal for two. I've done both and have never been disappointed. Thanks again guys...
So Good!
This is fine dining at it’s best. We were in Canberra with family and decided to spoil ourselves. I recommend the focaccia with ricotta and honey. What a start 👍 Followed by best braised Octopus I have eaten 🙏 I then ordered the snapper which was jam packed with flavour 👏 For desert I recommend the Tiramisu with a Machiato 🙏🙏🍷🍷 We washed this down-with 2 bottles for Prosecco heavenly 👏👏
Good Italian restaurant in Canberra overall. Speedy service and flavorful and tender lamb pasta. Recommend.
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