Brisbane may already be home to a bevy of great Italian eateries, but who’s to say that there are ever too many offerings when it comes to pasta? The latest Italian-inspired addition to the River City has arrived at the burgeoning precinct of Howard Smith Wharves.

Polpetta has just opened its doors on the ground floor of the recently unveiled hotel The Fantauzzo. Describing itself as a ‘fuss-free celebration of authentic Italian fare’ the eatery comes courtesy of a collaboration between Justin North, the hotel’s food and beverage manager Jason Erasmus and executive chef Steven Herold.

The menu is distinctly Roman in flavour, with all pasta to be hand-made in house daily. Start your feasting with the fava bean, pea, and mint bruschetta topped with buffalo ricotta, or perhaps the grilled octopus with potato mousseline and nduja is more your style. For those after something heartier, there’s Polpetta specialty, the veal and pork meatballs with tomato sugo and smoked scamorza or the fettuccine with zucchini flowers, buffalo ricotta, cavalo nero and pistachio pesto.

Desserts are also plentiful and thankfully include a tiramisu, as well as a couverture chocolate tart with mascarpone gelato and berries. Naturally it’s a non-negotiable to include a little local limonello, orangecello or grappa from Mount Tamborine on the side.

Considering it sits within a design hotel, the restaurant’s interiors are equally suave. Exposed concrete and dark tiles infiltrate the space, with works from artist Vincent Fantauzzo (after whom the hotel is named) lining the walls.

Polpetta is open seven days and nights, catering to breakfast, lunch and dinner for hotel guests and Brisbane residents alike.

Polpetta at The Fantauzzo
5 Boundary Street, Brisbane
polpetta.com.au