While the cuisine has never gone away, it is, unquestionably, the flavour of the month right now and one of the latest offerings flying the red, green and white flag is Salt Meats Cheese underneath the new Haven complex at Newstead, in inner Brisbane.

The family-owned restaurant began in Sydney, where there are currently five eateries, before expanding to Surfers Paradise and now Brisbane.

The River City venue is all about casual eating, capturing the vibrancy of the Italian Riviera through the raucous, light and bright indoor-outdoor space with almost double-height ceilings, concrete and stone tiled floors and a mix of black metal wire and cherry wood chairs, which emphasise the relaxed vibe.

It’s not a place for romantic, intimate dinners, but rather noisy, animated occasions with friends.

While they have nailed the vibe for the young, millennial-dominated area, the food is another story.

The menu offers all the usual suspects: antipasto platters, arancini, pastas, calzone and pizzas – both red and white-based, with the option of gluten-free for an extra $5.

The problems come with the quality.

In order to keep the price to $16, the yellow fin tuna tartare has seemingly compromised on quality, with the diced fish something I’d personally reserve for the neighbour’s cat.

The prawn gnocchi ($26) doesn’t fare any better, using gnocchi so dense and firm kids could use it to play handball, while there is enough garlic to wipe out the cast of Twilight.

What is good, thankfully, is the signature porchetta with slabs of tender, expertly cooked rolled pork belly stuffed with provolone, herbs and porcini bathing in just-salty-enough gravy with crisp roasted potatoes ($32)

The classic margherita pizza ($17), cooked in the venue’s wood-fired oven, is fine, but with arguably Brisbane best pizzeria, Beccofino, within a dough-toss of the venue, it surely wouldn’t be the first choice for locals craving a slice.

An affordable array of Australian, New Zealand and Italian wines are well chosen to match the food and the cocktail list is also extremely well priced.

Service is fast and efficient without being overly personable.

The thing about the current explosion of Italian restaurants is when there are so many, comparisons can easily be made, and if you’re not up to scratch, you will quickly get left behind.