Sometimes we live in a world where the idea of taking the family to eat out on a major commercial street, such as James Street or Brunswick Street, is nothing short of a financial and logistical nightmare. What has happened to the good suburban founded restaurants?
You will find some scattered around the place whose fame spreads ultimately through word of mouth. One such place is The Roman Empire situated in the Metropol shopping complex at Carindale on Brisbane's Southside.
The Roman Empire serves that hearty, Italian cuisine that keeps you seated with an unbuttoned buckle for at least 30 minutes. Their motto on food is based on three words: homemade, fresh and traditional. As this is quite local to my work, our team decided to venture down to indulge in some coffee and sweets, whilst catching up with a former work colleague.
The Breakfast menu reflects a mix of Euro-Australian flavours whilst the lunch menu has more of a Western influence than a European one, with a selection of burgers, sandwiches and wraps. The dinner menu however has your staple Italian offerings of pasta, pizza, risotto and traditional breads. There is also a mains menu of chicken, pork, beef and fish.
Latte (Photo instagram @neelsmcgee)
On arrival, we were welcomed by a lovely lady who was very attentive to all our needs for the duration of our stay. A latte was ordered which came out with a humorous image which made us all smile, whilst the
Taormina Bruschetta – fresh roma tomato, grilled prosciutto, rocket and shaved parmesan, drizzled with an olive oil balsamic glaze provided an appetizing mid afternoon flavour hit.
Taormina Bruschetta (Photo instagram @neelsmcgee)
A colleague and I decided to satisfy our sweet tooth with a selection from their dessert menu. Although priced reasonably at $9 and visually stunning when pieced together on the plate, the
Cassata - homemade Italian gelati cake was not what we were expecting. It lacked that creamy richness that you find in Italian gelati and the flavour combination were not very well suited, what seemed to be a pineapple flavour teamed with chocolate, lime and pistachio did not work on this occasion.
Cassata homemade Italian gelati cake (Photo instagram @neelsmcgee)
Overall if you are after a hearty Italian meal at a reasonable price, then The Roman Empire will satisfy your immediate needs, if you have a sweet tooth, perhaps another option for dessert will do justice.
The Roman Empire (Photo instagram @neelsmcgee)
Dessert Board (Photo instagram @neelsmcgee)
