Agostini's has prime spot in a pretty swank hotel and as such it has a bustling energy. This energy is not only the luck of the location; the place makes a big effort to be upbeat and make you feel you're out for a fun evening. There are lots of Italian accents among the staff, who share their affection for their homeland, its bonhomie and its cuisine.
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The former incarnation of the main dining space at East Hotel was Ox, and it was a favourite for its relaxed Euro feel, booths, booze and bone marrow.
Agostini's has a very different feel. The space is opened up and turned casual. Gone is the long bar and the rotisserie spit, shades of pink and peach contribute to the happy happy vibe, cane chairs speak kind of vaguely to Italy. There's also old Italian street scenes on the walls, tiles on the floor, and just in case you were in doubt, the oldest Vespa I’ve seen sits solidly in the middle of the room. Very cool.
We love the bronze-coloured cutlery and google it at dinner thinking we should invest in a bit of this fancy tableware, then we cool on the idea discovering it's coloured rather than solid and also what looks good in a restaurant doesn't necessarily in a home. We're also admiring the checkerboard set-up of our plates - blue at one place, brown at the next. All this contributes in a pleasant way.
I'm pretty sure this is our first encounter with frico ($12), a cheesy fried dish, like a kind of pancake. It comes in its frypan, and is described as a typical Friuli dish, "paper thin layers of montasio and potato". It is dense and clearly fried, and with fried cheese you can't avoid a certain heaviness and fat. It's chewy and over the top, and reminds you of the side of Italian cooking which says delicacy be damned, food is to be indulged. We're a little divided on this dish; I like it.
The calamari rings ($16) are large, and feel rather oily. More crunch and delicacy would definitely help here.
The lasagne ($25) is soft with the layers meddling into each other rather than remaining distinct - a hazard when fresh pasta is used. It's cheesy and heavy, satisfying in a winter comfort-food way, if not terribly refined or interesting.
The truffle pizza ($25) with Italian sausage and mushroom paste is super rich. It's a flat base, full of shaved truffle, intense and mouthfilling, in that inimitable truffle way - in all, full-on and at the extreme end of pizza.
Spaghetti al pomodoro con basilico ($18) is what it says - a simple dish of spaghetti with tomato and bail. The pasta is really good, full of bite, and the tomato sauce is fresh.
As for dessert, chocolate mousse ($15) is piled on top of dense biscuity almond meringue with strawberries and gold leaf on top - rich and likeable, a dish with a bit of a focus on careful and fiddly presentation.
Tiramisu ($15) has crunchy layers with miles of creamy filling - the coffee-soaked biscuits are not as soft as you usually find with tiramisu, but it's rich and I like it.
The food, in sum, has been put together carefully and, if not fantastic in every detail, does the job of helping Agostini's add up to a happy night out.
The wine list is a real plus. It's focuses on Italy and the Canberra region, which is right for the restaurant, and offers plenty of interest by the glass on both fronts. We love the Italian soave, full of flavour and crunch, and likewise the 2016 Ravensworth Beppo’s Blend ($15/$65), a local blend of sangiovese, nebbiolo and barbera, and made, according to the wine list, for Agositini's. It's so soft and highly drinkable, a great and easy wine. Agostini's is choosing well with its Ravensworth offerings - there is also a marsanne roussane blend - this is a local maker who specialises in Italian blends and in highly food-friendly wines.
Agostini's
Owner: Dan Bisa and Dion Bisa
Chef: Francesco Balestrieri
BYO: No, fully licensed
Hours: Seven days, lunch noon-3pm, dinner 5:30pm to 10pm
Wheelchair access: Yes
Vegetarian: Pizza, pasta, salads, sides
Noise: Busy but not noisy
Score 14.5/20
