Tosolini’s on the corner in Manuka – the site where a tree now stands between the building owners and big development plans - was the place in the late 1990s where we had dinner on a Friday night, a pasta and a bottle of Alkoomi sauvignon blanc. Tosolini’s on Baileys Corner in the city was the place we had breakfast near every day when the kids were in prams and the place to which I detoured on the way to the birthing suite on the morning of the bushfires for coffee, baby already on the way, but knowing I couldn’t manage what was to come without the habitual Tosolini’s coffee. That was then, and it seemed the Tosolini’s heydays were over when the city cafe closed suddenly in early 2015.
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But I google Molto to make a booking and there he is, Carlo Tosolini back in business on the southside, at the Kingston Foreshore, a gleaming otherworldly zone of steel and glass, concrete walkways and boardwalks, faux canals (probably by definition) and a strange sense of emptiness. So many apartments, so many eateries, so much concrete on which to stroll so near the lake and yet so strangely disconnected from the natural world. Weird.
But also quite lovely sitting in the plastic window at Molto looking over the scene. We’re in the front section of the restaurant where the plastic is clearly rolled out of the way to open things up a balmy evening, but tonight is fully enclosed, with cushions and rugs helping out. The back of the restaurant is taken up with an open kitchen and the place is clearly popular and busy – although I’m wondering at the affectation of two sittings, 6pm and 8pm.
We’re greeted by Tosolini like an old friend – he’s working the floor here so a hands-on owner. And then later another familiar face appears at our table and we look at each other for a bit, wondering whose memory will kick into gear first. Turns out it’s the guy who ran Cafe Loui in the interchange all those years ago, a cafe obsessed by precise and excellent coffee. He regales us with wild and entertaining tales of the mafia back home in Italy, we all laugh with reasonable ease from the comfort of one of the least edgy and highly ordered precincts of an entirely non-wild city, softened still more by the years that have lent both Loui and Tosolini a physical patina and a social bonhomie. In short, they both look extremely happy and settled with the new gig in Kingston. Tosolini says it’s the place he always wanted, finally a restaurant that hasn’t been morphed by its location and customer base into a cafe.
It’s truffle season and you’ll find generous shavings of Canberra truffles on the menu in a simple pasta, and a bruschetta. These dishes are rather expensive, given what’s on top – and the waiter who reads the specials should really give the prices with these dishes - but the bruschetta is worth the splurge. There’s no point paying for truffle unless you can taste it, and in this entree of crisp thin toast with a gentle creamy cheese, the truffle does its thing so well. Phenomenal, really, and a great start.
We really like the arancini ($18) – three large balls of rice, with a sharp bolognese flavour, just resting on a smudge of tomato sauce. They’re sticky on the inside, crisp on the outside, and good.
Osso bucco risotto ($33) sounds like it might be quite meaty, but not so. The osso bucco is there only in passing, just some hints of meat, which lend their flavour without taking over. The risotto goes out of its way to embrace the stickiness of cheesy rice, keeping the dish simple, subtle and well-proportioned for something this rich.
Maccheroni amatriciana ($28), which sounds so much more exotic than macaroni, is good, too, with pork cheek and a chunky rough-cut tomato sauce and nicely bitey pasta, although it is quite aggressively salty.
The potato and rosemary pizza ($23) has a pillowy base, more soft than crisp, and the slices of potato on top are likewise soft and not especially thin. This is a decent pizza but not as good as potato pizza can be.
The wine list is focused on Italy and on well-priced wines, and Molto offers many by the glass as well as by the carafe, a good touch.
Dessert, well that has all the luxury and comfort you could desire. Nonna’s tiramisu ($17) is still made by Tosolini’s mother, who has been making this excellent Italian invention for as long as her sons have been in the business. It’s super creamy, sharp with alcohol, full of luxury and richness. Budini de panettone ($17) is crowdpleaser. It dispenses with dried fruit and offers a little skillet of bread pudding, lush with custard, sweet and studded with melted dark chocolate. It’s a big dessert and delicious.
We’re enjoyed this evening, not only for the unexpected surprise of seeing familiar faces from so many years ago, and seeing them settled in a successful venture, but also for the food, which is coherent, properly themed and hits some very good notes. We’re liking the walk back across the pedestrian bridge at water level to the car we parked without a frantic search and I’m having an internal battle about when it might be time to give up that long-held antipathy to the Canberra’s concrete version of lakeside living.
Molto Italian
Address: Element Building, 155/43 Eastlake Parade, Kingston
Phone: 61407039
Website: moltoitalian.com
Owner: Molto Group
Chef: Giuseppe Pappalardo and Carlo Tosolini
BYO: No
Hours: Lunch noon-3pm, Tuesday to Sunday. Dinner settings at 6 and 8pm, Monday to Sunday.
Wheelchair access: Yes and disabled toilet.
Noise: No problem.
Vegetarian: Decent options.
Score: 15/20
