Rosmarino Italian Restaurant Brisbane — Restaurant in Brisbane City

A hole in the wall for all the right reasons, Rosmarino is the sort of place that visually evolves the more you pay attention. If you find yourself with a craving for a good glass of wine, great food, and incredible service. The unassuming entrance to the warm and welcoming den of delight should be at the top of your list.

Attending on opening night, Rosmarino had all of the charms of an opening night, with any chaos buried beneath the authenticity of the wait staff and the owners. Those familiar with Hellenika will be in comfortable waters perusing the menu but dig a little deeper and you’ll come across many delights, notably of which were a delicious Tramezzino, or, my highlight; Florence from Chef Dario, the best Sourdough I’ve ever had in my life. Nailing both the crust and the soft interior, the sourdough is paired incredibly well on Matteo’s recommendation of Prosciutto butter, the creation of which, the owner Lauren was kind enough to walk me through amidst the hustle and bustle of the lively night.

Even with Florence stealing the show as she did, the runner up didn’t do too bad for itself, a mind-blowing Bout d’Zan from Man De Libian, 75% grenache and 25% Syrah, Nathan their floor manager could not have done a better job!

Whilst lively and animated, Rosmarino offers a variety of seating options, tables in the back with plenty of wine to provide inspiration, seats at the bar to discuss drinks with the bar staff, or seats near the window to watch the foot traffic and cars drive by, leaving you to your wine and thoughts.

Walking away from Rosmarino at the end of the night I must have left something behind because I have constantly thought of going back. When their dinner and lunch service opens I’ll be hard-pressed to keep regulars, knowing Rosmarino is so close by. Rosmarino is incredibly well priced, taking into account their roots of James St and the location of Fortitude Valley. Competitors around Howard Smith Wharves and Eagle Street best watch out, if you’ve been there and haven’t been to Rosmarino, you’re either missing out or saving some for the...

Rosmarino has a beautiful sophisticated setting that makes you feel like you could be anywhere else but Brisbane. A heritage vibe with a lovely classy classic fit-out. Half way through a bottle of exceptional Etna and some good conversation, I had to remind myself I was not in London.

What was even nicer was the comfort level and seating, with good use of space and table arrangements. Rosmarino has a very consistent room temperature with no breeze or over-heating like so many places suffer from. It was extremely relaxing and I find this to be paramount for a good dining experience.

Rosmarino provide candid friendly service with a professional Italian touch. They are a young but extremely professional team with a lively enthusiastic energy about everything they do. They engage you well and with authentic smiles that tell you they know what they are doing.

The wine list is extensive with good variety focusing on Italian styles and very well priced for what was on offer. A well thought out range of options with quality drinking in mind for wine buffs or the wine amateur.

Rosmarino boasts a very good wine bar at the front of the premises with amazing Pane, Salumi and Formaggi as-well as some playful Negroni choices to top off a good custom cocktail list. Walk-Ins only, I love it.

The main menu food was superb and interesting all at the same time. From the Tartare, Crudo and Caprese to the dry aged Duck, rolled Lamb and aged Steak, the presentation was spot on. Far from pretentious the dishes are very delightful to the eye with incredibly good flavours. Unique dishes like Culurgiones and the Dry Aged White Chocolate Steak make this restaurant unique in their approach for Brisbane's food scene.

I dine everywhere, all the time. I am seldom impressed and rarely part with money so easily as I did with Rosmarino. The entire ensemble of fit-out, service, comfort, wine, food and climate makes for an award winning restaurant. I will be back to support this team and their endeavours with on a regular basis.

Bravo...

We came for our end of year work function and enjoyed the banquet served shared style. The staff were warm and hospitable, and we were tucked away in a rustic exposed brick room away from the other diners.

To start we enjoyed the dough of the day with prosciutto crudo di parma - salisiccia sarda. Rosmarino were considerate of dietaries and those non-gluten non-pork eaters enjoyed a cheese plate.

For entrees we had burratona (opera burrata- truffle & honey abbamele) which was divine, but may have been better paired with the starter bread. This was accompanied by beef tartare (raw beef - garlic - cornichons - potato anchovy foam - rice chip), which was so beautifully presented it could have been mistaken for a sweet dessert dish!

For pasta there were two selections, a fusilli (spirals - prawn - guanciale - garlic chilli - preserved lemon - crumb) and a risotto verde (riserva san massimo rice - fresh pesto - goat cheese - stracciatella - olasgati anchovies - pine nuts - potato - snow peas - mint oil).

The main was the absolute winner of the meal and one I would visit Rosmarino for again - the steak al cioccolato (white chocolate cured - black anchovy sauce - red capsicum - basil). The flavour palette was next to none, it kept you wanting more, no doubt attributed to the white chocolate cured angle adopted. If this is all you order, you won’t leave disappointed.

The sides were patate (triple cooked potatoes - anchovy - garlic - rosemary), broccolini (pan fried - mortadella - lemon preserve) and insalata (radicchio salad - walnut - goat cheese dressing). All flavoursome in their own right, and when shading, respectably sized for a bite or two!

Last but not least, as if we still had room in our stomachs, was the deconstructed cheesecake (mouthwatering!) and chef dario’s macinamisù (tiramisu with a twist).

The feast was a great way to celebrate with colleagues and reasonably priced. The staff were accommodating of our wine budget and selected beautifully paired reds for our meal....