Scugnizzi

If there’s one thing Brisbane loves, it’s an Italian restaurant. But while there are plenty of options for a sit-down meal, casual choices are limited. That’s what inspired Simone Presta to open Scugnizzi in the CBD.

It turned out to be a smart move – Presta reckons Scugnizzi sold around a thousand slices of its chunky, Roman-style pizza in its first week of trade. Slices are displayed in a cabinet, and when one is ordered, it’s popped into an oven to reheat before being served. It’s a concept found in bakeries throughout Italy, where they typically sell pizza al taglio (pizza by the slice).

Beyond pizza, the menu features a large range of pastas that are hand-rolled or extruded in-house and cooked to order. Options could be gnocchi with duck ragu and porcini sauce, tagliatelle with prawns and zucchini, and pappardelle with mushrooms and truffle cream. There are also a couple of fried arancinis, including one filled with saffron rice, salsiccia (Italian sausage) and provola cheese.

In the morning, Scugnizzi runs a short breakfast offering with Fonzie Abbott coffee and a range of pastries from Presta’s other business, Doughcraft, including croissants filled with pistachio or Nutella.