Sasso Italiano

Sasso Italiano was among the first venues to hit Woolloongabba’s South City dining precinct, courtesy of experiential hotel veterans Vincent Lombino and Jared Thibault (the duo were instrumental in designing Gowings Bar & Grill at QT Sydney and Za Za Ta at Ovolo The Valley),

Their dimly-lit space is decked out with plenty of timber and glass, curved entryways, marble countertops and crazy paver floors. The walls are adorned with paintings by Melbourne artist Libby Haines, and Italo-disco throwbacks play through the house speakers.

In the kitchen, former Sydney chef Gabriele Di Landri (ex-Aria, Chiswick and The Dolphin Hotel) prepares a menu of crudo, antipasti, mains, pizza and pasta. You might start with steamed mussels or burrata with wakame and capers, then follow with pork cotoletta or dry-aged hangar steak with marrow butter and summer herbs.

Classic pastas might range from rigatoni amatriciana to cacio e pepe; backed up pizzas such as margherita, salsiccia and capricciosa from the rotating woodfire oven.

For drinks, there’s an Italian-focused wine list, and a Negroni menu that includes Birthday Negronis, highlighting vintage gins, vermouths and Campari sourced from every decade back to the 1960s. You might also try a house Italian lager brewed by Aether Brewing.