Trattoria

After much anticipation, peering through the construction and closed windows of Trattoria in Parrmatta it had finally opened!

Although little farther away from the Eat Street, its location closer to Westfield is still convenient if you're after a pre-movie dinner that isn't Nando's or Asian.

Jamie Oliver's new restaurant is bound to hold a lot of his values of warm and comforting food in a simple but delicious way.

It’s toasty warm the moment you enter and the restaurant is adorned with a rustic home-style feel. The combination of the décor with the happily noisy atmosphere makes you feel like you’ve stepped into an Italian family home. We were seated with the menu ready before us with Jamie's Italian tea towels napkins. It's almost a guilty pleasure to wipe your mouth on a tea towel.

The menu is filled to the brim with a number of classic Italian dishes all comforting in nature making this a perfect winter menu.

In addition to the menu items, our waitress informed us of the night’s specials where the pasta and fish specials vary periodically.

Baked Mushrooms on crispy music bread with smoked mozzarella, thyme and parmesan 

We started with a couple of entrees perfect to stave away the cold. The baked mushrooms was served with a huge ball of melting mozzarella oozing nicely into the pastry encasing the mushrooms. The dish was lacking a little bit of flavour however and was a bit on the dry side as the mozzarella wasn't enough to provide a reasonable balance of moisture. 

Sizzling Meatballs: Beef & Veal meatballs with herbs & breadcrumbs, in a sweet spiced tomato & Prosecco sauce with lemon, parsley & Parmesan

The sizzling meatballs arrived ‘sizzling’ indeed! The dish was letting off some serious steam and was bubbling beautifully. 

The meatballs produced such a alluring smell that we just had to dig in straight away. The lemon with the prosecco worked wonderfully and the meatballs soaked in the sauce perfectly. I could definitely have enjoyed a huge bowl of this dish!

Although the baked mushrooms were a little dry, the combination with the saucy meatballs made for a great duo, using the bread and mushrooms to soak up the remaining sauce.

Italian Steak Frites

For mains I chose an easy Italian Steak Frites. The steak was a little disappointing - it was overall a little under-seasoned and with a light hint of lemon, could do with a little more. It was also a little tough and very dry, the salad in comparison was fresh and crunchy and offered a nice break to the steak. The chips at face value looked fantastic and full of flavour. They were however unsalted yet over-seasoned with paprika. A mouthful of powdery paprika made your mouth dry and was unpleasant overall. 

Special : Wagyu with fusilli pasta 

The pasta special on the other hand was steaming and saturated with flavour. The hearty beefy flavour resonated throughout the dish and the pasta soaked in the delicious sauce. The beef was succulent and juicy and made for a gorgeous alternative to your usual spaghetti bolognese. If this dish ever pops up on the specials again it's definitely a high recommendation. 

Epic Brownie

The brownie was served with a warm sauce and ice cream atop however the brownie itself wasn't warmed which was a little on the disappointing side. It didn't have any particular shine to it to warrant the title 'epic' and was actually quite dry and crumbly. I would've preferred it to be a little more dense and gooey. That would be 'epic'. 

Sour Cherry and Almond Tart

This dessert choice was an after thought after hearing the Lemon Meringue cheesecake was unavailable. To our surprise the tart was dense and moist and wasn't too overpowered by the cherry flavour. The honey cream that accompanied the dish was a fresh and light addition that balanced the slice nicely. It was a pleasant surprise receiving this dish after the disappointment that our first choice was unavailable but I was definitely happy. 

Trattoria is certainly a warm family style restaurant that feels almost like home. The atmosphere is cosy and happy and the restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The staff are friendly and well informed on the dishes and the menu. The only downside was the slightly underwhelming food -  it was good but just wasn't fantastic. However it's very reasonable in cost and the atmosphere is welcoming. Perhaps if I return I'll come back for their specials.