This is Tony. We love him. He was the maître d’ at our favourite Italian restaurant until a couple of years ago. Over the time that we’ve known him, he’s watched our boys grow up from little kids to young adults, and marveled with us at their voracious appetites for pizza and pasta.
Completely by chance, I discovered a few days ago that he and his sister Carm have just opened their own place in the nearby suburb of Russell Lea. We couldn’t resist heading out last night for a meal at their new La Casa Ristorante.
The restaurant has a wonderful, welcoming ambience – gently lit, adorned with photos of Italy, with comfortable seating and earthy, rough-hewn tables. It’s a very elegant yet easy room to settle into.
My main meal, which I had no chance of eating on my own, was a full rack of sticky pork ribs, oven roasted for eight hours and served with a side of chunky fries. Big Boy and I agreed that these were, without doubt, the best ribs we’d ever eaten; they were unbelievably tender – literally falling off the bone – and perfectly accentuated by the sweet, sticky sauce. There were plenty of grill options available – half or full racks of pork or beef ribs, and a variety of different cuts and weights of steak.
Small Man demolished a bowl of fries and an entire pizza – this one had a thin, crispy base, and was topped with all of his favourite ingredients – olives, anchovies, tomato, cheese and oregano. I told him Tony had created that pizza just for him…
Pete’s main was a simple pasta of eggplant and olives, topped with fresh ricotta. The flavours were fresh and sweet…
Big Boy had the handmade pappardelle with pancetta and mushrooms in a white wine and cream sauce, before eating half of my ribs…
The boys and I chose gelato and sorbet for dessert, while Pete opted for the ricotta cannoli (of course!)…
We had a wonderful night – the boys in particular enjoyed themselves enormously, and were really happy to see Tony again. We’ll definitely be back there again soon!
. . . . .
La Casa Ristorante
271 Lyons Road
Russell Lea NSW
Open Tuesday – Sunday, from 5pm
Tel 9712 3882
www.lacasaristorante.com.au
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 