Food Review – La Piazza

This restaurant is one of the new kids on the block and it already has quite a presence since opening in December last year.

If you have been there I am sure you would agree that no expense was spared on décor and the kiddies play area – I was impressed.

I know they have been fine tuning their menu since they opened which is very commendable.

They have had a new chef for the last six weeks. He has worked with Gordan Ramsay and Gary Rhodes and really knows his stuff. To put them through their paces I took along a few friends who have worked in the hospitably industry.

I ordered the Chef’s Table menu, which will become a regular event where the chef is given free rein to create items not on the menu.The two starters, two mains and two desserts are a scaled down version of the dish the chef is trying out. You are given a score card to rate each offering, which is super fun and interactive. As for the rest of the meal it was so good. I did find the starters a bit on the large side though. We had the polenta – to see a chef infuse the polenta with herbs really made the dish. I had the Arancini (deep fried rice balls). They were tremendous, crisp outside with a creamy cheese and rice on the inside served with a simple Neapolitan sauce. The trio of bruchetta was well conceived and executed despite the side salad it came with. The mains were also top notch, I enjoyed the pasta parcels filled with venison. The flavours in the dish were perfect – absolutely stunning. Unfortunately the parcels had been overcooked a tad so they were slightly broken but the fact that they were home-made really impressed me. The gnocchi, also home-made, was a good balance of cheese and creaminess but could have used a touch more Gorgonzola. This is a personal preference as I am just very partial to these stunning Italian cheeses. The steak we ordered was well prepared, cooked to order and super tender.

I believe this restaurant has a bright future and I look forward to seeing what else they can come up with.