I crave pasta more than I care to admit. Thankfully for my waistline, Brisbane has been lacking in an Italian pasta joint at mid-range prices for quite some time. Ripiena in Fortitude Valley to the rescue!! Hands down some of the best pasta I have ever had in Australia, if not the best!!
So, we missed International Pasta Day last week – idiots. One of the best days of the year – silly. Being the carb lovers we are, we decided since we had missed it we would simply postpone it a few days – logical.
Helloooo Sunday. After a lovely afternoon soaking up the sun and the sunset with some bevvies on the waterfront, we decided it was time for our pasta night. We rang Ripiena and even though they weren’t far off closing and had run out of pasta, they were still happy to accommodate us so we rocked on over. Legends. Should have realised then it would be fab.
It’s a simple, small restaurant, with an open kitchen and beautiful hand-made pasta lounging about sexily in window displays. We sat down and ‘lightly’ debated what four kinds of pasta we would choose to split between the four of us. We agreed on five pasta mains and an entree. It was postponed International Pasta Day, after all.
We started with the Prosciutto de parma, imported from Parma – so, so incredibly tasty! It came recommended by the lovely man from Ripiena who guided us with all our food choices.
Our mains came and we just put them all in the middle and shared. Forks flying everywhere. I’m not sure if I can pick a favourite. They were all so incredibly delicious in their own way. Because they were handmade (and on the spot – thank you Ripiena again), the textures were simply phenomenal. There’s no competition when it comes to fresh pasta – it’s a winner every damn time.
I’m fairly sure that these were the dishes we shared… we debated for so long I can’t actually remember but I do remember that each was incredibly unique, both in the texture of the pasta and in flavour.
- Tagliatelle bolognese – traditional recipe registered with the chamber of commerce in Bologna!
- Spatzil in Bianco with butter and Parmigia no Reggiano
- Bigoli all’anatra – slow-cooked duck ragu – thick spaghetti-like pasta
- Scialatielli from Amalfi – Parmigiano Reggiano with fresh basil served with cream and juice of fresh lemons
- Tortellini de Bologna – pork loin signature dish served with cream and Parmigiano Reggiano
At this point, I might add that the price-point is approx $20-$25 per main. That is OUTSTANDING value for handmade, fresh, quality, authentic pasta. We shared a bottle of delicious white wine (also didn’t pick – left the decisions to someone else) with our feast and celebrated our postponed International Pasta Day, the right way!
Ooh I just read Ripiena’s ‘about us’ page and it explains a lot. From the sourcing of their ingredients to their kitchen – everything is quality driven. Even more exciting though, you can buy their fresh pasta to take home and cook!!
I would seriously LOVE to try EVERYTHING on the menu. It would be excessive in one sitting, so I might split it up, but it’s definitely on my to-do list. I will be back, and it won’t be long away.
* Ripiena was not aware I was coming in, nor that I would do a blog.
**Ripiena, I’m sorry if I spelt anything incorrectly – I couldn’t copy and paste from the PDF menu! Thank you for a wonderful experience.
*** My photos seriously don’t do this place any justice. It was dark and I didn’t expect to write a blog. But it’s so damn good I had to share! My colleagues actually asked me to stop talking about it I was going on so much.