Having always walked past it many times I'd never thought to try Da Rosario. I wasn't too sure what it was... a cafe? a hole in the wall bakery? was there more through that door?
Turns out it's an offshoot of Mezzalira! Just a few tables and stools on a pathway, trying to take the wank out of nice Italian food. We sat down and already it didn't feel as awkward as one would have thought. We looked at the menus sitting under a bag of cutlery (presumably so they wouldn't fly away). It appeared to be handwritten and some parts a tad illegible, but I chose a veal dish and my girlfriend a pasta.
A man in an apron, but also a wooly jumper, appeared and poured us some water. He wasn't the friendliest or most personable person in the world, but in that cold when all his colleagues were next door in the warmth who would be?
After ordering food I noticed they served wine! Being that there was no wine list, and I still wasn't sure to what extent it was table service, I got up and walked over to his hole-in-the-wall (still not sure how far I as allowed to venture in) and asked what wine he recommended. Fittingly he suggested the hot mulled wine!
When the food came out (from Mezzalira's kitchen!) it was beautiful. The pasta ($16) was perfect lunch size, obviously made fresh, and (as my girlfriend remarked) a good deal better than Jamie's. My veal ($19) sat onto of a wonderful mash potato and dotted with slices of some incredibly flavoursome mushroom. The only issue was being torn between savouring the flavour, and eating fast enough as the Canberra winter air was quickly cooling our lunches!
Afterwards We ordered some coffees which were pretty good (Civic as a whole is picking up it's standards in coffee) and shared a caramelised lemon curd tart. Although the tart could have been garnished with something instead of just sitting on a plate, it had just been caramelised then (still warm, almost creme brûlée like) and tasted lovely. A good end.
Without asking, the bill was promptly dropped in front of me (i think they were closing in 15 minutes) and so we pay-waved and left.
The service was nothing special (I suppose you have to be inside for that) but perhaps it could also be I awkwarded things up with my lack of understanding of the process. Either way, although we didn't try any Pizzas, this place is a yummy little lunch spot not too far out of the way, with the right prices to be a regular thing, but with the right quality to still feel like a treat. There isn't anything else in Canberra quite like it, yet. read more