Otto Ristorante - Queen St, Brisbane CBD

February 21, 2017

Otto's parent company, the Fink Group, actually operates Quay Restaurant, the famous and most awarded restaurant in Sydney. So no wonder, when Otto opened, there was quite a hype and even getting their first Hat for it already.

Located in the new 480 Queen St, you have to be able to try and find your way there as you can get a bit lost. But simply go up the long escalator and on your right, will be Otto. The interior design is rather unique with a magenta coloured twisted ceiling fans, wooden wall screens and an open kitchen.

Our meal commenced with complimentary sourdough bread and olive oil, which I did not fully enjoy as the bread itself was rather hard and crusty. Once you break it however it was soft on the inside but densed. We both quite enjoyed the olive oil as it had a pepper undertone.

Zucca Arrosto, roast pumpkin served with sage, parmesan, muscatels, pine nuts and burnt butter. Hands down, this has to be the best roast pumpkin combination and dish I have had for a long time compared to other places.

Everything worked well, adding that notes of crunch from the pine nuts, the saltiness from the parmesan, sweetness from the muscatels and the charring taste and smoky flavour from the burnt butter. The burnt butter was just right, lovely and delicious. I wouldn't even mind picking up my leftover bread and dipping it into the burnt butter sauce, it was just aromatically flavoursome.

Strozzapreti, twisted pasta served with banana prawns, garlic, chilli, black olives, tomato and calamari sauce. Although ordering a seafood pasta isn't something I would usually get unless there was scallops or crab in it, I thought I'd give this a try. When it first came out, you could automatically see the big banana prawns smothered in the sauce, garlic, chilli and herbs. The twisted pasta was nice to see for a change from the typical long or penne pasta.

The black olives and the rest of the condiments went well with the whole pasta dish however I did feel that the tomato and calamari sauce seemed to just have been tomato sauce. It wasn't fishy nor calamari taste-like. The pasta was cooked al dente and the prawns were not overpowered by the tomato sauce. It was a nice pasta dish overall, however not something I would go back again for.

Maiale, a Byron Bay Berkshire Pork Cutlet served with cauliflower, char-grilled cos, garnished with balsamic. The pork had the right texture, not overcooked and had a good balance with its moist meat and not too sickening fat area. It had the slight charring also on the outside which gave it that extra smoky flavour overall. The char-grilled cos was nice as a side but felt that it was somewhat out of place in a way.

What's special about Byron Bay bred pork was that it had the Berkshire marbling, being fed a special mixed grain diet. A quality pork with a sweet and juicy flavour along with its tender texture. Berkshire pigs originated from England and is one of the oldest pigs breed known, with its high levels of marbling to develop within the muscles.

The cauliflower turned out to be incorporated into the mash and wasn't an actual cauliflower as what I originally thought. Smart idea to incorporate it however the mash seemed slighly gluggy however you could taste the slight hint of cauliflower creamy-ness.

Although we didn't have enough tummy space to fit in more food, desserts or coffee, we will sure be back to try other items on their menu. A traditional yet modern Italian fare using Australian produce, it's lovely to see when restaurants do support the local community.