Como Restaurant

Wishing you were in Europe right now? Well South Brisbane’s newest restaurant will whisk you away to Lake Como, with its opulent interiors,  modern Italian menu and champagne-fuelled  party vibes. Como (because what else would you call a Lake Como-inspired venue?) comes to us from a trio of hospitality veterans—Enzo Esposito, Gianni Greghinni and Tony D’alessandro—who’ve transformed what used to be a sushi train into one of the most beautiful new restaurants of the year.

Inside you’ll find the entire space centred around a stunning weathered steel, marble and tile bar, with a mix of massive circular booths, banquet seating and red leather lounges throughout. Depending on  your mood, you can perch up at the bar or by the front windows for a cocktail and a snack, or settle in for a feast with a bottle of Italian red.

With Head Chef Isaia Fiume—previously of Bacchus Restaurant—in the kitchen, you can expect some pretty impressive things from the menu of elevated Italian bites. Start with small plates of burrata with red pesto, crispy polenta bites and of course, slabs of freshly made focaccia, before moving on to wild boar ragu pappardelle and spaghetti champagne lobster (which you can level up with the addition of caviar). 

A huge wood-fired pizza oven in the kitchen means they’re also dishing up doughy pizzas (which you can even get takeaway) as well as mains like juicy wagyu steaks and crackling porchetta. On the drinks front, Italian concoctions like spritzes (there’s 11 variations to choose from), negronis and sgroppinos reign supreme, while the wine list is long enough that you’ll be perusing it for quite some time. 

Image credit: Como | Supplied