Ritorno in Italia!

Last year after finishing my first degree, I realised I needed to get out and see the world. My choice of destination: Italy. that was last September, and now exactly a year later, for one night I felt like I was back there.

Tonight we celebrated my sister’s twenty-second birthday, and we chose Don Gino after I saw a post about it on Instagram. She liked the sound of it so we booked in to spend the Thursday night there on her day.

The traffic was surprisingly light, and we found a park on a nearby street relatively easily, though they are narrow around there.

But enough about that, let’s talk about the food!

First, as always, we ordered our drinks, and this was the first thing to take me right back. All our servers had thick Italian accents, and repeated our orders in Italian as they wrote them down. It was sweet, though my sister’s boyfriend was confused the first time she did so, and tried to correct her. It was a funny little interaction that started us off in a good mood.

Drinks were simple: rosé for myself, Mum and Grandpa., a tangy house made lemonade for my brother, a Hugo Spritz for my sister and a beer for her boyfriend.

There was a decent selection on the menu, all very traditional Italian style food with minimal frills and a focus on the key ingredients in each dish.

My younger brothers knowledge of anything Italian is absolutely abysmal so I spent most of the time explaining what everything was.

Once we’d all made our choice, we ordered:

• Board to Share ($42.00)
• Polpette al Sugo ($26.00)
• Mamma Sonia Pizza ($35.00)
• Ravioli Zietta ($26.00)
• Campagnola Pizza ($28.00)
• Seafood Marinara ($42.00)

The share board had a nice selection of meats, cheese and olives, though the star had to be the burrata. Only my Mum and I had tried it before, so everyone was pleasantly surprised by the creamy cheese. Especially Grandpa, an old English-born man who wasn’t always the most adventurous with his food!

Then the mains arrived and dinner was served!

I had the spinach and ricotta ravioli, served with a rich tomato sauce and plenty of Parmesan. Luckily for me my little brother decided he didn’t like the confit garlic on his pizza, so I had plenty of that with my pasta too. It was delicious, and went quite a long way despite the small-looking portion (at least to my eyes!)

That was something I noted in Italy during my time there last September, how much smaller the portion sizes were in comparison to Australia. Here you definitely get a large meal, usually with a little salad on the side or chips as well to keep the meals large enough. In Italy, the portion sizes are smaller, more like an actual single serving. I love seeing these kinds of differences in how people view food and go about their life, not because one way is better than the other, but because these differences make us unique. That’s what makes humans so beautiful and interesting at the end of the day.

After I started on my ravioli, it was time to try a bit of everyone else’s food—family tax, and all. My brother gave me a prawn from his pizza, and later a full slice when he couldn’t finish everything. Mum let me try a bit of her pasta, and I had a crust from my sisters pizza to mop up the sauce in my plate too.

Everyone enjoyed the food, though none more than Grandpa, who ordered the Polpetti al Sugo. The large meatballs, served in tomato sauce with a side of bread looked amazing, and he was very pleased with that.

My sister enjoyed her night too, taking home half her pizza to save for later!

Finally, we finished everything and then it was time for dessert. Since the first day of my trip, I have fallen in love with Tiramisu. Whenever I see it available, I simply must try it! So, we ordered a tiramisu, a cannoli and the Limone Dolce Maria to share. Each dessert was $16.00, but I thought the portion sizes and flavour were worth it.

Now, I have accepted that cannoli is not for me, but everyone else who tried it really enjoyed this one. For me? The tiramisu was fantastic, and it stayed close for a long time. The lemon dessert was lovely too, with crunchy biscuits, a sweet and tangy lemon curd, and creamy meringue to top it all off.

Maybe the highlight of the evening was the little child inside the restaurant window who was delighted to wave at all of us. They went around one by one, hanging over dad’s shoulder as they searched for our eye to wave and giggle. They were in a bright red top, the same colour as my sister’s dress too, so I think they were both excited by the connection too. These moments are exactly what it’s all about, the beauty of human connection in all places, no matter how fleeting!

Sitting outside, we were nervous that it would be too cold or noisy, but we found it very pleasant. Summer weather is almost here already, so we were enjoying the cool breeze outside. The restaurant did look very cute inside, with a rustic style, but we didn’t get much of a chance to go in after all, as it was so busy. The servers were lovely and attentive throughout the meal, and all very good looking!

Altogether, we spent $361.50, which worked out to being about $60 per person. However, you cou could definitely get away with spending less or more depending on your budget, and still have a lovely night.

I highly recommend the restaurant, and I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve been before, or want to try it!

Arrivederci!