Brisbane’s riverside restaurant darling Massimo has opened their doors following a renovation last month and it’s a certified hit with diners.
The new fit-out evokes feelings of an Italian escape, to a coastal seaside town. It’s glamorous, it’s modern and it gives off an unmistakable air of casual glamour. Olive greens mingle with deep sea blue and a summer sunset orange to create a vibe that’s calm and a world away from the CBD. Mixed with the crisp air blowing in from the Brisbane River and the iconic views of the Story Bridge, Massimo is serving looks and vibes and we are living for it.
We visited the new fitout to get a feel for the place and to try out their new menu to boot, full of sumptuous starters, house-made decadent pasta, ocean-fresh fish and prime cuts of meat.
Our Massimo experience
We’ve wanted to visit Massimo for quite some time, so it was a real treat to be able to visit the revamped icon one Tuesday night. The restaurant features a little red Vespa out the front, which is only the beginning of the Dolce Vita vibes. A seafood tank out the front is bubbling away, adding to the atmosphere.
I really love the restaurants on Eagle Street Pier area as the open air design gives way to beautiful views and lovely fresh breeze. We are sitting at a table for two in the middle of all the action and it’s easy to admire the renovation. Booths along the wall look fabulous for drinks with friends or family dining, while the tables out front are perfect for people watching.
As far as our menu selections go, the theme of our night was cheese… all the cheese, all the time. If you’re lactose intolerant, time to look away.
To begin with, we opt for a burrata with warm truffle honey and walnuts alongside the house made focaccia. The saltiness of the burrata pairs so beautifully with the truffley honey (and yes, it is actually warm and I am in heaven).
Next we choose both cacio e pepe croquettes and lasagne bites (which are crumbed little deep-fried squares of lasagne. Yes actually.) Pasta that is crumbed and fried should honestly be a food staple because these are tasty little morsels.
That’s only the starters—we decided on starters, entrees and mains because we wanted to sample the menu as much as our belts would allow. We feared dessert would be a bridge too far.
Next up was my favourite dish of the night for me: chargrilled one point rack of lamb with zucchini and basil risotto. The lamb is seasoned and cooked to perfection and the basil in the risotto adds a lightness that goes well with the protein.
My friend picks zucchini flowers stuffed with—you guessed it—cheese, flash fried with spinach, leeks and burnt capsicum cream.
It was at this point we realised we should have ordered a few non cheese dishes, but our cheese eyes had been bigger than our cheese stomachs. Our mains were also cheesy because honestly, I cannot be trusted around cheese.
I selected the Massimo veal cutlet flattened, crumbed with herbed parmesan, pan fried, topped with napolitana and mozzarella, served with a side of my choice. I should have gone with the iceberg salad side to provide a bit of lightness but I went with … more cheese—sauteed cheesy parmesan peas with spinach.
And my foodie companion went with cacio e pepe, prepared in an actual cheese wheel. Mercy, help us, we may need to be rolled out of Massimo.
It was a real treat watching the pasta prepared tableside, being coated in as much cheese as humanly possible. Despite my epic levels of cheese consumption, I was kind of jealous of my friend’s choices.
By the time we had taken a couple of tasty bites of our mains, we knew a take home container was in our futures because—and I never thought I would say this—we overdid it on the cheese.
Dessert? Absolutely not, mission failed. But maybe we will come back to just have dessert next time, and take in the calming Amalfi Coast vibes.
(Sidenote: the leftovers made for a hearty lunch the next day).
Massimo, 123 Eagle Street, Brisbane. p (07) 3221 1663.
In her spare time, she likes long walks down the makeup aisle and performing in Brisbane theatre. You can follow her adventures on Instagram and TikTok @thebeautypalate.
