In Short: Mangiasti? without doubt qualifies as an urban gem. Southern Italian cuisine cooked with panache and plated beautifully. It’s versatility is its strength where you can opt for pizza or linguine cartoccio depending on your foodie mood.
Have you eaten? You may just want to drop everything after this post and head straight over to Mangiasti? Located in Roseville, Mangiasti? translated means “Have you eaten?” Quite an apt name for such an inviting space. A rustic interior exudes warmth and begs you sit down and take in the offerings from the open kitchen.
If you regularly commute from Chatswood to Dee Why route through Boundary Road, up through to Frenchs Forest, you may have whizzed up past the strip where Mangiasti? is housed. In operation for just over a year, this restaurant brings in the flavour of southern Italy, with the occasionally foray to the north.
I dined at Mangiasti? with a host of fellow bloggers and had the opportunity to sample a delicious tasting menu filled with delightful surprises. To keep our tummies from rumbling we were treated to a bowl of Olives with Roasted Cashews. I loved this combination. It’s so simple yet is so delicious and quite addictive. The smokiness of the cashews is the perfect partner to the bulbous green olives.
Displaying imagination and technique was an entree of Croquette De Feta. A sesame crumbed block of feta, with a beautifully crisp exterior giving way to a softer centre. Strips of green apple slices through the richness of the cheese and I really enjoyed the honey that contrasted with the briny and tangy flavour of the feta.
While linguine is a staple in Italian menus across the city, you will appreciate the theatre of how Mangiasti? cook and deliver their Linguine Cartoccio. Cartoccio means cooked in paper. You may know as it papillote, a popular French technique that used to cooked fish. What wins me over is the aroma of the prawns. Unwrapping it, reveals a dish that looks so inviting and delicious. Al dente pasta, and perfectly cooked prawns really drives home the precision attention to detail with regards to the timing which it takes to prepare the dish.
Continuing with delicious seafood was a Steamed Cod. It was a beautifully presented dish. Little fillets of cod delicately arranged in a stack and topped with contrasting scallops of crisp potato chips. It was perfectly cooked. I enjoyed the mild flavour of cod which was deftly sweet. It’s minimalist and heroing of the fish, while risky, is pulled off expertly as it delicious to the last morsel.
A Monday evening could not have ended any better than with a Rocher Semifreddo. This semi frozen delight was enhanced with the rocher balls with delicious chocolate and nuts. I also enjoyed the balanced of flavours with a delightful play on textures.
Mangiasti? is definitely worth popping in for an evening of refined Italian fare. What’s more, if you just want a slab of pizza, a bulbous wood fired oven is on hand to look after you.
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