La Costa Restaurant & Bar

La Costa Restaurant and Bar brings a taste of Italy to Fortitude Valley, pairing time-honoured recipes with Brisbane’s easygoing spirit. The menu reads like a love letter to la cucina, moving from briny openings to slow-cooked comforts and pizza-led finales.

Oysters arrive either naturally on rock salt or given a smoky kilpatrick lift. Antipasti beckon with garlicky bruschetta and golden Sicilian arancini, before the primi take centre stage: spaghetti carbonara silked with guanciale, egg yolk and pepper, and rigatoni bolognese tangled in a pork and veal ragu. Secondi lean into generosity, from layered lasagna with béchamel to salmon in padella with cherry tomatoes and balsamic onions. Carnivores look to tagliata, whether a char-grilled eye fillet or a sirloin glossed with red wine juices. Pizzas straddle bianche and rosse: think cheesy garlic, alongside chilli prawn, with crisp fries and a bright caprese to seal the deal.

Settle in and let the pace slow; this is dining made for conversation and another forkful. Book a table, follow your appetite, and let La Costa do the talking, bellissimo.