The Gold Coast has Cucina Vivo. Sydney is home to Cucina Porto. Now, Brisbane boasts Cucina Regina. The chain of authentic-style Italian restaurants sits inside The Star's various locations, serving up classic dishes and drinks in old school-leaning surroundings. In the River City, the new riverside Queen's Wharf precinct is now your destination when the hankering hits for hand-stretched pizzas, homemade pasta, panna cotta from the dessert trolley, and negronis and limoncello sours. Brisbanites have been looking forward to Cucina Regina since October 2023, when it was initially revealed that it'd join the $3.6-billion CBD spot that took almost a decade to come to fruition. Several of The Star's eateries in other cities have made the jump to the Queensland capital, including cocktail bar Cherry and Japanese fine-diner Sokyo — adding to a precinct that also features Luke Nguyen's reimagined Fat Noodle, the new LiveWire and Black Hide's latest guise, all three of which have moved over from the old Treasury. At the 160-seat Cucina Regina — which is part of The Terrace, the riverfront space at the end of the Neville Bonner Bridge before visitors get to The Star Brisbane — the menu isn't just about Italian food; it's about comforting Italian fare. Trattorias are a big influence on the restaurant's look, feel and menu, with Australian design studio Tom Mark Henry in charge of the neutral-heavy fitout (which covers an 18-person private-dining space as well) and Italian-born Chef Davide Incardona overseeing the kitchen as Executive Chef. Whether you're tucking into puffed pizza bread as a starter, stone-baked prosciutto- or garlic prawn-laden slices, a 40-day dry-aged scotch rib fillet or the Brisbane menu must-have that is Moreton Bay bugs, you'll likely be enjoying something from the woodfired grill. Other options include calamari, burrata, bruschetta and arancini among the smaller bites; rigatoni carbonara, spiced Italian sausage ragu, and salted ricotta and roasted pumpkin agnolotti from the pasta picks; veal scallopini, the house speciality; and a 1.1-kilogram t-bone steak in the bistecca alla fiorentina. And for dessert? Tiramisu, Nutella pizza, a choice of lemon or chocolate cannoli, lemon sorbet and affogatos are among the choices. A banquet menu for four people, costing $89 and featuring ten dishes, is on offer if you're known to have trouble deciding on what to eat. For just a bite with a drink, there's also the snack range. Among the beverages, Italian wine gets its time to shine, naturally, while spritzes both boozy and alcohol-free equally tempt tastebuds — and classic cocktails are available upon request.
