Il Gancio - CLOSED

Overview

As the latest venture from the team behind Bowen Hills' Il Verde, Il Gancio brings an Italian offering to Toombul's new Upstairs dining and entertainment precinct. Soon, it'll bring a new favourite dish, too. While northsiders will need to wait until December, before the year is out, the new eatery will start serving up cheese wheel pasta once a week on Wednesdays — it'll be just $35, with a croquette and a drink (one house wine or beer) included in the price.

For those keen on something other than cheese wheel pasta — which, as its name suggests, involves swirling around freshly cooked pasta in a giant wheel of cheese — there are plenty of other dishes to choose from. Il Gancio calls itself a pizzeria, with a ten-pizza menu to match, but its culinary lineup also spans antipasti, salads, risotto and other pastas. There are also a small number of trusty Italian mains such as beef scallopini (served with mushroom and marsala sauce; $37) and chicken parmigiana ($28).

Among the highlights available for lunch and dinner daily, the beetroot and sausage pizza ($23) isn't the type of slice you get to try every day — as made with beetroot puree, house-made sausage, goats cheese and rocket. The four-cheese croquettes ($13) combine short pasta, parmesan, mozzarella, provolone and ricotta served with napoli sauce, while the seafood linguine comes with wild-caught prawns, baby calamari and New Zealand shelled mussels ($29). And, for dessert, the calzone alla Nutella and marshmallow ($11) does indeed stuff a closed pizza with the two titular ingredients.

Visitors to the Sandgate Road spot will also find Italian and local wines, Italian liqueurs, a range of beers and ciders, three mocktails and 19 cocktails on offer — with the latter focusing on all of the classics (bellinis, spritzes, negronis, martinis, margaritas and long island iced teas, to name a few). Plus, from December, if you head along on a Friday afternoon, you'll also be able to nab $1 oysters with $7 glasses of prosecco.

Whatever you choose from the menu, and whichever day you stop by, you'll be eating and drinking in an industrial-style space with high ceilings, a skylight and booths, as well as two bars. One will be used for private cooking classes, too, in case you're keen to pick up a few tricks to take home with you.