Il Verde

Overview

UPDATE: APRIL 21, 2020 — Il Verde is still open for takeaway, so you can pick up pizzas, pastas (including gluten free options) and cannoli to enjoy at home. Plus, if you work in a medical profession, you can get 50-percent off your order.

Ever heard of cheese wheel pasta? It's a thing at Il Verde. And it's a thing that you probably want to find out more about. Located in the heart of Fortitude Valley on King Street, Il Verde offer the full gamut of Italian cuisine in an upmarket yet still relaxed (and cheese wheel-wielding) setting.

You might want to have your next date night here. Make an advance booking on Tuesday or Thursdays and you and your beloved (or fellow pasta fiend) can have your pasta or gnocchi stirred up in a big melty wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano ($45) and dished up onto your plate. Yep. Dinner includes a glass of wine and a dessert too, so wear your stretchy pants.

The non-cheese wheel menu covers all of the bases if you're an Italian food fan. Start by ordering a bunch of antipasti — the wild mushroom or saffron and fontina arancini (both $12), bruschetta nordica ($12) and Caprese salad ($18), would be an ideal place to kick off.

Or, if you're in the mood for some pasta there's a four-cheese gnocchi ($24) and orecchiette with Italian sausage and taleggio ($25), among others. Steak lovers will find a rib fillet ($36) ticks all the boxes, and vegetarians will find a pleasing amount of choice among the pasta and antipasti. And pizza? But of course. Il Verde has a slew of rossa (Napoli sauce base) and bianca (white) options.