It's been a little while since I treated myself to a nice dinner out and as my fiancée and I had tickets to go see The Promise at the Chatswood Mandarin Event cinema, we thought we might as well make a night of it and have dinner out too.
So where do you dine in Chatswood if you're not in the mood for Asian food? Chatswood is packed full of Asian delights whether you are seeking Chinese classics, a tantalising Thai, or a Japanese meal full of soul, you'll find all this here and much, much more. Steamed dumplings, BBQ Pork Buns and Peking Duck are just some of the Asian foods we glimpse through restaurant windows, and not forgetting all the fresh fish and lobsters swimming around in their tanks.
However if you're in the mood for an Italian like we were then there's one restaurant you need to check out and that's the Terrazza Italian Restaurant Pizzeria in The Concourse.
Terrazza Italian Restaurant Pizzeria serves modern and authentic Italian food, with Italian favourites including wood fired pizza, fresh gnocchi or to finish, how about the Nutella pizza dessert!
When we arrived around 6:45pm it wasn't too busy and we did manage to get a table in the outside patio area; however bookings are recommended, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. Although a chilly night, the wind shelters were down and the fire stand heaters were lit and it was actually pretty cosy out here. You didn't need a jacket but if you did get chilly then there are blankets supplied on your chairs too-how very thoughtful!
The waiter soon brought us out the menu and wine lists and luckily for me the menu was kept strict. The menu didn’t have too many choices (making my decision much easier) which is usually a sign of good quality food and I couldn’t wait to discover the delights from Terrazza Italian Restaurant.
We decided to share the salt and pepper calamari for entree and as I wasn’t in the mood for pizza, I went for the Spaghetti Marinara pasta for main course - a dish that I find myself frequently ordering now at Italian restaurants! My fiancée went for the Fettuccine al Ragu’ (Lamb slow cooked in tomato and port wine sauce with cherry tomatoes).
There was also a good selection of local and international wines, mainly from Italy being an Italian restaurant, and I went for a red wine that I hadn't heard of before - Traluna Sangiovese from Siena, Italy. Its description of “a vibrant ruby red wine with soft tannins and aromas of spiced cherries” greatly appealed to me - who can resist beautiful spiced cherries?!
Our salt and calamari entree didn't take too long to arrive and was well presented and respectively cooked. The calamari was beautifully tender and required very little chewing, and was served with a rocket salad, a wedge of lemon and aioli dip. A well-sized entrée for one person, but also large enough for two people sharing.
My Spaghetti Marinara main course was equally as good. Comprising fresh calamari, mussels, prawns and baby clams there was plenty of seafood filling my plate and the mussels were huge! Tasting of the sea these mussels swiftly reminded me of the ocean and fond memories of my dad’s home cooking.
Once again the calamari was cooked to perfection as were the prawns and baby clams. The spaghetti was al dente, with a generous helping of Napoletana sauce carefully coating each long strand of delicate spaghetti. My waiter had provided me with a generous helping of black pepper and Parmesan cheese adding extra layers of delightful flavours to this wonderful pasta dish.
The Fettuccine al Ragu’ looked equally as appetising and with our plates completely clean, besides the shells of my clams and mussels, I would say this was a sign of an excellent meal all round.
I was extremely impressed by both of my dishes at Terrazza Italian Restaurant Pizzeria and I would return here without a doubt. The service was polite and friendly and the restaurant had a cool, casual vibe to it, making it a laidback place to enjoy a meal with family and friend, without feeling rushed or constantly pestered.
Overall, I highly recommend Terrazza Italian Restaurant Pizzeria to anyone in Chatswood in search of a good Italian restaurant. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner every day from 11am to 3pm and 4:30pm until late. We were served promptly and our dishes were good portion sizes, making our meals affordably priced.
On this occasion we didn’t have dessert, but some of the dishes that stood out included Tiramisu, Crème Brulee, Sticky Date Pudding, and for the chocolate lovers, the Pizza Nutella topped with Nutella, strawberries and crushed nuts. We will just have to return another time to discover how good the desserts are here.