Take two friends, a new concept and lots of humour, and you get Crispy Italian Bar, a tiny Italian restaurant, cafe and bar that emulates the traditional ‘Bar Italiano’ you would find on street corners of Rome or Naples.
For Italian owners Matteo Tricario and Ricky Proserpio, their first venue brought together their respective skills as a chef and coffee aficionado.
“When I was growing up, my Nonna told me stories of my grandfather’s travels. I have been lucky enough to work and travel at the same time, making me a very happy man,” Matteo tells us, describing his journey to Australia and the seven years he’s worked here. “I’ve brought a lot of what I learned along the way into this restaurant,” he adds.
The pair visualised a fun space where people could come, wine and dine throughout the day and night, a place where the food was fun and easy to eat, in a fresh and easy style.
Decked out in red leather banquettes with red and white striped cushion and umbrellas, the walls feature cartoon-like paintings of food and Italian posters. The surroundings and lively music tell us that this is a place to have fun.
Looking into the open kitchen, we see the pizzaiola working beside the big red Marana wood-fired pizza oven. It’s a tiny restaurant with a kitchen that necessitates a well thought out menu: Antipasto of prawns, olives, burrata and stracciatella, cured meat such as prosciutto, nduja and salami, served with a delicious puffed bread. The menu also includes a couple of salads, pasta, a raft of pizza and dessert.
With an extensive beverage list, it’s nice to take advantage of the range of Italian wines, Menabrea beer, spritzes or aperitifs and relax over a drink or two with your meal. Take our advice and order three antipasti which will be accompanied by a free house-baked puffed bread.
Pizza is a welcome addition to the Burleigh dining scene, and Crispy’s version is delicious. It’s Roman-style pizza, proven over 72 hours to make it light and more easily digestible than many other pizza, with an extra boost of malt to the dough that gives a slight bitterness to the crust. With a thin crispy crust, this is the type or pizza we’ve eaten on the streets of Naples that can be folded into a ‘pizza wallet’, taken away in a piece of paper.
We order the Burleigh pizza with tomato base, prawns, garlic and rocket. At Crispy, it’s served with a side of mild chilli oil, our recommendation to also order chilli honey stracciatella to spoon onto the pizza for a richer experience, or a dollop of Calabrian chilli. If you dine in a group, why not try the half metre pizza.
The latest addition to Crispy’s menu is pasta. Offering six different pastas, from creamy Fettucini Amalfi with parsley, lemon, garlic and seafood in creamy sauce to Fettucini Zoro with a Napoli sauce and silky stracciatella, light enough for the man himself to continue his sword fighting after a meal, there’s a pasta for everyone.
Lastly, we share a serve of Crispy Tiramisu. Made to Matteo’s Nonna’s recipe, it’s made to order so that the sponge biscuits are still slightly crispy. With heavy cream and a glace cherry on top, it’s a tasty dessert to fit its name.
Café, restaurant and bar, you’ll find Crispy Italian Bar open from 9am until late, with Italian Attibassi coffee waiting for you (thanks Ricky). Lighter lunches, such as panini, are available, (you have a choice of 10 different panini from the menu) throughout the day. Alternatively, plan a late afternoon catch up with friends and settle into sundowners with a couple of spritz and antipasti from the main menu. After all, time doesn’t matter when you’re on holiday in Italy. Whoops! We’re in Burleigh Heads! Salute!
Crispy Italian Bar, 4/1840 Gold Coast Hwy, Burleigh Heads QLD 4220 Ph: 0491 731 694 Open: 9am – 10pm Friday & Saturday, 9am – 9pm Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday. Closed Monday.
NOTE: Good Food Gold Coast dined as guests of Crispy Italian Bar.