Everybody has a place that they keep going back to – whether it’s for the food, the atmosphere or the cute waiters – it doesn’t really matter – there’s a magnetic force that keeps drawing you back time and again.
My ‘restaurant away from home’ in Canberra is Tosolinis. I’ve only lived in the capital for a few years but I’ve easily eaten there 30 times. I’ve taken my mum there, my friends there and even had a blind date there once (the Roasted Organic Chicken Breast proved more fulfilling than the eventuating non-relationship).
In the interests of full disclosure – Tosolinis is a Choose Wisely restaurant but my love affair with Mamma Tosolini began long before they signed up.
It began with Mamma’s Spinnach and Ricotta Canneloni swamped in parmesan cheese. I probably ordered that five times in a row before I branched out to try Mamma’s home made Lasagne (also drowned in parmesan of course but that’s optional). The best thing is you can order entre sizes, which is great for a grazer like me and also means you can usually fit in bread and dessert.
More recently I gave the panfried Fish of the Day a whirl. Now, the interesting thing about that is that I hate fish – always have (except for the sporadic hankering for fish fingers that I can’t explain). I’ve just decided that now I’m 30 I should probably get some Omega 3’s into me plus I was feeling particularly adventurous that night. Well knock me over with a feather – it was absolutely glorious, as were the kipfler potato crisps it was resting on. I should have known even Mamma Tosolini could make fish taste good!
A warm glass of house red (no need to get too fancy) tops off a dining experience that never disappoints. And the service is always really fast – we can be in and out in 45 minutes if we’re going to the theatre and we never have to book a seat (which seems strange because they’re always busy). I don’t think they have Michelin stars and I don’t know if they’d cut the mustard on Master Chef but we adore them.
Thus this rant and unashamed, blatant promotion of my favourite place in Canberra. Oh and yes, the waiters do happen to be pretty cute too.
