ACT

AGOSTINIS

East Hotel, 69 Canberra Avenue, Kingston (02) 6178 0048 agostinis.com.au Open seven days for lunch and dinner No need for rose-tinted glasses here. From the vibrant-pink neon signs, blush walls and copper cutlery to the rosé wine on tap and rare bistecca alla Fiorentina (a one-kilogram T-bone), this is the warm glowing heart of Italian family cooking. Crunch on salt-andvinegar crisps as you’ve never experienced while admiring a menu that celebrates simple authenticity. The patatine fritte are wafer-thin and freshly fried; the best part is that you get to add your own white balsamic from a dainty spritz bottle. For a true Sicilian delicacy, try the tonnarelli alla bottarga – spaghetti with finely grated, salty cured fish roe with hints of garlic, chilli, lemon and parsley. The pizzas are created with Neapolitan flair from dough that rises for 72 hours before going into a state-of-the-art Marana Forni rotating pizza oven imported from Verona.

ZAAB

Unit 2, 7 Lonsdale Street, Braddon (02) 6156 5638 zaabstreetfood.com.au Open seven days for dinner This sophisticated take on Lao-Thai street food rocks noisily into the night, with neon beer signs, corrugated-iron walls plastered with old newspapers and graffiti transporting you to a Vientiane alley. Kick off with a fruity Floating Market cocktail and a betel-leaf street snack, a tiny parcel of joy that zings with flavours of ginger, lime, roasted coconut, peanuts and tamarind sauce. Linger in the Zaab Zone, a collection of chef’s choices where the default setting is hot and spicy. (You can ask the obliging staff to dial down the heat.) Weep over the crying tiger – medium-rare grilled beef splashed with Thai herb dressing – or chicken larb zapped with dry chilli flakes. Locals love the sliced Lao sausage paired with Beerlao. Soothe your palate with a silky mango panna cotta before setting off into Braddon, Canberra’s hottest hotspot.