SOUTHERN COMFORTS

Good things come in small packages, including what may just be the Gold Coast’s best gnocchi

TASCA COOLANGATTA

114 GRIFFITH STREET, COOLANGATTA

Book it: 0404 167 081 Open: Thursday – Tuesday from 3pm until late

IF there’s a dining development I love more than butter bing cookies, it’s shrinking restaurants. Some good things come in small packages, including more personalised service and the menu flexibility that lets good chefs shine.

We’ve seen the trend in appetising action at Mermaid’s The North Room and Burleigh bistro Rabbath, both boasting just 28 seats, and the 30-strong Blue Door on 5th.

Here’s another to add to that list: Tasca, Italian for “pocket”, is a sweet 40-seat wine bar and eatery tucked on Griffith Street.

It’s run by owner-operator Carlee Bufalino.

Tables may be in short supply, but I had no problem snagging one when I visited without a booking for an early weeknight dinner.

While seats spilling out on the street may be the ticket in summer, there’s a warmth to the narrow interior space – a texture-rich invitation of soft leather booths, white panelling and exposed brick – that’s impossible to resist.

Combined with the aroma from the open kitchen, it’s a scene made for sipping a deep, dark shiraz. The wellconsidered wine list obliges with small-batch wine producers and our waitress is happy to recommend a very affordable representative from McLaren Vale.

If cocktails are more your thing, try a fragrant tonic of Brookies Dry Gin, Pernod, lemon, ginger syrup and soda spiked with a sprig of myrtle.

The menu is made up of share dishes, all more generously portioned than the reasonable prices led me to suspect. It’s comfort food with class. A plate of olives and hot, crusty ciabatta ($9) is perfect to pick at, while the polenta with mushrooms and a rich arrabbiata sauce ($14) is an unexpected highlight. I’m ambivalent about polenta at the best of times, but these crispy shelled chips changed that.

I was less enamoured with the squid ($14) – gorgeous texture and flavour, but it needed more of the saffron-tinged sauce to balance the fried factor.

Other light plates include a Caprese salad ($9), wild-caught tuna carpaccio with avocado, capers and sesame ($16) and grilled king prawns ($16).

Step into heartier territory with squid-ink tagliolini ($23) or organic free-range chicken thigh (that’s where the flavour roosts) with corn and roast capsicum ($22).

But the night belonged to the pumpkin gnocchi with basil pesto, peppery radicchio, goat’s cheese and the pop of pepitas. Free of the stodginess that plagues some examples, it was a plate of pure heaven.

A glass of silky pannacotta with honeycomb, raspberry and a scatter of mint leaves delivered the elegant finish.