Susan7

Pooh! You are right Margo, it shut at the end of August and it's on the market.

http://lynwoodcafe.com.au/

farrermog

Nevets' breakfast reco would be Tosolini's.

In case you missed, addnl Canberra dining info here -

http://www.fodors.com/community/aust...n-canberra.cfm

Neil_Oz

I can't personally vouch for this newly-opened place, but it received an enthusiastic review scoring 16/20 in today's Canberra Times (which means early reservations would be advisable, for a while anyway):

Italian and sons vino e cucina
7 Lonsdale St, Braddon
Tel 6162 4888

The affetati (cold cuts of smoked meats) sound pretty good. Reviewed entree: risotto of beetroot and calamari - $18. Main: beef rib eye cooked in the woodfired oven, served with a herb salmoriglio (piatto del giorno, which changes daily) - $30. Dessert: ricotta-stuffed Sicilian cannoli with rhubarb and mint ($11). The wine list is Italian, plus Australian-grown Italian varietals. (NB: unusually for Canberra, BYO isn't allowed.)

Anyone hungry yet?

Braddon is the area immediately north (well, NNE) of, and a walk away from, Civic. No 7 would be on the left just after you cross Cooyong Street.

Susan7

Yum, cannoli with rhubarb, makes me want to get in my car right now and head down the highway! I have a conference in Canberra coming up soon so I will just have to wait.

Thanks for the tip Neil!

strambini

Probably too late for Mucky, but: Lived here for 20 yrs till recently; visiting right now. All suggestions above are good; going to Italian & Sons tonight (expect good things based on the "parent" restaurant Mezzalira, on London Circuit). Tosolinis good for coffe/breakfast, and Silo Bakery, but two places in and next to new Hotel Diamant (immediately behind Lakeside) are good too. I would add Artespresso, Iori (if you like Japanese) and Poachers Pantry (if you get out of town) to the restaurants listed. Stay on Highway/Northbourne (till London Circuit) to get to Lakeside.
Strambini

Neil_Oz

strambini, you must have had better luck at Poacher's Pantry than we did. When we lunched there recently the service was pleasant but patchy; for instance, our waitress forgot how many people were at our table and set a place for a fifth, invisible, diner because a coat which she hadn't offered to hang up was draped over the chair. The room was insufficiently heated, which may have affected our mood.

The appetisers and smoked meats that are the place's claim to fame were nice and I particularly liked the vodka-infused olives from the Orange region.

The mains were OK, although I wonder what the world is coming to when a shiraz beef pie is presented with a bowl of dry baby spinach leaves on the side (ugh!) and some odd little threads which turned out to be a somewhat modernist and thoroughly unsatisfying take on chips (frites).

The desserts were very ordinary. My berry crumble was half-cold and overpriced - we'd have done better if we'd picked up a Sarah Lee pie and a tub of Weis ice cream at Woolworths on the way home.

A couple of the wines in the more expensive "Wily Trout" range were decent, but I'm surprised they had the nerve to even offer the cheaper "Fingerlings" range - we sampled two and found them considerably less drinkable than a $2.50 cleanskin from Dan Murphy's. Awful, and the twee names didn't improve my mood either.

Sorry for the rant, but I'd heard this place praised by a number of people and we were looking forward to something good. It wasn't a disaster by any means, but we left disappointed.

strambini

Neil
OK, it's been a while since we went to Poachers, and the memories might be couloured by the other wineries we visited on the way, but we had a few good meals there. Staff were usually quite young and inexperienced, as is often the case in the country. "Faded splendour" perhaps, though that is a shame. Hopefully they'll stumble across your comments, and take note. Italian and Sons measures up (with some blatant homage to Guiseppe, Arnaldo and Sons in Melbourne) and Mezzalira still superior (including in prices, of course). Add Palour Wine Room (new tapas restaurant) in the Diamant Hotel to the list too.
John S