Fiasco Ristorante @ Coffs Harbour, NSW

I originally wanted to continue blogging about food I ate in Malaysia until I realised that I had already blogged about these places before or I had pictures of the first 2 courses before I pigged out and forgot about taking pictures.


So I guess the adventure of eating in Malaysia has come to a rather abrupt ending.


Moving on, shall we?


The first of many legs to Melbourne involved stopping over at Coffs Harbour. From certain stretches of the road, you are greeted with the most amazing coastal views that you wish greets you when you wake up every morning. However it was a pity once we reached town, I was more keen to take a nap then drive to the nearest beach for a tan.


Well I was also keen for a good meal. Urbanspoon really does wonders at this point and a quick search and a read here and there, we pinpointed Fiasco as the place to go.


While the name doesn't sound very Italian, the people running the place were definitely Italian (either that or they must have pulled off a very good accent).

Even the beers are italian! Not your typical Peroni but a slightly out of the blue Menabrea; crisp and light, perfect for the hot weather.

When we looked through the menu, it was obvious that we were still suffering from the "Asian" blues, half wanting to dig into anything that resembled Asian. However after seeing the dish arrive on our table, it was a whole different story.

Home made gnocchi with a pork ragu. This was delicious. The pork ragu was hearty and well seasoned and it went so well with the pillow soft gnocchi. Eaten together with the pieces of ricotta sprinkled on top, we couldn't ask for more, especially since we were 500km away from Sydney.

The Al Funghi Pizza was just as scrumptious. Instead of truffle oil, they used truffle honey, combining the earthy and sweet flavours was a good choice as well. Thin crust just the way I like it too!

The main was a duo of beef; seared tenderloin with a mushroom ragout and a braised beef cheek served with fried polenta and celeriac puree. The tenderloin was done well but the braised cheek needed some seasoning (well quite a fair bit actually). The gremolata drizzled around the dish helped flavoured the cheek but sadly it wasn't enough. I liked how refreshing the radish was but the polenta also tasted rather flat. After the first two dishes, we couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.

Overall if you stick to their pizzas and pastas served with ice cold beer, I can't see why you should not come here if you are ever! in Coff s Harbour, brilliant food.

Address and contact details:

Verdict: 4 stars out of 5 stars. Good old pizzas and pastas done with grace.