V Rating: VVV On a recent Friday night, Andy, our visiting friend, Adam, and I were driving aimlessly between my work and the Eastern Suburbs in Sydney as I tried to think of a new Italian restaurant to try. Sensing that we were literally on the road to nowhere, Andy announced that he was taking us to one of his old haunts: Isabella’s in Randwick.
Isabella’s is a friendly, warm, characterful restaurant. It has the offbeat charm of a local, student-friendly restaurant (if not the prices). The walls are brightly painted, with large mirrors and low-hanging lights. Although the restaurant is in a single room, the area is broken up by sidings and high arrangements of flowers, so you feel like you’re eating in more intimate surrounds. There are even a few tables on the sidewalk outside, overlooking Alison Road and a park. Isabella’s offers six vegetarian starters and six vegetarian pasta dishes. I was impressed that the vegetarian dishes weren’t the standard ‘napolitana’ and ‘mushroom risotto’ options, and looked like some thought had gone into making them. Adam tried the verdura, a vegetable pasta with feta served in either a creamy tomato or basil sauce.
I had the creamy sundried tomato pesto sauce.
Andy tried the arrabiata, a tomato sauce with roasted eggplant and capsicum, chili and garlic. Unlike most of the Isabella dishes, this came without cheese or cream, so seemed suitable for vegans.
Our dishes were large and filling, if not exciting. I love broccoli so was very happy to find a pasta where it was the feature ingredient. I’m not a fan of cream sauces, but mine was light and moderated by the tomato base. I can’t review the seafood side of Isabella’s as none of our party eat creatures of the deep. However, it did occur to me that Isabella’s might be a good choice of venue for seafood-loving families stuck with a rogue vegetarian, given the menu caters well for both. Another bonus feature is that Isabella’s is BYO, and is right next door to a bottle shop with a great range of wines from Australia and overseas. I was really taken with Isabella’s friendly ambiance and left of centre charm. It felt like the kind of place you turn gratefully to on a weeknight or lazy Sunday evening, when you want a pleasant, homely, no strings attached experience.
Comments:
1 Comment posted on "Isabella’s Italian and Seafood restaurant - Randwick, Italian, VVV"
grundnorm on May 6th, 2007 at 11:18 am #
My pasta was delicious, although I think you might have the photos mixed up. I am almost certain the penne with the broccoli and the feta cubes was mine. In any event, definitely a VVV experience. And the company was great to boot! - AC Post a comment
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