The Spaghetti House

I feel like this year has been big for pizzerias and Italian places for me, not really sure why but I feel like I've eaten a lot of pizza this year. Anyway, I got invited to Spaghetti House which has now moved to Southbank, it used to be in West End!

Watch out for this bright blue sign, its right behind the Commonwealth Bank branch on Grey Street. Parking is a bit iffy in Southbank at the best of times, I personally always get parking in SW1 Secure Parking since I don't mind the walk. Sometimes you can get lucky with 2P parks, but there's always parks around Musgrave Park otherwise? Either way, you should probably work off this carb coma you're about the encounter.

The interior is lovely, soft candle lit lighting and lots of intimate seating options. Outside is freezing cold, especially since its winter but there are lots of blankets and giant heaters to keep you warm! It gets pretty busy so that helps things warm up too. The night we went the restaurant was about half full and apparently that's them on a quiet night! That's my kinda quiet!

So warm

I went with the lovely Ms D., since Mr A., promptly forgot that we were going to dinner together after my trip to Sydney, if you have no idea what I'm talking about, check out my poorly updated Instagram page. Ms D., was supposed to go with me to Holloway's Pizzartist but couldn't last minute, this time she cancelled on her boyfriend to go to Spaghetti House with me!

Here is their menu! Even though we had our pick of free drinks, we both went with pink lemonade. It was delicious, pink lemonade always is.

I've been playing with angles more latelyz

One of the specials of the night was the figs, prosciutto, rocket and balsamic glaze pizza on a tomato base. We had originally gone with the prosciutto wrapped figs and Gorgonzola fondue to be our entree as they are a super popular item on the Spaghetti House menu but also wanted pizza to see how those were. Our waitress reminded us of this special and we thought we'd get the best of both worlds with this choice!

The toppings were a hit! I think the combination of figs, prosciutto, rocket and balsamic vinegar are a winning combination and such a classic, fresh and well balanced combination too. You can't go wrong with it! I loved that the figs were sliced thickly as well! My only complaint with this pizza is that I love, love, love a super crunchy crust and base, this one was quite limpid and so I got them to put the pizza back in the oven for a few more minutes to get the crunch I wanted!

I think I ate five or six slices solo

Ms. D., is obsessed with arancini and so we got the arancini ai gamberi, prawn risotto arancini! She was a little disappointed with these as somehow she was expecting the traditional ragu stuffed arancini. I liked them however, they super hot from the fryer, the risotto was perfectly cooked, I loved the stretch of the mozzarella cheese inside and the prawns were juicy and tender. It came with a sundried tomato aioli which was perfect for dipping.

Delicious!

I couldn't decide what I wanted for my main so I went with an entree sized gnocchi alla Romana! Potato gnocchi with browned butter, crispy sage leaves and Parmigano cheese, I also opted to get fresh parmesan grated over the top cause you can never go wrong with more cheese! I was trying to convince Ms. D., to share a third pasta dish with me but she dodged my question very well and it was for the best, since she went into massive food coma halfway through her pasta. I could still eat but that would've been a superhuman feat of excellence. The gnocchi were fluffy pillows with gorgeously crunchy edges and the crispy sage leaves were a great counterpoint to the buttery sauce as well.

Mmm crunchy gnocchi

Ms D., ordered the ragu alla bolognese, she had a choice of either spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine, pappardelle, penne and GF fettucine or penne. She couldn't decide and went with, "surprise me pasta," which I thought was a hilarious order. She said she absolutely loves bolognese and is what she wants her nonna to make every time she visits her, the flavour was absolutely traditional Italian, slow cooked pork and beef, rich tomato sauce and lots and lots of shaved Parmesan.

Classic

I wanted dessert, Ms D., was so full she felt like she could possible explode or throw up. So I forced her to get some chocolate gelato while I got the vanilla affogato with espresso. I love affogato, I find it to be great fun to mix super hot espresso and freezing cold ice cream together to make slushy stuff. I don't think you can really go wrong with this combination, so that's all I have to say on the matter!

<3

Ms. D., got the chocolate gelato, it was a lovely dark chocolate and mousse textured gelato. I finished this all as well haha.

Spaghetti House
Atmosphere: 8, gorgeous romantic, candle lit restaurant. It's the perfect place for a romantic dinner I think. 
Service: 10, absolutely wonderful service, not just for me but for everyone else there. Prompt orders, water top up, I saw every table get asked how the food was or if they wanted anything. They gave us great recommendation on food and cleared tables super quickly. I saw all their waiters and waitress prowling the floor like tigers, ready to pounce as soon as you needed something!
Food: 9, delicious! My only complaint was that the pizza was floppy. Otherwise I enjoyed everything I had here.