Eating Out: Delissio Restaurant & Bar

83 Theodore Street
Curtin ACT 2605
Ph: 02 6282 0755
Website

While I was up in Canberra N and I decided that we really wanted to try a place near her home that we'd always meant to, but never gotten around to. And considering her rather advanced state of pregnancy - that is, a bit more than a week overdue - we figured there was no time like the present. It being a Saturday, we figured we should probably book, as we'd noticed that it often looked busy.

A table for two? No problem. So we rock up, a couple of minutes before our meal time, enter the funky premises and wait near a podium to be seated. And wait. And wait. Despite numerous staff brushing past us, or chatting amongst themselves near the bar, no-one seemed keen to show us to our table. We were just starting to discuss leaving when a girl deigned to serve us. She furnished us with a couple of menus, took our drinks order, and left us. N made the comment that she'd looked at us "as though we'd slept with her boyfriend" - very accurate assessment. About 15 minutes later our drinks arrived. What were they, you ask - fancy? No, merely soft drinks. We gave our orders for mains (neither of us wanting to tempt fate with anything more), and settled in to sip our refreshments and chat away.

We've never had a problem having a conversation (hell, we lived together for a while and used to talk the day away out on the balcony with copious amounts of either coffee or wine and cigarettes), but we were really starting to struggle for topics as the minutes ticked by. Finally, a total of 50 minutes after we'd first been seated, our food arrived. And, despite the bad experience so far, it was nearly (NEARLY but not quite) worth the wait.


N ordered the salmon tortellini in a creamy sauce. I had a taste, and it really was fantastic. Maybe a little rich for a main (or a mains-worth of food), but wow. The plate wasn't piled high, but there was ample of this filling pasta dish to appease N's appetite.

I ordered gnocchi in a creamy tomato sauce with pesto. Again, this was just lovely. I couldn't quite finish the dish - as with N's, it was quite filling. I would rather have a good serving of really good food that fills me up and have a little left on the plate, than get a huge amount of adequate food and end up leaving half of it behind.

In contrast to the wait for our meals (hell, forget the meal, what about the wait to be seated, or for our drinks), our plates were cleared and the bill presented within minutes (I mean, like, 2 minutes) of us putting our cutlery down.

Despite the quality of the food, there is no way I would go back here. On a Saturday night, when there are empty tables, I don't expect to be forgotten the way we were. I found, during the years I lived in Canberra, some of the best dining was often out in the suburbs, hidden away behind local shops, or side roads. Unfortunately, this isn't one of those times.

There is also a Delissio in Braddon - Delissio Brasserie (Elouera Street). I'm quite willing to give that a go next time I'm in town. Maybe for after-work drinks followed by a meal. If I can find a date.