grappino trattoria italian restaurant

wonderful family run restaurant that has amazing food and excellent service. my daughter and i were walk in diners on a fridaynightand were given the god father table :) we were made to feel at home and enjoyed a beautiful 3 course meal cooked to perfection, i even enjoyed a white recommended by the owner. lovely! you will not be disappointed.

the gnocchi al funghi is to die for. we came in one evening for some dinner. it a wonderful lively atmosphere and great fit out. for entrees i had the prawns - they were delicious and well cooked, and partner had bruschetta. for main i had gnocchi funghi and it was one of the best i have ever had. truffle and mushroom is the greatest combo.

the wine list was good- kind of expensive but worth it. they were super busy thenightwe went in so the cheapest bottle was just under $100- it was good though.

loved the staff, even though they were busy they made time to be personable.

will i be back? oh yes.

it was my day of free! i had scored free tickets to the global tens and also free tickets to the stand up comedy club, so why not spoil myself with a beautiful italian dinner with some amazing friends? i have been walking past this place for so long and had always been memorised by the interior design and decor t had to offer. grappino has this unique italian feel to it, as well as some absolutely fantastic and professional italian waiters. this place has character!!! now the food, i had the pappardelle with duck and oh my goodness what mouthwatering flavours! yes the serving came out on the bone, but it broke away with easy and the sauce and pasta compliment it's hearty flavour. i ended off with a cheese platter (the tallegio cheese) which was just a perfect way to finish off with the remnants of the delectable shiraz. all and all, this place has fast, professional service with a unique character that only italians possess. such a lovelynightout, i highly recommend this place!

brisbane is so fortunate to have this restaurant. it is a truly authentic italian trattoria and the staff are charming and accommodating. the menu options are bountiful and the food is delicious.

this was the second time my group of friends have dined here. we had such a wonderful evening a year ago at grappino's we decided to return.

beware though....it was a friday night- and a game night...i am from interstate and was unaware of the parking restrictions and didn't see any signage on my journey through the back streets of paddington.

the staff suggested that i moved my car to their carpark behind the restaurant. i am very glad that they alerted me as i didn't know and it could have been a very expensivenightout.

great restaurant. we will return.

light, tasty and delicious. made a last minute reservation on anightthe broncos were playing at suncorp stadium, which is just down the road. while it could have been a disaster it wasn't. the service was very friendly and professional - the restaurant was probably 60% full at all times, with quite a regular turnover of patrons, but our 2 waitresses, and from what i could see the other few waitresses, were always attentive and competent. the food was presented simply, was light and tasty. the are some of the old traditional pasta dishes and i had the lasagna, for old times sake. it was delicious. almost as good as my mothers. we went the full hog and had three courses each, something we rarely do. because each dish was so well executed and the ingredients so fresh and tasty, we came out of there a little full but not feeling sick. my only negative would be it seemed to take a while for the meals to come out - but maybe that's why we were able to eat so much! this is a great restaurant that has stood the test of time and shouldn't be missed.

loved it. my partner and i went for dinner lastnightand all though it was packed the owner always makes us feel welcome and made a table clear for us!
love the food and amazing service as always!!

anne. on a whim i went to grappino lastnightwith my husband and we loved it. the food was delicious, the service was friendly and attentive and something that does not happen enough these days - the restaurant was clean. i very rarely eat desert but because the food was so good and the deserts sounded as good i ordered the orange crepes - they were to die for. the bitterness against the vanilla ice cream was perfect. we will be back.

we arrived on a busy fridaynightto find our table wedged into a stuffy, claustrophobic corner. so tight that our friends couldn't stand up to greet us. the room was full and overheated - so noisy.
in a moment of brilliance we asked to be moved outside - no problem. thenightwas saved! they provide heaters but it was a mild evening so no need. service was efficient and friendly. the sidewalk was quieter and more intimate than inside.
the menu is typical of a suburban italian restaurant - no surprises. i also don't think the owners are actually italian? it's just slightly off the mark.
all declared their meals delicious- portions not overly generous. my veal scallopini in marsala was tender but the sauce overpowering and way too much of it. wine list is good. dessert options predictable and disappointing. coffee was hot, strong, good.
we had a good night, company etc made it for us. probably won't go back but recommend you try it for yourself and decide.
buon appettito !

good food, good service, very rude owner!. we went there on saturday night! we had the set menu starting with the antipasti which taste better than what it look like, then we had the a good variety of pasta, beef and fish, everything was tasty and well presented.
the service was outstanding and the waitress was very professional and attentive.
we were having a greatnightuntil the rude old lady owner started yelling at the waitress in the middle of the restaurant. anyway she was yelling at the staff all the time.

best italian in brisbane. our favourite brisbane restaurant hands down.
exceptional service, amazing food - just a wonderful experience.
do it but be organised, you will need to book well in advance.


-----06 dec, 2012-----

greatnightout.. beautiful food , great service,
a greatnightout.
will be back soon!

the food here is was delicious! sandcrab, ricotta and prawn cannelloni was fabulous as was the seafood marinara. the bread that we had to start with was very ordinary. for $9.50 i was expecting some home made bread or at least warm bread. the olive oil and balsamic to accompany the bread was minimal and could have done with double the amount. service was just ok. not super friendly but i find that with most italian restaurants in brisbane. not once did our waiter come to check how our meals were. we gave a tip. our waiter did not acknowledge us or even say goodbye. however this aside we had a greatnightand think we will give them another go.

not a slice of italy. dinner for the first time at grappino last night; second sitting although given gamenight(at suncorp) offered to come in at 1945 rather than 2000. we arrived at 2000 to be asked to wait outside until 2020 for our seats. ordered the antipasti for 3 to start and a bottle of italian vino - wine fully topped up and emptied prior to entree arriving one hour later... we all ordered a different variation of the veal for main - quite nice although once the fettuccine was added to the plate become overwhelmingly salty. impossible for a party of 3 to have a conversation as the tables are set up for an even number of guests only and the atmosphere is very very loud. a poor second cousin to an true italian trattoria, sadly.

love it. we dined at grappino one saturdaynighta few weeks ago. the place has such a beautiful atmosphere and warm friendly staff. we had the specials of the day which were amazing. can't wait to go back.

worst customer service ever!. i'd like to say first of all that i see myself as a pretty easy-going customer when i go to a restaurant. i know how hard a job it can be whether you are a manager, a waiter or a chef and as such, i respect those people, especially after having worked for 10 months in the food industry. i am also involved in a business where i deal with customers face-to face and i know that customer service is of the utmost importance.
grappino offers real good italian food, that's a fact.
there were 14 of us at a table on a saturdaynightand we had to wait 90 minutes for our food to be served when the restaurant wasn't that busy... i don't mind waiting when i'm in good company but the least the staff could have done would have been to let us know that we were going to wait that long...
after eating our desserts at about 11:15pm (our booking was at 8:30pm!), the son of the owner came to our table to offer us the typical italian digestive called grappa. i thought that was a mark of good customer service, especially when you have a table of 14 people that will leave you a bill for $1,200 and that had to wait for ages for their meals.
one of my friends went to the counter to finalise payment only to realize that the owner (an old-fashioned italian who has been in australia for 20 years and that you can barely understand) had charged us $130 for the digestive her son had offered us before!
i started arguing with her to let her know that her son previously offered those drinks and that there was no chance we were going to pay for them. at first she wouldn't refund me but after a few minutes of arguing and probably concerned that the few customers left in the restaurant were hearing everything, she finally gave me the money back.
after leaving the restaurant and on the way back to my car, the owner's son, all wound up by the events, came running after me, swearing his head off (using the f... word numerous times) and arguing with me until he finally said: "i'll find you and break your nose"! what a way to deal with customers i thought...
grappino is a money grabbing machine that does not care about their customers. i'd like for everyone to think twice before going there. there are many other italian restaurants in brisbane, cheaper and of better quality.

we visited for the 2nd sitting on a satnight& arrived to a buzzing restaurant. service was very good only with a long wait in between entree & main. garlic snails were good & calamari tasty. mains were a risotto lobster special & fettuccine fungi both quiet creamy & heavy yet very tasty. overall a well enjoyednighthowever still rate beccofino as producing the best italian in brisbane!