the verve italian steakhouse

updated review (september, 2019): rating of 3.5 if it was possible. went here for walk-in dinner with the partner.
we ordered the specials of the night including (i) chicken, lime and pistachio linguine ($25.90) and (ii) sicilian styled pan roasted barramundi ($32.90). both dishes were faultless - good homely flavours, pasta al dente, good portions.
casual ambience - dimly lit, however too cramped (one way shuffle between tables and chairs; several times did chairs pulled out into me as i was walking past, or elbows knocking as people walked past) and too loud (needed to shout at my partner to hear him, and could easily hear other conversations around you). reasonable service (albeit there was some confusion about our table number). reasonable prices for portions of food.
overall, yes for the food but a definite no for the ambience.

may 2017: went here for a late lunch with a friend.
we ordered the trio of dips as a shared starter. lovely flavours of dips, and plenty of toasty crackers - this could have easily been shared amongst 3-4 people in the end. for mains, i had the spicy chorizo gnocci. the gnocci was well-cooked with a nice bite to its texture. there was plenty if scrumptious sauce (not too spicy) and chorizo within the plate.
reasonable prices for very good portions of food. staff were very friendly and efficient.
will go back to try their other scrumptious-sounding italian dishes.

we read this was one of the must visit casual dining restaurants in brisbane so we booked a table on the day, no problems. when we arrived at the entrance i was having second thoughts, it looks a bit like a rough old pub, we had our 9 week bub in tow. we took a deep breath and plunged on into the dark underground. dimly lit, moderately loud 80s classics, spacious, arty pictures, raw brick, huge wooden floor beams above. relaxed, friendly and very helpful waitress. huge, informative cider menu, we ordered mushroom risotto ($19) and the special, crispy skin sicilian barramundi ($27.90), the wait was pleasingly short. the flavours were stunning, particularly the fish. we finished off by "sharing" a brownie, once again there was very little delay and it was yum. my wife is currently eating it all, i'd better wrap up this review!

been a while since visiting verve. not sure why and it won’t be so long till the next visit. took some usa friends along, they raved!
busy saturday night but shane and team, as usual, handled the crowd with professional ease.
doug m

not sure why this place is so highly rated on zomato. my group left quite disappointed. for starters, the service was all over the place. the waitress came to our table twice with food that wasn't ours and for the third time she came with arancini balls (which we didn't order). told her we didn't order them, she left and then came back with them and told us to just have them. they were actually the best part of our meal. we got the carbonara gnocchi, chilli crab spaghetti and meat balls linguine. gnocchi tasted like uncooked and flavourless thickened cream. the chilli crab dish was below average. not enough crab or chilli. just lacked flavour. the meat balls linguine was average too. very acidic. i do give them credit for the generous portions but the quality/flavour was just not there. other than that, the venue itself has a very new york city vibe, underground, red/dark colours.

i decided to come here on saturday with my boyfriend after reading some zomato reviews.

the food here is seriously tasty! i ordered the brandy tomato tortellini, the flavours in the sauce were so rich and tasty. the tortellini is self was nice also.

the only down side was we had to wait quite a while for our food, but it's busy saturday night so i guess that's to be expected.

the ambience in the restaurant was pretty causal, and there was lots of interesting art works for sale on the wall.

all and all really tasty food, and friendly service.

we have been coming since inception by brett munro thirty years ago and then shane for the last 17. fantastic as usual today. resurrected the shaved cuttlefish linguini fantastic.
garlicy chili and al dente pasta. intimate yet busy and friendly and what a cafe should be.

great food! great drinks! very new york style underground hidden gem. can be very noisy though. love the risotto and pizzas. only serve pizzas 2-5 so no late lunches

dine mid week in a fairly empty restaurant but one group made the place extremely loud. service was good but both my partner and i thought a gnocchi were over cooked. will be back to try some other dishes as i have only heard good things from friends.

not one for the claustrophobes. but i've always enjoyed the dank basement darkness of it...because that's how i mole.

lunch choices today were:
▪️truffled mushroom risotto;
▪️scallop & bacon risotto;
▪️spicy chorizo gnocchi;
with complimentary warm bread to start (nice touch).

these dishes were great comfort food: shroomy truffle goodness in my risotto & tender scallops in the other - both a beautiful creamy consistency & served piping hot. the gnocchi lived up to its spicy description.

sadly pizzas are temporarily off the menu due to a kitchen expansion & will be back in about a month. but calm the farm, there's still plenty of options in the meantime.

staff are unfailingly jovial and service is friendly & efficient.

if you're after a fun casual italian meal, feed your nocturnal soul & venture down the stairs. you'll like it, i swear.

one of my top 3 favourite restaurants... have always had an awesome night here. it does get a bit loud down there and there is definitely no lack of good atmosphere.
value: 5/5 ($20 avg main, bottle of house red as cheap as $22 which actually tastes pretty good)
service: 5/5
food: 5/5 (blue cheese risotto kicks ass)
ambience: 5/5 (underground cellar feel, which is loud and a lot of fun with big groups)

delicious food (i throughly recommend the prawn pizza to those who are inclined towards such a dish. it was utterly incredible!), great dining atmosphere for a casual social get together. fair prices and friendly staff. a satisfactory wait time on our meals too. very happy with the experience on the whole.

loved it! the staff was very friendly and the food was amazing! fast service and reasanoble prices.
the restaurant itself was a little bit dark, some candles would have been nice.

i've been here a number of times and have always loved the food and cider/beer menu. the service is excellent and while it's always a bit noisy because of how popular it is the food and drinks never disappoint. this time i had a 1/2 1/2 pizza, one of which was spicy bacon and the other margarita style. both were delicious but the margarita was the best one i'd ever had with melted boccocini and fresh tomatoes, basil and more. the arancini balls for an entree were great and previously the trio dips were excellent. it's great to find a good italian place and verve hasn't disappointed my partner and i yet. highly recommended!

the food is always great here, but the service was below average. last night i went with my partner for our anniversary dinner, and we were basically forgotten about. it took asking 3 different people for water for the table before we got any. the initial food and drinks came out quite quickly, but no one checked to see if we were okay/wanted to order any more drinks. my partner had to go searching for someone so we could order another round - we'd only had 1 drink each in an hour and a half. they were clearly understaffed and everyone seemed stressed/too busy. food wise, the arancini are delicious! we had the beef ragu and the pork belly, which were both amazing! if it wasn't for the food, we wouldn't go back.

i have been here a number of times now and everytime the food has been delicious and fresh. the beers and ciders are on another level. you must try moose drool brown ale. can be a little bit loud but great atmosphere and service.