the verve italian steakhouse

what took me so long?. not sure why i hadn't visited verve yet but hey a chilly friday lunch time was asgooda time as any. special of beef cheek pasta was tender & cooked perfectly, my friend had the special risotto & also received the thumbs up. service was quick, the bar was filling up nicely by 1.30pm which matched the great buz this venue has. will be returning.

cool atmosphere and location. the food was nice andgoodserving sizes. the chilli garlic bread we had could have been a little lighter in the bread and a focaccia bread may have made it a little fancier. but in all a nice meal.

the pasta and pizza wasgoodbut the service was very bad. i understand that a busy friday night can mean service is not as attentive but it’s just not acceptable when it’s rude. i don’t think i will come back again.

one of the best italian places in brisbane. period.

it’s hidden away ... make sure you don’t actually end up in the theatre next door. but once you find this hole in the wall, and walk in the dim lit basement, you will find verve.

lots ofgoodalcoholic beverages on tap which is nice.

but the food was amazing. my girlfriend is so mad because the last time we went... she wanted her spaghetti with meatballs ... but somehow i “basic shamed” her and persuaded her to get some other dish??? moral of the story is despite howgoodthe other food is... they cook a divine spaghetti with meatballs that you should not be ashamed of ordering each time you come here (i am not writing this under duress).

you know the feeling when you go out and almost hurt yourself because the food is soooo good. that is verve. the service was excellent and the food magnificent. you have to try the bruschetta. it was asgoodas we have had since italy. the mushroom entree was pretty freakinggoodas well. the pork belly was amazing. and to top it off the place was really cool.

trendy décor and a live atmosphere in a cozy environment. personally i found it a bit too loud for my liking but i'm sure it won't be a problem for the majority.

the service was prompt, friendly but without too much pleasantries. the drinks menu offered a nice selection of alcoholic drinks including cider. the braised meatballs were fantastic and a must try. the beef ragu pappadelle as commented by someone earlier was definitely too salty and i would recommend diners to try another pasta. the saltiness made it very difficult to eat the shredded beef as they are completely covered in the sauce. the overall flavor wasgoodbut the saltiness was definitely a letdown.

the menu reasonably priced and the portions are decent and i believe a return is well justified.

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 -goodhomely flavours, pasta al dente,goodportions.
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 verygoodportions of food. staff were very friendly and efficient.
will go back to try their other scrumptious-sounding italian dishes.

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

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 ofgoodatmosphere.
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)

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 agooditalian place and verve hasn't disappointed my partner and i yet. highly recommended!

in all the years i've visited metro arts, i had absolutely no idea that there was a restaurant tucked away beneath the theatre. entry to the restaurant is just inside the foyer of the metro arts building and verve immediately transports the guest to a basement bar worthy of the melbourne underground food scene. think exposed brick walls, concrete floors, work from local artists on display for purchase, and an effortlessly cool vibe.

this place was apparently brisbane's first underground bar and they proudly claim to have the largest underground range of cider in australia. they're not wrong - the cider list is huge! i'm not a huge fan of fizzy, carbonated drinks but i was pretty tempted by some of the sweeter cider options available. husband splashed out on one of his favourites - royal jamaican ginger beer. full-bodied ginger flavour and super more-ish. i ended up sticking to my comfort zone with a lovely pinot grigio.

as we were celebrating a friend's birthday, the group decided we'd share a plate of the mixed olives with lemon, garlic, rosemary & vodka marinade - omg these are amazing! the marinade and flavour were fabulous, great balance with the acidity and sweetness. i had to pass the plate as far away from me as possible or i would have scoffed them all. delicious way to start the meal.

for main, i ordered the beef ragu pappardelle. this was quite a large portion size for me. the beef was tender and yum, the sauce was tasty and coated the pasta well, and the pappardelle was cooked beautifully. i found the sticky balsamic drizzle a bit out of place, but it did lend a little extra sweetness to the dish.

while i really enjoyed the underground vibe that verve has, its biggest set-back was the noise. we were admittedly one of two large groups of diners but the combination of conversation, music, metal chairs, exposed brick walls and concrete flooring was pretty deafening. no one likes to spend an evening yelling across the table.

the service was friendly, however a little haphazard. again, lots of yelling and reaching across tables to serve drinks and food. most of the food came at the same time, however there was a delay with a few of the plates.

all in all,goodfood withgoodcompany. i'm tempted by some of the other menu options so would give verve another visit in the future.

i passed by verve today & noticed before the red door there was a cute coffee bar. so in i went for my coffee hit. only coast me $3.2 for a flat white & it was quite good, prettygoodon strength too. oh almost forgot to mention that great painting on the ceiling so don't forget to look up!!

i've always liked this place. for the last five years or so, the food has been consistentlygoodexcept for the last time i ate there; i got the chicken fettuccine which i thought could have been better, it was a little watery and the sauce looked a little grey. in saying that, the pasta and risotto dishes are usually flawless, the pizza isgoodtoo but there is better out there in my opinion. the staff here are always friendly and warm and the service is quitegoodconsidering how busy they can be. i would  recommend the meatballs linguine and pancetta and mushroom risotto.

with an international visitor in town, on a cold winter night and feeling the need for somegooditalian, i did a quick search on zomato and verve came up with a great rating. a quick phone call and they were happy to find us a table in a couple of hours - all good!

firstly i have to say i absolutely loved the melbournesque feel of the place (anyone who reads my reviews, knows that melbourne is my spiritual home) so in an old building, down the stairs to the cellar to find a warm and welcoming restaurant, about half full on a tuesday night.  seated with a smile, water to the table quick smart and shortly followed by the waitress to take our drink orders - a couple of nice bottles of shiraz.

then it was down the serious issue of menu choice.  we shared between five of us the trio of dips, chilli cheese pan and herb bread - this was way too much and we struggled to fit it all in.  the dips were delicious served with warm pita bread, the herb bread was spectacular with a great herby crusty topping and such a generous serve.  then there was the chilli cheese pan - this was seriously spicy - almost on the side of being too spicy, but we enjoyed it washed down with water/wine and i would most likely order it again.

for mains we variously went with the chicken fettucini, pork belly linguini, calamari, pork belly main and i had the goats cheese and chicken gnocchi.  all of us absolutely loved our mains - my gnocchi was superb, plenty of chicken, mushroom and pumpkin and the most creamy and comforting goats cheese sauce.  the gnocchi itself - perfect - not too stodgy, but rather light and very filling.  i also tasted hubby's linguini and it was amazing, he was blown away with howgoodit was - he's not the greatest lover of pasta dishes - so that's a huge compliment.

our other guests also enjoyed their meals and whilst we we were all filling up fast, i don't think anything was left over.  and to top it all we managed to share the two deserts on the menu - a decadent brownie and a truly fabulous sticky date pudding.  we all managed a spoon or two each and i think there was one bite of brownie left on the plate that none of us could tackle, we were so full.

so a great find - i loved it and it has now been added to my list of great places to go when you need somegoodcomfort food.

excellent value for money - large portions and delicious food. the garlic pizza bread makes for agoodentree and the chips are an excellent accompaniment. we usually stick to the pasta dishes but the pizzas look fantastic as well