the verve italian steakhouse

yummy. it's loud and casual. thepastaand risottos are always nice with lots of flavours. this is a great place for an after work dinner with some girlfriends.

some of the bestpastai have had. i tired a prawnpastaand a mushroom one, both amazing. this is not a standard pizza andpastaplace it is on a level of its own. the pumpkin pizza was great and they made a special kids pizza for my son that wasn't on the menu. the waiters were very friendly apart from one who seemed a little nervous and spilt half a small bottle of champagne on the ground while trying to pour a glass for us. he then wasn't comfortable enough to offer us another or give us the other half on the house, he seemed to shrug it off and blame us for distracting him. none the less the place was great and he was lucky he didn't pour it on someone who was more likely to complain and make a scene. food is great, cider list is ample. defiantly worth a try.

what took me so long?. not sure why i hadn't visited verve yet but hey a chilly friday lunch time was as good a time as any. special of beef cheekpastawas 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.

reliable and tasty. this is my go to place for greatpastaand risotto. i have tried a lot on their menu and their specials. i would recommend their gnocchi and the sand crab & snapper risotto. been there many times, never had a bad meal. the only downside is their pork belly linguini, it looks interesting on the menu but is only average.

bestpastai've eaten. i arrived late to dinner with friends and quickly ordered the sand crab & snapper risotto. i was incredibly hungry, it arrived quite quickly and oh my god it was good! cheap and great atmosphere. definitely a favourite.

thepastaand pizza was good but 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.

good variety of interestingpastawhich you can’t find in other places -such as chili crab pasta. tastes good! will certainly go back again to try other dishes on the menu.

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,pastaal 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.

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 thepastawell, 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, good food with good company. i'm tempted by some of the other menu options so would give verve another visit in the future.

excellent service. the people are friendly and genuine. thepastawas delicious! the the chicken fettuccine which was great and my cousin had the scallop linguini which was even better! definitely coming back to try more dishes.

i've always liked this place. for the last five years or so, the food has been consistently good except 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, thepastaand risotto dishes are usually flawless, the pizza is good too but there is better out there in my opinion. the staff here are always friendly and warm and the service is quite good considering 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 some good italian, 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 how good it was - he's not the greatest lover ofpastadishes - 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 some good comfort food.

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

nice place for gathering/ dating.pastais definitely worth a try. seafood is delicious/fresh. nice alcohol/ beer choice. good service. would recommend

one of my favourite places to grab somepastaand by one of the best i mean top of the list. i brought a dish with gnocchi but could not keep of my friends plate. staff are all so friendly and the place has a lovely environment but you better be quick because the place is always filled with customers.