Westfield Carindale, 1132 Creek Rd, Carindale
I have a bit of a history at Toscani's. Back in the day (I'm talking early high school), I'd have to be excused from classes to go to orthodontic appointments. Mum would pick me up and afterwards, we'd go to Toscani's for food. My mouth would be all sore from braces being cranked so typically, I'd order a bowl of lunch-sized pasta.
Since then, I haven't really gone back too frequently. This is compounded by the fact that I've moved away from the East-side. My best girlfriend lives there though so when we decided to meet up for a chat recently, Toscani's was the spot of choice.
What started as a coffee and light meal ended up being 3hrs of chat with a never-ending supply of food and beverages.
We started with a peppermint tea for me and a diet Coke for her.
Grilled chicken burgerFood came not long after. She knew what she wanted before even looking at the menu and promptly ordered the grilled Chicken burger with chips. It was wolfed down with enthusiasm and I was informed that after she got home, she wanted another one.
Grilled vegetarian Turkish burgerI was inspired by the choice of a grilled burger and chose the vegetarian Turkish burger. It was quite tasty though I would have preferred a bit high filling-to-bread ratio.
LatteAfterward, we contemplated seeing a movie but the consensus was that we were too lazy/poor. Dessert was the chosen alternative. I got the Toscani's signature honeycomb and chocolate mudcake + a latte. My friend combined dessert and drink in one by ordering a hot Italian ciok.
Toscani's choc honeycomb crunchThe mudcake was really luxe. It had a great texture but the body of the cake tasted a bit one-dimensional. I could taste chocolate but the honey didn't stand out at all. Not sure where the 'crunch' is either.
Texture shot of cakeThe cake comes with cream but I ordered an extra scoop of ice-cream too. Like most mudcakes, it really needs something mild to balance out the richness of the chocolate base.
By the way, am I the only one who feels like an idiot ordering skinny latte with a cake like that above?!
Hot Italian ciok - thick and gloopyThe hot Italian ciok is basically an extremely thick hot chocolate that needs to be scooped out with a spoon. To me it tasted like a hot chocolate mousse. I wasn't really a huge fan.
What we loved about Toscani's is that it's reliably relaxed. The service is quite friendly and it was the perfect atmosphere for a girly catch-up chat.
I have to disagree due to the fact that when i went the meals took an amazing amount of time followed by a rude waiter and a stale atmosphere. The one good thing was the coffee and the service behind the bar from a young girl. She was very bubbly and made the experience so much better...Thankyou Blonde girl at Toscani's!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous...
ReplyDeleteI think they've changed management since I wrote that post because Kat and I didn't go for a while and the recent times, there was a new menu and the staff were different. I thought I wrote an updated post and was going to link you but I couldn't find it so perhaps I'm imagining things. Will do it in time :)
Two out of my last three visits here, Ive waited for 20 minutes and not been served. The one time that I was approached, the waitress asked if i was ready to order, then left, and never returned to actually take the order. The only recommendation I can make is that you avoid here if you are actually hungry.
ReplyDelete