1889 Enoteca

I respect the fact that the pasta seemed homemade, but my goodness, talk about bland. I had the lamb papardelle which, for as much as they’re charging, better be gosh darn delicious. And it isn’t. The lamb itself is nicely braised and tender, but the sauce is just blech. Flat. Flavorless. Sometimes I could taste literally nothing but boiled noodle with a hint of tomato and lamb. If you’re going to spend the time and effort to use (presumably) house made pasta and braise a lamb for 4 hours, put some dang spices, herbs, salt, pepper, chili, SOMETHING in that sauce. The bowl I got was plain, bland and disappointing. Also, I will note that the service is pretty typical of most places here — no real attention to the table after the order is placed; had to ask for water refills even though our server walked past us and should have noticed empty glasses several times.

Great food and extensive wine list. Highly recommend booking the cellar downstairs for your next event.
Have one of everything on the entrée menu if you’re in a group, especially the zucchini flower!

Brisbane is blessed with so many great restaurants; the talent is endless and we are truly spoilt for choice. Wandering where I might go to eat I decided to head to ’ 1889 Enoteca’ Woolloongabba for my lunch time meal. It was a once again a cold day, so I opted to sit inside where it was warm and cosy. 1889 Enoteca is an elegant restaurant & wine bar offering an award-​winning wine selection and basement area for special occasions for up to 42 guests, in a beautiful rustic environment. They serve modern Italian cuisine and focus on offering the very best in natural wines from all around the world. The staff are extremely welcoming and offer fantastic service.
I was feeling hungry, so to begin with I ordered the Carciofi alla judia: The Fried artichoke with lemon mascapone & Mint ($ 20). Beautifully presented when it came out, I almost didn’t want to eat it & ruin the work of art. Everything worked well together. Now if you’ve never tried this before, you leave the outer edges of the leaves and only eat towards the middle where its softer and has more flavor; Beautiful.
For my main, I couldn’t go past the Carnaroli risotto ai funghi: which is a carnaroli rice risotto, mushrooms & truffle Pecorino ($ 26). All I can say is that I compare this risotto to all risottos everywhere I go because it is the BEST! The truffled Pecorino is simply beautiful. OMG!
Although I was pretty full, I thought ‘Why the hell not!’ and ordered a light dessert of Sorbetti misti alla frutta e erba luisa ($ 15) and a Long macchiato which was just the way I like it; strong flavored. There were 3 Flavors of Mango, raspberry and lemon with fresh fruit. So delicious and a perfect way to end my lunch.
I have been here many times, and plan to always return. I can only speak highly of 1889 Enoteca and recommend not only to come for dinner but why not try coming in at lunch, as it relaxing and not as rushed. Open every day from 12pm. Closed Mondays.

Very special food… very special staff… very special wine selection.
I was impressed !!! We sat in the wine cellar and ask our waiter to bring us a feast… A FEAST INDEED… I would live to recommend a dish for you. BUT. please please try for yourself… you will love it.
Outside dining is ok — inside can be noisy, its fairly small, cosy, your senses will take you to a small place in Italy. Chose a glass of red and enjoy

Enoteca is definitely one of those places I would happily recommend to others. I have had the braised pork and beef papardelle as well as the pork and fennell sausage gnocchi and both were fantastic. Also I had the thinly sliced rare veal with tuna mayonnaise which is one of the best entrees I’ve ever had!
They also have a good wine menu with plently of choices in different ranges. Also the service definitely meets the standard you would expect at a place like this. This place is pricey, but definitely worth it.

An incredible place for a quiet dinner, Enoteca has a beautiful rustic raw-​brick interior, and has a great feel. Fantastic food, and great staff. Highly recommend! (Particularly for couples).

1889 Enoteca is an unassuming little gem in a suburb not otherwise known for fine dining. Nestled in the shadow of the Gabba in the antiques precinct, 1889 Enoteca has some fine company in the form of Pearl, Canvas, and Crosstown. 1889 Enoteca stands out from the crowd for its dedication to authentic Italian cooking. Let’s get to the food.
As starters come, you can not beat the bread. It is made fresh in store, and you can tell given how soft and absorbent the bread is. The paired olive oil is nice and light, not tasting too oily but having a strong enough punch of the young olives that it came from. Get the bread, you won’t be disappointed.
For the primi, I had the fried zucchini flowers stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies. The waiter cautioned that they go easy on the anchovies because they don’t rate highly on the Australian palate. I shared my plate with a few who don’t ordinarily like anchovies and they all enjoyed the dish. I, however, am a big fan of anchovies and would have liked a big more of the salty little fish than was in the dish. Overall, though, the zucchini flowers were excellently fried, not tasting of oil, but fried enough to soften the flower and melt the mozzarella.
I also had a try of the black mussels cooked in white wine, chilli and garlic, and the portabello mushrooms with thyme, garlic and salted ricotta. Both of these were excellent as well. The taste of the mussels was balanced well with the wine, so that neither overpowered, with just enough chilli and garlic to tease the palette. The grilled mushrooms were well paired with the ricotta, thyme and garlic.
For the main, I had the lamb rump with broad beans, chickpeas, artichokes, percorino romano, and mint. The mint is cooked to a beautiful medium rare (as is the fish). The meat was excellently cooked, with the outside being just chewy enough to offset the melting centre. The broad beans were a touch of an afterthought, not really bringing much, but the chickpea purée was a nice hummus-​like bed for the lamb. The artichoke was nicely cooked, and keeping the stalks on was a nice way of showing that it didn’t just come out of a jar. It provided a nice break from the lamb so that the main feature didn’t overpower.
I also had a sliver of the saltimbocca – proscuitto wrapped veal served with asparagus, capsicum and sage – which was amazingly good. For anyone who is not a fan of lamb or fish and wants to try something truly Italian, the saltimbocca is excellent. The veal was amazingly soft and tender, and the pancetta crispy and salty. If you’re having a hard time deciding what to get, go the saltimbocca.
For dessert, I had the chocolate and semolina tart topped with pistachio and served with orange ice cream. The semolina provided a soft and moist base for the chocolate, which was rich but not offensively so. The pistachio gave it all a nice crunch. The orange ice cream was a nice and fresh combination, letting one build a Jaffa in their mouth if they moved fast enough.
On offer with the desserts are coffee, though they are relatively strict about their insistence on «traditional» Italian coffees. Ask for a latte and you will be reminded that it is not Italian, though they make an exception for flat whites. Surprisingly there was nothing resembling Italian hot chocolate on the menu, so any bambini will be disappointed.
The restaurant is simply but nicely laid out, with the tables surrounded by shelves of wine (get a bottle of Italian red and you won’t be disappointed). Every attempt is made to accent and show off the old Moreton Tyre building in which it is housed, the strongest example of this being the private dining room downstairs surrounded by the old brick walls. The wait staff were attentive and professional, explaining the finer points of the menu. Having an Italian maître d’ was a nice touch, having him explain the historical and regional aspects of the dishes.
Overall, an excellent experience.

This little closed off area of Logan Road is very interesting. Turn around twice and you could be in Europe.
1889 Enoteca Italian Restaurant is a superb little piece of Italy. We had 2 appetisers comprising fresh marinaded sardines from WA with dressing and thinly sliced veal with a delicious mayonnaise dressing with a mixed salad that included radicchio with anchovy dressing. Divine.
No wheat and gluten buried anywhere, fresh olive oil dressings and a glass of red and some Pellegrino for me — heaven…
Can’t wait to return to explore more of the menu

I took some Family from out of town to Enoteca to show them some of the best Brisbane had to offer, and it did not disappoint. This is a solicited and refined Italian restaurant and from my fist visit, I feel that we just scratched the surface.
It has been written up in detail in most of the food publications covering Brisbane and they all give you the same highlights: Brilliant gnocchi, and an impressive Italian Wine list.
While I have to admit that our experience did include at least one plate of gnocchi, our party ventured a bit further into the menu and everyone was absolutely fulfilled.
The pasta was spectacular and perfectly highlighted the quality ingredients and produce. The lamb cutlet with green peas, pancetta & artichoke was a surprise on the menu but were perfectly prepared and had a beautiful balance of flavors. Other standouts from our dinner were the Pappardelle con ragu and the Red claw yabby with tomato, eggplant & caper salsa.
The desert menu was luring, but failed to tempt anyone in our party. The cheese selection did however and it once again highlighted Enoteca’s commitment to quality produce.
The staff provided excellence service and possessed sufficient knowledge to guide you through the predominantly Italian wine list.
As I stated in the beginning, I feel this experience has only opened my eyes to this gem in Brisbane and I will be coming back to savor their grass-​fed beef t-​bone to share between two or the tasting menu with matched wine flights. I will just have to let my credit card recover first.