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Drinks Directory|Meal and a bev|Good for groups|Restaurant

Carlotta

20 Scotts Crossing, Canberra, ACT, 2601
Phone
(02) 6103 7010
Website
carlotta.com.au
Instagram
@carlotta.cucina

Read time 3 Mins

Posted 20 Jan 2025

By
Pat Nourse

Inside the classic big-night Italian venue, Carlotta in Canberra

Melbourne restaurant player Chris Lucas’s Canberra debut is all about classic Italian flair delivered with a big-menu, big-vibe, big-night-out approach.

The setting inside Carlotta in Canberra
Why you goIt’s been a big few years for hospitality opening up across state lines in Australia, and now it’s the territories’ turn. In the past 12 months alone, two of the east coast’s biggest names have planted their flags in Canberra, and though neither restaurateur is Italian, both their venues are. Sydney chef Matt Moran was first off the blocks, opening Compa, an Italian steakhouse, on Bunda Street in Civic, and then in October, Melbourne restaurant czar Chris Lucas opened the doors on Carlotta, barely blocks away. If you’re a fan of the Melbourne dining scene, you’ll probably be familiar with the wild popularity of Lucas’s Chin Chin and Kisumé, but you won’t find any Thai or sushi action here – Carlotta is more in line with his Grill Americano, and that big-menu, big-vibe, big-night-out approach looks like it’s going to be just as much of a hit in the nation’s capital as it is on Flinders Lane.
What drink to orderThere are 120 seats to choose from here, and if you’re booking for two, or flying solo, or just like peeking behind the scenes, many of the best of those seats are at the long expanse of black marble bar that runs most of the length of the room. It’s a restaurant, but it’s also designed to accommodate after-work drinks and other casual bevs, whether at the bar or at the tables out the front. You’ll spy couples clinking Martinis garnished with rosemary-skewered green olives, big tables celebrating with equally big bottles of big-name Italian red wines and Australian heroes, and the best of Canberra and Victorian brewing represented by the likes of local legends Bentspoke and Bright Brewery with their hazy pale ale and Alpine lager respectively on tap, plus the obligatory red-label Peronis. If you want to go fancy but don’t want to go a whole bottle, there’s a premium list of wines by the glass that’s entirely tempting.
The Martini at Carlotta is served with a rosemary-skewered olive
Just some of the dishes of the big menu at Carlotta in Canberra
What to eat

The menu is physically enormous – a giant, honking A3 beast of a thing that covers all the bases, with the top third all things perfect to have with drinks and breads hot from the wood-fired oven: little plates of cherry tomatoes warmed with olive oil, swooshes of whipped ricotta with chilli and herb oil, peppers laid with Spanish anchovies, and golden slabs of polenta chips, plus oysters (including some gems from the South Coast) and winning raw-fish options like the tuna tartare with pickled green peppers and mustard. Cheese and cured meats are also a big deal here, and much is made of the fact the mozzarella is air-freighted in from Italy.

You’ve got maybe half a dozen fresh pasta options – the likes of crab linguine, spicy sausage casarecce, mafaldine with beef ragù – but the prize has gotta be the lasagne rotolo, which is everything you love in a lasagne somehow rolled and taken to the next level of Italo-deliciousness. The last third of the page is grills and things to share in the order of whole roasted lamb shoulder with white beans, or big steaks, plus a full chorus of classic Italian sides. And fries.

Make it fancyIf the very large steak options somehow aren’t speaking to you, and you don’t want to double-down with another bottle of Barolo, perhaps the lobster à l’Américaine might be more your speed. Cooked in the wood-fired oven, napped with a classic sauce of garlic, tomato and white wine spiked with brandy, and served on a bed of hand-cut campanelle pasta, it’s a crisp $165.50 a plate. (Like we said, fancy.)
Patrons enjoying food and drinks at Carlotta in Canberra
image credits: Michael Pham
Authour image
Pat NoursePat Nourse is a writer, critic and editor with a passion for great bars.
Tags
Drinks DirectoryVego Food OptionsAfter work drinksGood for groupsRecently openedRestaurantFancy occasionMeal and a bevCanberraDate nightWheelchair accessibleOutdoor areaBar
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