Had a craving for Italian food the other week and decided it would be a nice chance to try out something different for dinner. Having heard of the recently opened Criniti's situated at the lower ground food court of Westfield Chermside, we thought it would be a nice opportunity to check it out. Having originated in Parramatta, Sydney back in 2003, it has expanded to quite a few stores in New South Wales, Victoria and Perth. Reading deeper into the reviews and seeing photos, I was definitely excited to try out their first Queensland store.
Arriving fairly early in the evening, we were one of the first to arrive. The restaurant was huge, and for some reason very much car themed, with a sports car in the centre, a motorbike on the bar, and even a coffee machine that looked like a car engine.
Menus and water were provided promptly. The menu itself read like a novel. In my whole life I don't think I've seen a menu so extensive before. With options spanning pizza, pasta, steak, bbq skewers, seafood, salads, burgers and desserts, it would take me over a month to eat everything that sparked my interest on their menu. It took a lot of strategic thinking and prioritizing before we could decide on our order.
As always, drinks came first.
Starting with two cocktails, we shared the Rafalina, containing belvedere pink grapefruit vodka, peach & elderflower liqueur, lemon & fresh watermelon as well as the Mama Ricetta with belvedere vodka, blackberry liqueur, fresh passionfruit & pineapple juice and hennessey. Strong and fruity, they packed a punch to our evening.
The first starter to arrive was the beef carpaccio with parmesan & chilli truffle served with a cheese fondue. Beef was shaved paper thin and slightly seared with a large portion that was pink. Super tender, the meat disintegrated in our mouth. Although the dish sounded heavy on the menu, the parmesan and chilli truffle were sharp, and the cheese fondue was not excessive.
Second entree was the Arancini. One serve came with three pieces, each with a different filling, including, truffle bocconcini, sugo & basil and bolognese. Each crispy crumbed shell was filled with fluffy white rice and their respective fillings. The shell was executed well and fairly thin, rice texture was tasty, but fillings were a little deficient in quantity. It would have been far more enjoyable if we had a little more in each, which would have made it all the more flavoursome. 
For our mains, we defaulted to our standard one pizza one pasta setup for Italian. Criniti’s lasagne with beef bolognese, béchamel, mozzarella, parmesan, napoli sauce and topped mamma rosa’s meatball. It came with a side of Mediterranean salad. I've never had a lasagne with a meatball on top, but this would definitely have made it the meatiest lasagne I've had. There was just so much melty stringy cheese, pasta was soft, the way I like it, and meat was crumbly. Garlic bread was a little on the hard side, but salad was fresh and crisp. Would definitely recommend this lasagne.
As self proclaimed meat lovers, our choice of pizza was none other than the carne amore, with bbq sauce, mozzarella, sopressa salame, ham, crispy bacon, marinated veal, garlic, Italian sausage & oregano. The base was fresh and doughy, I liked the stretch to it without being overly floury. Toppings were wonderfully generous, I especially liked the marinated veal, not something that you usually come across in standard pizzas.
Opting for a liquid dessert, this was the espresso martini. Rich, dark and smooth, it's everything a girl could want.
His dessert was the extravagant nutella lasagne, layered sponge with nutella and criniti’s mascarpone cream served with fresh strawberries. It was one of the most decadent chocolate cakes I've ever laid my eyes upon. The sponge was moist and the nutella was very rich, we both really enjoyed it.
Espresso and Matcha got to enjoy this complimentary meal by freeloading off FoodieAdam's invite. But as always, my opinions are solely my own.
Taste: 7.5/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Environment: 8/10
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