I could have been in Rome. Perched on a stool on a sidewalk, with pedestrians and traffic streaming by; and tucking into a dish of fresh sardine fillets marinated in chardonnay vinegar, pine nuts and currants, I had a moment of ‘I’m not in Canberra anymore’. I was, in fact, on London Circuit, sitting outside the city’s newest Italian eatery, Da Rosario.

It’s the newest addition to the Trimboli stable – a name that’s synonymous with excellent Italian fare; from the West Row fine diner, Mezzalira, to authentic Braddon trattoria, Italian & Sons. And now, comes the little brother Da Rosario – a ‘hole in the wall’ serving honest Italian food just like you’d find in the mother country.

Da Rosario, nestled next to big sister, Mezzalira on London Circuit

It’s tiny – literally a space under the stairs – and all the seating is outside on the pavement. A little slice of Italy, the signage is traditional, as is the approach – wine served in tumblers, a simple menu that changes daily, and friendly knowledgeable service from waiters in white aprons.

Open from 7am to 3pm weekdays, breakfasts are simple – cannoli, sfogliatelle, little passionfruit tarts – in small portions that people can take away. Over the coming weeks, savoury options will be introduced, so instead of having a bacon and egg muffin from a fast food cafe, diners might take away a serve of pancetta, egg, sausage and tomato. Moving into lunches, choices range from half a dozen panini with ‘cracking’ cured meats, housemade pastas, minestrone, sardines, or perhaps zucchini flowers when they’re in season. It’s uncomplicated and tasty fare, and the place itself is charming.

Sard in Saor – fresh South Coast sardine fillets marinated in chardonnay vinegar, pine nuts and currants.

“We had this little space next to Mezzalira and we wondered if we could do something with it,” says Vince Trimboli. “My brother and I had just got back from Italy and we kind of noticed these little pizzicherias – your old school ‘hole in the wall’ food outlets where you get your salami, you get your bread, while you’re at it you get your coffee or wine and off you go.

“We wondered if we might bring a bit of that to Canberra, and we thought maybe this was the right space for it.”

Vince Trimboli says they wanted to bring a traditional Italian pizzicheria to Canberra.

Da Rosario utilises the kitchen from Mezzalira, giving the chefs (who all hark from different regions of Italy) a chance to do something a little outside what customers at the ristorante expect…and the Trimboli brothers the opportunity to connect with a new market.

The family has been involved in the Canberra food and wine industry since the 1980s, starting off with supermarkets and delis. When larger supermarket chains began to take over the traditional functions of butcher, baker and delicatessens in the late 90s, the family decided to try their hand at restaurants…the rest is history.

“Mezzalira was our first stab at it; my Dad loved the West Row space but my brothers had their reservations because it was quite a quiet part of town, but it paid off.The boys underestimated the demand there was for great Italian food; within a week of opening up, it had a great following,” says Vince.

“We’ve always stayed true to the philosophy of ‘use the right products, source the right produce and let the ingredients speak for themselves.”

One of the daily menus

And now the Trimboli family is going back to its roots, with a new Italian grocer set to open in Braddon mid-year.

“We’ve wanted to bring an Italian grocer back for years, but then Italian & Sons took off and it went on the back burner for a while. We’ve finally secured a spot basically next to Italian & Sons which has the space and the look to do what we want to do – we’ll have a dedicated cheese room, a dedicated cured meats area, and you might find a few classes on the weekend on curing meats or making pasta.”

But that’s not their only project on the boil. The area that used to the bike repair shop behind Italian & Sons will be transformed into a wine bar, where people can either wait for a table at the restaurant proper, or just sit and enjoy some wine and antipasti.

Sfogliatelle – one of the breakfast offerings

“Our generation don’t necessarily want to have the structured entree, main, dessert restaurant experience – they might just want to finish work, rock up, and be fed depending on how they feel when they get there.”

Not content to open up a new eatery, grocer and wine bar, the Trimboli boys are also tackling a refurbishment of Mezzalira; seeking to casualise the space.

“We want to break down the intimidation a bit for the younger diners who see Mezzalira as a ‘three course’ kind of restaurant, allowing them to sit at the bar and drink or eat if they want. We’ll be pulling up the carpet and moving the bar to the front near London Circuit, getting rid of the white linen and fabric chairs and bringing in recycled timber table tops and beautiful Japanese chairs,” says Vince.

It’s following the trend of a more relaxed approach to dining in Canberra, and one that fits well with our city’s appetite for great food in exciting spaces. Buon appetito!

the essential

What: Da Rosario Pizzicheria
When: 7am to 3pm Monday to Friday
Where: Melbourne Building, 59 London Circuit, Canberra.
Web: www.facebook.com/DaRosarioCBR