La Rustica

La Rustica 

2 True Italians with a Turkish In-Law

Well, the first day in Gold Coast and after a long day- taking a morning flight from Sydney to GC and a bus to Surfers Paradise. A long walk on the beach until we got our hotel only to crash for a few hours. In the evening, as we head down to walk, I am in a dilemma- where to start my gastronomical journey. As we walk on Surfers Paradise Boulevard, we walk past Hard Rock Cafe and then a section of the road where a number of restaurants come. Initially as I check on various forums on the internet, there are many options. I walk past this place called La Rustica. A small cosy entrance and a man standing outside with menu cards. As I walk past, I stop for a moment and take the menu card before moving on. We walk past the Prague restaurant, Sher-e-Punjab. Not sure what I want to have and walking aimlessly. Perhaps its a bit too early as well. I bump into a few office friends who are driving past. As I take a long walk and then turn towards the beach, I keep doing searches on my phone until I decide, La Rustica it is. This time when I walk back, the whole place is full. Its got seating out on the street which is full. As I enter the restaurant, there is the kitchen on the left side. a small aisle and leads into a very cosy restaurant with wooden interiors. Lots of interesting tid bits of artifacts that are on the wall.

The beautiful lady who seems to be one of the owners sees us and greets us politely. I inquire if there can be seating mad available and they mention it may take 30 minutes. Not willing to wait that long, I am ina dillemma. My mother and brother are still standing outside. The lady comes talks to my mother and appreciates my mothers saree. Seeing my brother, who is special child, she loves him. I go in and order food.  The menu is an interesting mix of breads, salads, Italian and Turkish. Italian includes pasta, risotto, pizza's and dishes in chicken such as chicken Cacciatore, Parmiagna etc., dishes in veal and seafood. The Turkish influence includes Shish Kebabs and Kofte.

The best part about this restaurant is that everything is cooked fresh. The pizza's right from dough is all done in front of us and cooked and served hot. 

I order the Chicken Supreme pizza and the Spaghetti Marinara. While we are waiting, the lady is kind enough to send us a serving of the herb bread for my brother as complimentary. The next day, I actually return to order the Chicken Shish.

Lets come to the food. The Herb Bread is very tasty. Crispy buttery and with sprinkled parsley, its really yum. The Chicken supreme pizza is just about ok. To be honest, may be I over expected the pizza to be out of the world. The good part of the pizza was that it was fresh and the toppings were really generous. capsicum, mushrooms, onions, olives and pineapple. Well, I have tasted better pizza's to be hinest, but this was also good.

The spaghetti marinara pasta. Well, I usually dont have fishy pasta's but I decided this time, with a bit of apprehensions. Let me tell you. It was awesome. The spaghetti with the napoli  sauce and a generous serving of prawns, calamari, scallops was really really tasty. Must have.

The Chicken Shish is what I would shout to the world and say this is a must have. Perfectly char grilled Mediterranean styles chicken chunks served with rice and salad. This is what i just simply loved.

All in all- really really good food. Very Fresh. The decor and interiors are also very nice. The whole place coupled with the friendly  owners, gives a very homely feel. 

Serving time may vary in view of the rush, but Id be rest assured that even if it takes more time, the food is so fresh. Would I come here, most definitely.

A meal  for two $50 approx.

La Rustica 

3118 Surfers Paradise Boulevard

Open 7 nights 5 p.m. till late BYO

Dine In, Express Pick Up or Deliveries

07-55701153