The Mystery of Marinetti, O'Connor ACT - Restaurant Review (LINK)
August 12th 2008 10:16
This humble italian restaurant gracing Sargood St, at the O'Connor shops in Canberra is somewhat of a mystery, shrouded in intrigue, wrapped in an engima. Luckily, on the whole all such ambiguities are downright delicious- Marinetti delivers fantastic food at very reasonable prices. The traditional italian fare is both hearty and fresh. Generous portions, cooked to perfection without any pretentions at all.
In fact, ja ja chi chi pretensious wank is something that Marinetti is certainly sans. The decor is basic - unadorned orange walls looms over a scattering of non descript tables and chairs. There are no gentle grooves pulsing from the speakers to alleviate ambience- rather the sound of this place is of a hundred laughs and chatters of the guests that regularly pack this place out. If you want to have a talk with someone, this might not be a good place to come, as it is pretty noisy- but if you feel you have the vocal capacity to get over that slight hurdle and are after a looooooooooonnnnnnnng talk- then this is it- because it seriously will take well over an hour for you to get served.
The huge gap in 'order food' to 'get food' ratio is not all bad though. It certainly gives guests an instant conversation starter- one that lead us to believe the Canberra urban legend that Marinetti is actually a one man show. As we hadn't eaten, and we were well into the several bottles of wine we had bought with us (bless BYO) we questioned the hurried waiter (singular, as there was only one for the whole 60 seat restaurant) whether he was doing the cooking too... the brief reply 'Only some of it' - he then proceeded to plop down the worlds biggest bread basket in the middle of our table of 8 without oil or butter and stroll off. It was another half an hour before he hung aroung long enough for us to place our orders.
It turns out that this packed restaurant was being serviced by only two men- one of whom told us he was only there because he was out on the town with the chef the night before and was filling in as a favour (after spending the day landscaping).
Short staffed as they were, the food was still delicious- melt in the mouth pasta, devine duck and the lamb shanks are still being talked about....so is the 'service'! Although we all ordered dessert, only one poached pear came out for the lot of us- luckily though, we were all quite full from the previous course, and not to mention the 4kg of bread before that.
Marinetti is good fun for a night out with friends- as long as you're not starving when you get there, you can easily keep yourself entertained with a few drinks in the iterim(conveniently, there is a IGA with bottleshop next door).
Bookings a good idea! Although make it early as you won't be eating for ages (but it will be worth it!)
Shop 1
5 Sargood St
O'Connor 2602 ACT
Phone: (02) 6248 7238
Tue-Fri noon-2pm, Mon-Sat 6pm-11pm
Entree: $8
Mains: $15-$17
Dessert: $6
BYO
In fact, ja ja chi chi pretensious wank is something that Marinetti is certainly sans. The decor is basic - unadorned orange walls looms over a scattering of non descript tables and chairs. There are no gentle grooves pulsing from the speakers to alleviate ambience- rather the sound of this place is of a hundred laughs and chatters of the guests that regularly pack this place out. If you want to have a talk with someone, this might not be a good place to come, as it is pretty noisy- but if you feel you have the vocal capacity to get over that slight hurdle and are after a looooooooooonnnnnnnng talk- then this is it- because it seriously will take well over an hour for you to get served.
The huge gap in 'order food' to 'get food' ratio is not all bad though. It certainly gives guests an instant conversation starter- one that lead us to believe the Canberra urban legend that Marinetti is actually a one man show. As we hadn't eaten, and we were well into the several bottles of wine we had bought with us (bless BYO) we questioned the hurried waiter (singular, as there was only one for the whole 60 seat restaurant) whether he was doing the cooking too... the brief reply 'Only some of it' - he then proceeded to plop down the worlds biggest bread basket in the middle of our table of 8 without oil or butter and stroll off. It was another half an hour before he hung aroung long enough for us to place our orders.
It turns out that this packed restaurant was being serviced by only two men- one of whom told us he was only there because he was out on the town with the chef the night before and was filling in as a favour (after spending the day landscaping).
Short staffed as they were, the food was still delicious- melt in the mouth pasta, devine duck and the lamb shanks are still being talked about....so is the 'service'! Although we all ordered dessert, only one poached pear came out for the lot of us- luckily though, we were all quite full from the previous course, and not to mention the 4kg of bread before that.
Marinetti is good fun for a night out with friends- as long as you're not starving when you get there, you can easily keep yourself entertained with a few drinks in the iterim(conveniently, there is a IGA with bottleshop next door).
Bookings a good idea! Although make it early as you won't be eating for ages (but it will be worth it!)
Shop 1
5 Sargood St
O'Connor 2602 ACT
Phone: (02) 6248 7238
Tue-Fri noon-2pm, Mon-Sat 6pm-11pm
Entree: $8
Mains: $15-$17
Dessert: $6
BYO
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