The Italian Bowl
255 King Street
Newtown, NSW 2042
$$—
Chris came to pick me up after work today, so we could go to Newtown.
I was fascinated the moment we drove past whilst looking for a spot to park. It was bright, cheery and simply packed with diners! When we walked in, funky music was playing and the cooks were being busy bees in the open-concept kitchen. Lots of clanging of pans and sizzling of food, as they whipped up meal after meal at lightning speed. Service was super-duper quick and we didn’t wait more than 10 mins for our pastas – fantastic! To top it all of, they’re cheap, at just $10 per dish.
After much deliberation and helpful input from the guy, I decided on the Linguini with king prawns, garlic, spinach in olive oil and chilli. It was a winner – the pasta arrived al dente and the mild olive oil/chilli really offset the fabulous flavour of the prawns. They were really generous with the prawns too, with 6-7 king prawns in the pasta. I’d rank it up there with one of the best pastas I’ve had, especially if you factor in the price for that much seafood.
Chris opted for the Linguini with chicken, spinach and peppercorns in cream sauce. Overall, I thought the pasta was good, but not spectacular. It was a fairly basic creamy sauce but I may be biased because I find chicken in pasta really boring in general. It was all cooked really well and the flavours blended in well though.
Dessert was, what else? Tiramisu! A good tiramisu is the mark of a true blue Italian restaurant, IMHO. And they were spot-on. Easily and by far the best tiramisu I’ve had. It arrived in a cool frosted glass which made our eyes light up.. and eagerly digging our spoons in, I was delighted to find that the cream was…. unbelievable. I normally steer clear of cream, but this wasn’t regular whipped cream, it was really really dense, and as Chris put it, “in-between cream and ice cream”. It was divine :)~ The cake on the inside was all moist and was so soaked in coffee liquer that it was practically swimming in it at the bottom. Sublime :)~
All in all, fantastic Italian food at a really reasonable price. Good, fast grub. Why can’t there be more places like these.. specifically near where I live?!
The Italian Bowl’s open-concept kitchen
Linguini with king prawns, garlic, spinach in olive oil and chilli
Linguini with chicken, spinach and peppercorns in cream sauce
Tiramisu
aww yummmmmm… linguine is love especially if they’re drowned in cream sauce..
Mmm pasta’s just fab in general. It’s hard to find GOOD pasta around though!
Oh hey, I saw that restaurant when I went past on my way to the city when I was in Sydney recently! My friend that I was staying with lived in Marrickville so Newtown was on the way! I remember thinking it was kind of a silly name! 😛
We got Thai food because when in Newtown eat Thai right? 😛
ooo do check it out next time!
Was the Thai there good? i don’t think I’ve tried it there, at least not in the past 10 years
I went to Thai Pothong (near The Italian Bowl) last night. I reckon it’s probably the best Thai in Newtown, although it’s not as cheap as all the others. Their steamed seafood is the main reason I go there. It comes wrapped in foil and on fire. Probably should’ve taken photos. 😛
Is that the one that looks quite fancy? We passed a huuuuge restaurant opposite Italian Bowl and it had glass windows and looked quite posh inside. Lots of people in there though 🙂
That’s the one. 🙂
I’ll definitely give it a shot next time I’m in Sydney and craving some Italian (although I must admit, I find buying Italian food the worst value for money ever… something in me just hates paying $15 for a pasta that I could make a similar version at home for like $5!!!! Some might call it the stingy Asian gene! 😛 But also, so frequently pasta is really BAD when you go somewhere that you go and pay that much and then if it’s crappy you get really frustrated!!!)
Yeah the Thai food is all right, we just went to a smallish cheap place called Thai La-ong or something like that. It wasn’t fabulous, but it was cheap! I remember Thai food being the food I missed the most while overseas (hard to find) but now that I’m back, every time I eat it, I just find that it’s ok, not great. Not that I’ve tried actual Thai food from Thailand or anything, but I just feel like when I eat it, that it should be more bursting with flavour and freshness! Especially in Sydney where there’s a huger variety of fresh flavours to be had! Plus nobody I’m with ever likes as much chilli as I do!!! 🙁
I know what you mean about Italian 😛 I prefer eating out when the pastas have more ‘special’ ingredients, otherwise i can just whip up a regular spag bol at home for afraction of the cost!
Next time we’re in Newtown we gotta try the Thai 🙂
nice ice cream bowl!!
It came all frosted and chilled – who says you can’t judge a book by it’s cover? 😉
The pasta looks delish! I love the bowl that the tiramisu was served in.
The bowl tickled our fancy too.. it sure beats just being stuffed onto a regular bowl or plate
aww yummmmmm… linguine is love especially if they’re drowned in cream sauce..
Mmm pasta’s just fab in general. It’s hard to find GOOD pasta around though!
Oh hey, I saw that restaurant when I went past on my way to the city when I was in Sydney recently! My friend that I was staying with lived in Marrickville so Newtown was on the way! I remember thinking it was kind of a silly name! 😛
We got Thai food because when in Newtown eat Thai right? 😛
ooo do check it out next time!
Was the Thai there good? i don’t think I’ve tried it there, at least not in the past 10 years
I went to Thai Pothong (near The Italian Bowl) last night. I reckon it’s probably the best Thai in Newtown, although it’s not as cheap as all the others. Their steamed seafood is the main reason I go there. It comes wrapped in foil and on fire. Probably should’ve taken photos. 😛
Is that the one that looks quite fancy? We passed a huuuuge restaurant opposite Italian Bowl and it had glass windows and looked quite posh inside. Lots of people in there though 🙂
That’s the one. 🙂
I’ll definitely give it a shot next time I’m in Sydney and craving some Italian (although I must admit, I find buying Italian food the worst value for money ever… something in me just hates paying $15 for a pasta that I could make a similar version at home for like $5!!!! Some might call it the stingy Asian gene! 😛 But also, so frequently pasta is really BAD when you go somewhere that you go and pay that much and then if it’s crappy you get really frustrated!!!)
Yeah the Thai food is all right, we just went to a smallish cheap place called Thai La-ong or something like that. It wasn’t fabulous, but it was cheap! I remember Thai food being the food I missed the most while overseas (hard to find) but now that I’m back, every time I eat it, I just find that it’s ok, not great. Not that I’ve tried actual Thai food from Thailand or anything, but I just feel like when I eat it, that it should be more bursting with flavour and freshness! Especially in Sydney where there’s a huger variety of fresh flavours to be had! Plus nobody I’m with ever likes as much chilli as I do!!! 🙁
I know what you mean about Italian 😛 I prefer eating out when the pastas have more ‘special’ ingredients, otherwise i can just whip up a regular spag bol at home for afraction of the cost!
Next time we’re in Newtown we gotta try the Thai 🙂
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
::Gouges eyes out::
Hee! mine was vaguely healthy too – yay 😀
nice ice cream bowl!!
It came all frosted and chilled – who says you can’t judge a book by it’s cover? 😉
The pasta looks delish! I love the bowl that the tiramisu was served in.
The bowl tickled our fancy too.. it sure beats just being stuffed onto a regular bowl or plate
Ah I love Australian prawns, but I never can ever figure out what type of prawns they are! In Singapore we have those kind of… not very fresh and crunchy prawns, if you get what I mean. 🙂
It’s interesting that you said that because I absolutely hate those crunchy prawns they have here! They add some sort of chemical to make it so crunchy and plastic like. They do it to preserve the not-so-fresh prawns so they can last very much longer. So, the crunchy texture isn’t because they’re fresh, but rather the opposite. Much cheaper also. I don’t like it because it’s rather tasteless, as compared to the prawns which are really fresh. But with that said, some of my friends do prefer its texture, like you. 🙂
They’re soaked in cornstarch and water.. or something like that? It’s so the prawns can keep longer – i don’t like it like that too :X
I haven’t tried their tiramisu yet. I’ll try it next time I’m there!
You simply must!! It’s divine :)~ Was debating between that and their coffee, but ended up with just the dessert
“I normally steer clear of cream, but this wasn’t regular whipped cream…”
It’s true, many people serve tiramisu with full of whipped cream, which I hate, because tiramisu are supposed to be dense with mascarpone cheese and adding a little bit whip cream in it just to make it fluffier.
I’d say the only place I’ve had proper tiramisu is here, and at Bravo @ Crow’s Nest. Even so, the one at this restaurant is by far yummier :)~ Just so delish!
looks delicious! we both love Italian food 🙂
Italian food is great comfort food when it’s cold outside.. and I’m a carb-monster, I can’t get enough of my carbs!
Your linguine looks awesome! And you can’t beat that price. Wish there was a restaurant like that here!
I KNOW! Am totally impressed. Wish they were closer to me 🙁
The tiramisu looks realli nice. Your post is so descriptive, i’m drooling!
It was such a lovely dessert.. and not as ‘heavy’ as a choc mud cake. Just yum :)~
The “in between cream and ice cream” stuff is mascarpone and it’s fabulous in pasta dishes as well as desserts 🙂 My husband makes divine tiramisu with it (his only recipe!) 🙂
THAT’S IT!! Haha, I couldn’t put my finger on it and remember the name. I think most places don’t have it done well in the tiramisu though, as it’s just like regular cream and not all rich and creamy :)~
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
::Gouges eyes out::
Hee! mine was vaguely healthy too – yay 😀
Ah I love Australian prawns, but I never can ever figure out what type of prawns they are! In Singapore we have those kind of… not very fresh and crunchy prawns, if you get what I mean. 🙂
It’s interesting that you said that because I absolutely hate those crunchy prawns they have here! They add some sort of chemical to make it so crunchy and plastic like. They do it to preserve the not-so-fresh prawns so they can last very much longer. So, the crunchy texture isn’t because they’re fresh, but rather the opposite. Much cheaper also. I don’t like it because it’s rather tasteless, as compared to the prawns which are really fresh. But with that said, some of my friends do prefer its texture, like you. 🙂
They’re soaked in cornstarch and water.. or something like that? It’s so the prawns can keep longer – i don’t like it like that too :X
I haven’t tried their tiramisu yet. I’ll try it next time I’m there!
You simply must!! It’s divine :)~ Was debating between that and their coffee, but ended up with just the dessert
“I normally steer clear of cream, but this wasn’t regular whipped cream…”
It’s true, many people serve tiramisu with full of whipped cream, which I hate, because tiramisu are supposed to be dense with mascarpone cheese and adding a little bit whip cream in it just to make it fluffier.
I’d say the only place I’ve had proper tiramisu is here, and at Bravo @ Crow’s Nest. Even so, the one at this restaurant is by far yummier :)~ Just so delish!
looks delicious! we both love Italian food 🙂
Italian food is great comfort food when it’s cold outside.. and I’m a carb-monster, I can’t get enough of my carbs!
Your linguine looks awesome! And you can’t beat that price. Wish there was a restaurant like that here!
I KNOW! Am totally impressed. Wish they were closer to me 🙁
The tiramisu looks realli nice. Your post is so descriptive, i’m drooling!
It was such a lovely dessert.. and not as ‘heavy’ as a choc mud cake. Just yum :)~
The “in between cream and ice cream” stuff is mascarpone and it’s fabulous in pasta dishes as well as desserts 🙂 My husband makes divine tiramisu with it (his only recipe!) 🙂
THAT’S IT!! Haha, I couldn’t put my finger on it and remember the name. I think most places don’t have it done well in the tiramisu though, as it’s just like regular cream and not all rich and creamy :)~