Free bread? Free jugs of house-made lemonade? Any moment you expect Nonna Maria to come over to your table, squeeze your cheeks and implore you to “Eat! Eat! You’re too skinny."
At Nonna Maria's Place, they’ve got every trattoria stereotype covered, from the creeping ivy over the front entrance to the giant Italian flag hanging by the door and red-and-white checked tablecloths inside. The crowd is a mix of couples, friends and a large family gathering out the back celebrating a birthday.
Italian prawns $22
Start with house-made cheese and spinach triangles, bruschetta or prawns cooked in garlic and olive oil, or 'Italian-style' – a mix of light cream, Napolitana sauce and a fair whack of chilli. Make sure you save some bread for soaking up the sauce.
Spaghetti carbonara $15
You can mix and match your choice of pasta to whichever sauce you fancy. Prices are dirt-cheap, starting at $14 for Bolognese and topping out at $20 for prawns with garlic and olive oil. The carbonara can be a bit hit-and-miss – ours is more of a scrambled-egg disaster – but the sweet potato gnocchi is a definite home run with big, fat, fluffy pillows that hug you on the inside. Match it with the house-made pesto or go for broke and have it smothered in a boscaiola-fest of bacon and cream. Yay arteries.
Sweet potato gnocchi with boscaiola $14
Chicken schnitzel lemon $16; spaghetti carbonara; and sweet potato gnocchi
If you need a protein fix, get into the chicken schnitzel, bashed flat, crumbed and fried until golden. It’s garnished simply with lemon and salad, or you can put some meat on them bones and have it smothered in Napolitana sauce and parmesan cheese.
Free bread and lemonade
BYO makes this a cheap date night, but the free lemonade – zingy and not overly sweet – will put a smile on even Scrooge’s dial. If you ask nicely, they’ll refill your free bread and lemonade, for, yes, free.
There’s only one dessert you need to order and that’s the tiramisu. It’s homemade of course. Better have two.
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Nonna Maria's Place
56 Phillip Street, Parramatta, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9689 1112
Opening hours:
Open 7 days 5pm-10pm
This article appeared in the June 2013 issue of Time Out Sydney in my monthly Food & Drink column Eat This! [Read online]
Read more of my Time Out Sydney reviews
Looks delicious! My mouth's watering!
ReplyDeleteAll the pasta dishes look so homey. Love the authentic look to them. Free lemonade and bread? Winning!
ReplyDeleteKinda reminds me of No Name Italian, just nicer. I'd squeeze your cheeks any day, Helen.
ReplyDeleteLove the melted wax on the candle-holding bottles, adds to the Italian family vibe.
ReplyDeleteLooks like some very generous portions! (and freebies are always a good thing)
ReplyDeleteMmm, homemade lemonade! Really can't get better than that...
ReplyDeleteweird i had a dream about lemonade. now i need lemonade.
ReplyDeleteSweet potato gnocchi looks and sounds unreal!
ReplyDeleteI love that you can still call this "dirt cheap" after being in the US> It's all about perspective, eh? ;)
ReplyDeleteThis type of place is such a throwback to another era (miss it!). And how about that candle in a bottle - cool!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this place, it's a real gem in Parramatta! I think Nona still does some stuff for the restaurant but it's man-nona that's left holding the fort these days. He'd squeeze your cheeks I reckon. I LOVE the pesto gnocchi here. LOVE.
ReplyDeletemmmm, gnocchi! Now I've got a craving for pasta and homemade lemonade!
ReplyDeleteWow sweet potato gnocchi - I'm going to have to cook that!
ReplyDeleteThis place looks kinda sweet, one to try ;)
Man, I've been wanting Italian for a while now haha! and this ... omg food porn!
ReplyDeleteThat sweet potato gnocchi! i want to try XD
and hello FREE STUFF!!!
- Cassie @ Next Stop: Food
Oh dear that carbonara does not look good but I would go there for the gnocchi alone I think!
ReplyDeleteI've heard fantastic things about the sweet potato gnocchi! Definitely sounds like a winner, especially with a side of lemonade and bread! :D
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to try this place for a while now...I definitely have to go soon! It seems like great value :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't find the pasta to be that great and some were a bit oily but this place is def where you go if you want to get your bang for your buck.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and absolutely love that
ReplyDeleteNow this is where I want to be!! I am salivating over the sweet potato gnocchi... too delicious :)
ReplyDeletemm huge craving for carbs! nonna's makes the best food ^^ this reminds me of Bill & Toni's in Darlinghurst
ReplyDeleteFree lemonade and bread, pretty generous. Food looks like awesome home cooking which I think would go down well with a nice bottle of red. Date night is on!
ReplyDelete