Favoloso Fellini

An opulent, sophisticated setting greets you at Fellin

When we dined at Fellini Restaurant, located at Marina Mirage on Queensland’s Gold Coast, we were curious to know if the restaurant was named after the influential Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini, known for his distinctive style which blends fantasy with beautiful baroque images.

This magical, split–level, multi award winning restaurant, set high above the marina with million dollar views of the yachts and lights of the Broadwater is owned by four partners: Carlo Percuoco, Anna Cacace (who are brother and sister) and Richard Burt and Raffaele Di Benedetto.

Fellini is a ‘special occasion’ restaurant with a modern, elegant atmosphere, enhanced by clear designer chairs and was an exquisite setting for the birthday boy in our group to celebrate his mid fifth decade. Five of us dined here and we all judged the food, wine and service to be exceptional. www.fellini.com.au 

We started the celebration appropriately with a dry, crisp bottle of Italian prosecco, not too sweet and with fine, frothy bubbles. The menu had a wide selection of tasting plates, entrees, mains featuring a tempting selection of homemade pastas and of course some delicious, decadent desserts. You can also choose from two types of degustation menus. Entrees were generous in size. Two of our group had the carpaccio of fine shaved raw tuna served with roasted red peppers, lashings of Italian virgin lemon oil, capers and crushed black pepper. A healthy and delicious choice.

Another favourite was the lamb brains which were crumbed and deep fried with small buds of caper infused mayonnaise. The stand out entree was the fiori di zucchini. A delectable composition of baby zucchini flowers filled with crab meat in a light yeast batter, served with a tomato salad and aged balsamic and extra virgin oil. 

Our second bottle of wine was Chandon, a Victorian Yarra Valley Chardonnay. This wine is evidence of just how good the vino selection can be at this restaurant. Great value at $45 with lots of flavour and a hint of citrus. For mains we tried the ravioli filled with slow roasted duck and vegetables, served with a light buttery sage, parmesan and poppy seed sauce.  The fresh pappardelle pasta was also sensational. Thick, long pasta combined with twice cooked duck, a vegetable ragu and finished with fresh herbs and pecorino cheese, was simply scrumptious.

We asked Executive Chef Richard Burt what was the most popular dish and he said without hesitation,”the veal rollata just walks out the door”. Rolled veal tenderloin with sautéed wild mushrooms, wrapped in pancetta, roasted and served on wilted spinach and truffle infused cream certainly sounds like a winning combination. A certainty for a follow-up visit to this outstanding establishment. The special effort and love that the Fellini chefs put into their cooking is well appreciated by all diners.

We decided not to have dessert as there was a birthday cake waiting at home but we did order coffee and the restaurant surprised the birthday boy with ice-cream and a sparkler. If we were to select from the desert menu, the fresh rhubarb and pink lady apple crumble, served with butterscotch ice cream and chantilly cream would be hard to beat. We had a fantastic evening and for around $120 per head, this renowned Italian eatery is just the place for that romantic ‘boyfriend‘ dinner or special occasion with friends.

Don’t forget at the end of the evening to wander downstairs to the pier below and have a walk around the yachts for some fantasy thinking time to end the evening on a truly decadent note.

Fellini.  http://fellini.com.au

Waterfront Level1, Marina Mirage

Seaworld Drive, Main Beach, Gold Coast

+61 7 5531 0300