Il Centro

Ph: 3221 6090; 6 Eagle St Pier, BRISBANE 4000 www.il-centro.com.au

Italian, $$ +, * for Food & Ambience
Open Lunch Sun-Fri noon-3pm Dinner 7 days 5.30pm-10pm, Closed Lunch on public holidays; Licensed; AE DC MC V
Chef Romain Bapst (27-12-07) Owner Andy & Marcia Georges (27-12-07)

Mietta's Review
The big Alsation, chef Romain Bapst, copes with the Eagle Street Pier crowds without turning a hair. His good brasserie food is appropriate for the situation and the price. This large, professionally run establishment must be doing something right as it certainly does the numbers. There's also a lively bar scene on the side.

Other published opinions

Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide "An enduring landmark in Brisbane's culinary landscape, Il Centro delivers excellent food and service from a scenic riverside CBD location. By day, it's the haunt of the expense-account set"

Brisbane Times Score: 13/20 "Insist on an outdoor table at this Italian stalwart (now 15 years old). The views of the Brisbane River and Story Bridge are nothing short of spectacular"

Courier Mail food and wine guide Queensland 2008 Score: 16/20, Two Hats "By day it's hard to see Il Centro as anything other than the quintessential CBD diner catering to a regular following of well-dressed business men and women"

Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide "It's only been 15 years, but II Centro feels like it's been here forever; the restaurant has survived boom times and bust with equilibrium, gaining a reputation as one of Brisbane's most dependable"

Brisbane News Tony Harper, 22-8-2007 Score: Food 8.5, Wine 7, Service 9, Ambience 8.5 "I sat in Il Centro trying to find the cracks, and all I found was a polished, serene performance. No one got flustered, the place ran like clockwork and the food was spot-on - simple, inventive and balanced. For a 15-year-old restaurant, it's in fine nick. The feel is still modern and sharp, the decor crisp and simple and there's an obvious attention paid to detail."

Brisbane News Dining Out Guide 2007 "Il Centro is one of Brisbane's most consistent and popular restaurants, offering a choice of casual alfresco dining and a more formal indoor experience in a prime position with views to the river and Story Bridge"

Gourmet Traveller 2007 Australian Restaurant Guide "Andy Georges works the floor of Il Centro, slapping backs, shaking hands and displaying a genuine sense ofenjoyment that contributes to an intimate ambience despite this bustling establishment's size. He seems to know everyone who dines here, and after 12 years on the job he probably does."

Courier Mail QWEEKEND Des Houghton, 20-10-06 Food 17 Wine 16 Service 16 Ambience 17 The Score 16 "Il Centro is one of the big kahunas of the Brisbane restaurant scene and is full of such little surprises as designer pizza. It's a serious restaurant with 18 chefs who make just about everything in-house: sourdough loaves and panini,every pastry, pie and scoop of ice-cream, even chocolates and petits fours. Under the baton of Strasbourg-born executive chef Romain Bapst, 49, the kitchen hums like a finely tuned orchestra. Bapst is state president of Les Toques Blanches (the white hats) and came to Il Centro after stretches at Mietta's in Melbourne and on Hayman Island."

Courier-Mail Goodlife Restaurant Guide 2006 "Restaurateurs Andy and Marcia Georges established this popular and multi-award winning venue in 1992 and have been providing diners with their own personalised brand of hospitality ever since. A favourite haunt of Brisbane's business community"

Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide * "A semi-circular glass wall curves around the pier, creating an inviting, relaxed courtyard tucked behind lush hedges, but inside, especially by day, it's all suits and dramatic dining. This is the preferred venue for the conception, close and celebration of a deal in Brisbane"

Brisbane News Eating Out Guide 2006 "A favourite with the city's movers and shakers, this riverside institution is renowned for its sand crab lasagne, though chef Romain Bapst's menu lists other items with a Queensland flavour, such as herb-crumbed marinated crocodile, and grilled barramundi."

Courier-Mail Goodlife Restaurant Guide 05 ** "Affectionately known to the CBD highfliers as the "Canteen" because of the frequency of their visits, this is one of the best loved and highest regarded restaurants in the city. Owned by legendary restaurateurs, Andy and Marcia Georges, Il Centro has a great atmosphere by day or night."

Gourmet Traveller Australian Restaurant Guide 2005 * "Il Centro is a favourite haunt of the Brisbane business, financial, judicial and of course, property scenes. By day the mood in the dining room is serious, with many a whispered deal concluded. But head into the glass bar after dark and you'll find conviviality has overtaken deal-speak and the business of serious relaxation is in full swing."

Brisbane News Dining Out Guide 2004 "this bright and elegant 143-seater, which has been run with aplomb by Andy and Marcia Georges since 1992. Chef Romain Bapst also is a stayer, and his classical European training comes through in well-executed, mostly traditional dishes."

Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide Australia 2004, 1 Black Star, Good vegetarian options,'a real Brisbane insitution...has the grace and laidback charm of a large Italian dining room full of old friends...the food is great-delicous modern Italian pasta, grills and seafood.The wine list,too,is excelllent...and the hospitality is warm and inviting.'

Brisbane News, 2002 Eating Out Guide