Carlotta’s Aperitivo Hour includes snacks for $9.50 and cocktails for $15. Photo: Supplied.
Italian fine-diner Carlotta opened last year at Scott’s Crossing, turning an unused corner of the city centre into a Mediterranean haven of fresh pasta, prosecco and pizza. It’s the first Canberra venue for well-known restaurateur Chris Lucas, although he is planning to open a French Bistro at the site of the short-lived Botswana Butchery.
Region was invited to Carlotta to enjoy their newly launched Aperitivo Hour, a mix of Euro-inspired snacks and cocktails designed to whet the appetite and delight the palate.
Aperitivo Hour has a dedicated menu featuring $5 oysters, snacks for $9.50 and cocktails for $15. Visiting with my Mum, we particularly enjoyed the zingy Limoncello Spritz and fruity Carlotta Bellini.
The oysters came on ice with a cheek of lemon and a teeny tiny bottle of Tabasco sauce: slurp, down in one! Next were two arancini Bolognese: fried balls of rice stuffed with stretchy mozzarella on a bed of tomato sugo. Mine came topped with prosciutto, which can be omitted for the pescatarian. In this instance, Bolognese refers to the place rather than the spaghetti and mince dish!
The arancini balls filled with mozzarella were very tasty. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Meaty Sicilian green olives were a nice accompaniment to the basil flatbread. There weren’t very many of them, but they were impressively large and very tasty.
My favourite small plate of the evening was a simple affair executed perfectly: creamy stracciatella cheese topped with long pickled cucumbers and sweet, shaved fennel. The flavours and textures contrasted beautifully and it was a delight to mop it all up with the wood oven flatbread.
The polenta chips (stacked in a Jenga-esque tower) had a very generous shaving of Parmigiano Reggiano, which bumped up the salt factor nicely.
There was a nice hum of activity as people arrived for their after-work drinks. However, the tables at the banquette are tucked in very close together, which does mean you’re occasionally talking over your neighbours (or, in our case, rescuing your food from ending up on someone’s jacket as they scooched past). In a venue as large as Carlotta, I do feel that tables could have been easily rearranged for a little more breathing space.
Carlotta seats 120 guests and includes two private dining rooms. Photo: Michael Pham.
The overall experience was very enjoyable. However, there were a few little things that had been overlooked. Bent tines on forks (note the plural), an obvious piece of grit in my oyster, and one edge of the flatbread had crossed the line from perfectly charred to unpleasantly burnt. Any of those on their own wouldn’t merit a mention, but when compounded, I feel they are noteworthy, especially as this wasn’t a blind review. And while I absolutely understand that mistakes happen, at this price point, I think it’s fair to expect closer attention to detail.
But perhaps I just caught them on an off day, because when Carlotta gets it right, it is very good indeed. There were certainly plenty of very good things to enjoy: time for another prosecco for Mum … saluti!
Carlotta is located at 20 Scotts Crossing, Canberra City. The Aperitivo Hour menu is available from 5 pm to 6 pm Sunday to Thursday and from 4 to 6 pm Friday and Saturday. Follow Carlotta on Instagram.
