When did all the Italian restaurants disappear from the CBD?

Coppa Spuntino used to be an after-work hangout on Creek Street, but that space went the way of the pandemic, and despite the massive success of the group’s extended pop-up revival at the former Il Centro locations (also a COVID casualty), owners Tom Sanceau and Bonnie Shearston currently have the concept on ice while they focus on other projects.

Otto was originally located at 480 Queen, but it, too, moved out of town during the pandemic to its current waterfront location on South Bank.

Which leaves… not much. There’s Guy Grossi’s Settimo at The Westin on Mary Street, but that’s an upscale spot for casual dining. Simone Presta wanted to create something more casual and accessible.

“I’ve definitely noticed a lack of Italian restaurants in the city,” Presta says. “Of course, we have Scugnizzi (a hole-in-the-wall on Adelaide Street opened in 2023 by Presta and chef Carmine Guarino) and now Doughcraft, but other than that, there’s not much.”

Locals may know Doughcraft as the French-Italian bakery that expanded from its original home in Albion to the former Leonard’s Bar & Bistro on Mary Street in February. But now Presta and co-owners Steven Chevalier and Salvatore Compagnone are opening the space at night as a casual, fast-casual Italian restaurant with a menu loosely anchored in Rome but drawing inspiration from across the peninsula and beyond.

“You look at this place and you get the vibe of the food,” Presta says. “It’s meant to be used from sunrise to sunset.

“I’m Italian and one of my business partners (Chevalier) is French. He does his own thing in a bakery with butter imported from France and a team of French bakers… and I want to do my own thing: Italian food – pasta and pinsa.”

Not familiar with pinsa? It’s a Roman flatbread similar to pizza, but with a base of soy, rice and whole wheat flour that (in Doughcraft) is fermented for 48 hours. Presta claims it’s lighter to eat, easier to digest and has a crispier base than, say, a Napoli pizza, even though it’s baked at a lower temperature in a Doughcraft bread oven.

“This is almost like a gourmet pizza because we put the spices on each slice instead of sprinkling them all over the surface,” Presta says.

Doughtcraft’s menu features eight pinsas, including margherita (tomato, Bufala mozzarella and candied basil), tartufo (mushrooms, Italian sausage, provola cheese and black truffles), mortazza (mortadella with sun-dried cherry tomatoes, pistachios and stracciatella) and Sfizio (smoked salmon with arugula, Bufala mozzarella, beetroot and lemon zest).

In addition to pinsa, Roman chef Edoardo Bianchini cooks homemade pastas like spaghetti with crab meat and a white wine reduction, chili peppers, breadcrumbs, garlic and lemon zest; gnocchi in a pumpkin sauce with feta cheese, fried kale and toasted almonds; and fettuccine ragu of beef with porcini mushrooms, red wine reduction, tomato sauce and Parmesan.

A short selection of main courses includes grilled free-range veal spatchcock with rosemary potatoes and grilled lemon, grilled tiger prawns with lardo, cannelini bean cream, sweet pepper and lemon zest, and 300g roasted tenderloin with rocket, cherry tomatoes, parmesan and vincotto.

Everything is as affordable as promised, with no pasta costing more than $34 and no main course costing $48.

“There are so many Italian restaurants in Brisbane that we wanted to create something different, with a little twist,” says Presta.

On the drinks side, the cocktail menu has expanded from Doughcraft’s previous, modest selection of aperitifs to include many new takes on classics. The venue also now offers a 40-bottle wine list, with a focus on Italian and French wines.

“The Kangaroo Point Bridge is under construction here, and the casino is right down the road. So this little corner will be the James Street of the city.”

Simone Presta

The spaces themselves remain virtually unchanged from their days as Leonard’s restaurant, with striking exposed brick walls, a mosaic floor, and curtains and wood in the dining room.

But Presta, Chevalier and Compagnone have added new table lamps. Along with the new (since February) art on the walls, it gives the restaurant a livelier feel, and it’s hard to argue with Presta’s idea that this is a space designed for night viewing.

He also sees Doughcraft as part of the new CBD food precinct, with Settimo just off Mary Street, Naldham House reopening across Felix Street and the old Buffalo Bar currently undergoing a refurbishment.

“The Kangaroo Point Bridge is coming up here, and the casino is right down the road,” Presta says. “So this little corner is going to be the James Street of the city.”

Open Mon 7am-2pm; Tue-Fri 7am-2pm, 5pm-10pm; Sat 5pm-10pm