Everyone’s favourite Italian restaurant Fratelli Fresh is bringing back some of the classic dishes that have delighted guests in the past, as well as augmenting its selection of signature-style pizzas, streamlining prices, and supercharging happy hour, all from Thursday, 4 February.
Crispy Fried Polenta – indulgent fat fingers of golden, deep-fried polenta served with a rich gorgonzola and mushroom cream sauce – is one of the first classics to be recalled from retirement. Also reinstated is the traditional and irresistible, sweet and salty Italian appetiser Prosciutto Melon, with creamy buffalo mozzarella, fragrant basil and a drizzle of quality olive oil.
All-time favourite, slow-cooked beef cheek pappardelle is also making a comeback, alongside the simple harmonic flavours of handmade spinach and ricotta tortellini, and seafood fettuccine with a generous catch of scallops, prawns, mussels and calamari in tomato sauce.
“We’ve caved in to pressure from many of our regulars who keep asking for the return of their favourite dishes,” Rockpool Dining Group Culinary Director, Casual Brands, Gabor Denes explains.
“While we refresh our menu seasonally and aim to give our Italian Head Chefs creative license to explore new territory, clearly there are some classics that are sorely missed and life is too short to resist a craving for crisp polenta dressed in a decadent creamy mushroom gorgonzola sauce, right?”
Seven New Pizzas: The Fratelli culinary crew are also celebrating their unique pizza credentials with an augmented selection of seven new toppings on the pizza section of the menu, each loaded onto the signature crisp-chewy, sourdough Neapolitan crust created in-house by Head Pizzaiolo William Baffoni.
New additions take the pizza line-up to 12 in total, and include Pepperoni, tamed with creamy buffalo mozzarella; Verdura named for the broccoli and rocket pesto toppings that are paired with cauliflower and a trio of parmesan, buffalo mozzarella and outrageously creamy stracciatella; and Meatball with mini pork and fennel meatballs sharing the delightful crust with parmesan cream, prosciutto, basil and red chilli.
Dressing Up $10 Desserts: Fratelli’s signature $10 desserts, Tiramisu and Banoffee Torta, Affogato with Frangelico ($15) and house-made gelato ($6) are boosted with two new $10 additions – Hazelnut Tiramisu and Key Lime and Meringue Pie – all created by Italian Pastry Chef Riccardo Falcone.
A lower range of pricing includes salads that are a meal in themselves starting from $18, robust and generous pasta dishes from $24, and pizzas starting from $19. The full new menu can be found HERE.
Budget Friendly Set Menu: An affordable three-course set menu is now available for $35 per person. Guests choose an entree – arancini, bruschetta, calamari, or zucchini flower; a main dish – rigatoni lamb ragù, spinach and ricotta tortellini, linguine prawn (additional $3), margherita pizza, diavola pizza, Fratelli house salad or grilled chicken salad; and a tempting house-made dessert of either hazelnut tiramisu, banoffee torta or gelato. The set menu is available for lunch and dinner daily.
Happy Hour 2.0: Already renowned for one of the best happy hours in town, Fratelli Fresh is supercharging the best time of the day by extending it from two hours to three hours (3pm to 6pm) and delivering happy hour daily – it’s no longer just a week-day indulgence. New dishes and drinks have been added to the happy hour menu. Diavola and margherita pizzas are back, at $10 each; new $20 cocktail jugs are available in Aperol spritz, limoncello spritz, pink gin spritz and white sangria flavours; and $3 house-made gelato is also available.
The new items are in addition to the previously available happy hour antipasti menu of garlic bread, bruschetta, arancini, calamari, olives, zucchini flower, and shoestring fries with aioli – all $6 each, or four for $20. Happy hour drinks also include $7.50 pints of beer, $6 house wine, and $8 glasses of Aperol spritz, limoncello spritz, pink gin spritz, espresso martini and negroni.
Fratelli Fresh Food & Beverage Director Molly Haranis says: “Fratelli Fresh has always been known for its overall affordability, generosity of portion size, and diversity across all sections of the menu.”
“With the current economic climate in mind, we’ve amped up these attributes by bringing in a lower range of pricing, adding a set menu that is exceptional value for money, and supercharging our happy hour to allow guests to linger for longer over a wider selection of great dishes and drinks.”
Fratelli Fresh
Website | Facebook | Instagram
Images: Michael Gribbin