Walking into La Scala, nestled in the heart of Garema Place, immediately provides a warm and inviting feeling. The soft lighting and the gentle music was mellow and calming. The aroma of the food fills the room, adding to the rustic feel of the restaurant.
The perfect way to begin a meal at La Scala is with a glass of red wine – and breads are a natural accompaniment. Try the roasted garlic infused olive oil and fresh rosemary bread or perhaps white anchovies on roasted almond and onion paste with fresh chives. Presented on brown bread-boards, the different ingredients play a perfect symphony of flavour and texture.
As an entree, Flora de Zucchine, Zucchini flowers filled with a salmon, mascarpone with cream mousse, watercress and handpicked crab-meat salad is a delight. The Porchetta – rolled slow-roasted pork belly with fennel seeds, orange zest and fruit mustard, is bursting with flavor. The braised cabbage, red wine and apple salad which provides the perfect match.
It’s not worth visiting an Italian restaurant without testing the measure of its pasta. At La Scala Pappardelle al Gin a Sauteed Qld tiger prawns, flamed with Gin in a cream and Fontina cheese reduction which gremolata is a tempting selection. La Scala is keen to push the concept of Italian flavours, and nowhere is this more successful than with their Tortellini Genovese made with saffron and poppy seed tortellini, sun dried tomato, pesto, cream and a splash of brandy – notable through the entertaining use of some unusual ingredients.
Mains are hearty, though appropriately proportioned and beautifully presented. Maile con Caponata, a pork loin on warm caponata salad with roasted pinenuts and an aged balsamic and apple reduction is mouthwatering to say the least. The Salmone Infornato is a crispy-skin Atlantic salmon served on grilled asparagus and truss tomato finished with a saffron, anchovy, eggplant and caper sauce called provides fabulous bursts of flavour.
Everyone deserves a dessert. Indulgences include Belgian Nights a creamy white Belgian chocolate pannacotta with a Tia Maria and espresso coffee reduction and the classic (and perennial favourite) Tirimisu that provides a wonderful sweet finish to a true Italian feast.
Dining at La Scala is always a spectacular experience of traditional Italian fare with surprising and delightful twists, and it is this innovation that continues to set this Canberran institution apart from the rest.
