La Trattoria

This third generation family owned Italian restaurant was born in 1975 and having survived decades of change has made it somewhat of an indelible landmark in the city of Adelaide. The place prides itself on its "traditional old school service", replete with Italian cronies. Perhaps a little too old school, given that most are 55 years +, agility, precision and timing are therefore obvious setbacks, as well defunct hearing, ears that are possibly out of commission - making hand signals and frantic waving mandatory at La Tratt.

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Acclaimed for its award-winning pizzas, sadly most of my dinner companions (self included) were in a pasta mood and missed out on sampling a slice of their much talked about pie.

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The menu splattered with the usual Italian suspects: a good offering of pizza's - regular and 'gourmet', as well as pastas and meatier options (steak, veal schnitzels and chicken) offers a substantial variety.

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We started off our meal with a rather overwhelming salad slathered in blue cheese salad and a bottle of red before diving head first into out mains.

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Roquefort Salad, Grant Burge Cab Sav - Barossa Valley, SA

Spinach Gnocchi with Sundried Tomato & Marscapone Cheese

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I opted for the gnocchi cooked with garlic, sliced bacon, sundried tomato, basil, black pepper, Parmesan cheese and virgin olive oil and was impressed by the flavours of the dish but after a couple of bites realised that the pasta could have been fluffier and lighter without as much potato making that made the dish heavy and a tad bit stodgy.

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Spaghetti Marinara with scallops, fresh large prawns, calamari & mussels

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Jackie opted for the Marinara which was good, but to be honest I am never one to award this dish much acclaim at a restaurant since it is an Italian classic that requires little skill or flair but rather impeccably fresh ingredients: quality seafood, a decent dash of white wine and a generous garnish of aromatic herbs to make the magic happen.

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On the whole La Tratt serves up hearty, home style Italian fare that has pronounced accents of globalisation marring its 'authenticity'. However, I must add after a year of living in Adelaide I have now learned that at mid level restaurant (Entrees: $15 - 20, Mains: $ 20 -30) expect to go home full, sated with a big meal and usually mediocre service, rather than walking away from a culinary experience that makes your heart skip a beat and your mind wander to the streets of Florence!