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Review: The Italian Bowl – Newtown

The Italian Bowl: Food Court Experience

The Italian Bowl is one of the only places on King Street that has a constant line. This isn’t your typical Italian restaurant, they use the “create your taste” approach. The pasta selection included: Spaghetti, Fettuccine, Penne, Beef Tortellini, Potato Gnocchi, Linguine and included other Italian staples like risotto, lasagna and cannelloni.

Ordering and payment is done at the counter which was next to the front entrance. Funny thing is you have to place your order without having a table. This shouldn’t be an issue non-peak but this might cause stress on a Saturday night which is very busy. If you have a big group of more than four, it is advised for you to book.

Overall, it felt more like a food court.

GARLIC BREAD $3/slice

It was really bad, toasted bread with garlic butter. The garlic taste wasn’t there. Homebrand is sadly better.

SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE $12

Garlic, mince meat & tomato

The spaghetti was cooked al dented. The texture was very enjoyable. The sauce had a good consistency where the mince was broken down to a yummy paste. The big minus was that it was too acidic. The lack of balance did leave a sour taste in my mouth, literally.

FETTUCCINE CARBONARA $14 (+$8 upsize)

Bacon, garlic, shallots, egg & fresh cream

The large upsize is about 50% more pasta. The pasta was cooked near al dente, I would have preferred it a little less cooked. The sauce was rich and included egg folded through it. It was a little bland to be honest. The Italian Bowl probably under seasons to please all tastes. Not bad but not great either.

Conclusion

The quality is decent but obviously this is not the best pasta out there. Overall, it was slightly overpriced for the quality but most of all for the food court dining experience. The ordering, seating, queuing on the street made it not worth-while. The upsize of $8 was a little steep.