Mostaccioli Brothers

I had lunch with a bunch of girlfriends today at Mostaccioli Brothers up on Elgin Street. This restaurant is owned by El Grande Concepts, the same group at Grappa's. Even though it's on Elgin, the actual restaurant is down the stairs and in the back of the building, so look for a green sign and a set of stairs.

All lunch sets included a vegetable soup, and coffee/tea/Italian soda. Set lunch prices ranged from about $80 for paninis up to about $120 for pastas.

Minestrone

Risotto with Parma Ham and Rocket

I thought that the minestrone was decent, but a bit on the sweet side. The risotto was really salty though. Since the ham and rocket are laid on top, I feel like the restaurant has a pre-made risotto base, and just add the toppings and flavors accordingly. The problem here is that they don't realize that Parma ham is pretty salty already, and so is the shaved Parmesan cheese. The risotto could be creamier. 

Even though my risotto didn't come out as well as I hoped, some of the other pastas at the table looked good - there was a baked Mostaccioli pasta, one of their signature dishes. It was a garganelli pasta baked in a tomato-based sauce with Italian sausage and lots of cheese. Another friend ordered the pasta with fresh fish (I think today's fresh fish was salmon), and that was good because the seafood flavor really came through in that tomato sauce on top of spaghetti. They had a nice variety of pastas to pick from.

It's worth trying if you are up on Elgin Street, just make sure that unless you really like your dishes salty, don't order the risotto with Parma ham.

Mostaccioli Brothers

B/F & G/F, 16 Elgin Street, Central, 2525-5770