Tuesday 9 November 2021

Eating Out: Nonna's Nightmare and Botanical Lab (Birthday edition)

After getting breakfast with my parents on Sunday morning, I met up with a couple of friends for dinner that night. We went to Nonna's Nightmare, a vegan Italian restaurant that I have been wanting to go to for awhile.

We shared the Black and Gold Arancini to start, because of course I had to order something that used charcoal to make it black! They were hot, savoury little porcini and saffron rice cakes coated in a charcoal crumb, with a smoked paprika mayo that I loved.

Black and Gold Arancini at Nonna's Nightmare


My friend both ordered the Lasagne Della Nonna, which used a Beyond Meat ragu, bechamel sauce, and cheese. I tried a little bit and it was indeed a creamy, cheese, meaty mount of deliciousness. Both my friends (one vegetarian, one omni), loved it!

Lasagne Della Nonna at Nonna's Nightmare


I decided to try one of the pizzas, and I ordered the Barese. This had mozzarella, broccoli cream, roasted cherry tomatoes, and and crispy sausage. It was also meant to come with chilli oil, but I asked for this to be left off. Without that, it was a little bit on the bland side, but it was still really good. It was also quite large! I couldn't eat all of it, but I did make sure to scrape off all the topping to eat!! The base was woodfired and really nice as well.

Barese Pizza at Nonna's Nightmare


Although there are desserts and Nonna's, we took a quick stroll down to Botanical Lab, because I wanted to end my birthday with ice cream! See previous visits here. I was pretty full, so I kept it simple with vegan black sesame soft serve in a cone. Amazing!

Black Sesame Soft Serve at Botanical Lab


While that ended the adventures on my actual birthday, there are still several more to come! I hope you are ready for a bunch of eating out posts!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post

Boo in the catmax


Boo is obsessed with the cat max. All day long she goes in and out and in and out. Here she is in front of the ferns imaging herself as the magnificent mini panther she is.

9 comments:

  1. Look at ALL of that lovely vegan food! And when you said Smoked Paprika Mayo - it reminded me to make some - and soon!

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    1. I loved the mayo, I should make some too. Smoked paprika is one of my favourite spices.

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  2. The food looks delicious but why would they put "nightmare" in their name!?

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    1. According to their website the name is a joke because if you tell your nonna you have gone vegan, it is her nightmare.

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  3. Boo is so cute! I'd love to hear more about the cat max.

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    1. When I moved home with my girls from Sydney, we built an enclosure for the cats. It is part cat-max netting, and part of it relies on the structure of the house. It has a nice undercover atrium area, and then also has a run down the side of the house for them. Boo loves it, she spends so much time out there.

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    2. Oh, wow. That's so nice for them. It sounds like an ideal kitty spot!

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  4. This looks like a really fun restaurant! It's going on my wishlist for my next Brisbane trip.

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    1. I definitely want to go back and have a pizza and pasta party there.

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