The first thing you notice when you walk through the door of La Cantina is the classic Italian décor and the welcoming atmosphere. The next thing to notice is that despite walking in on street level, the interior of La Cantina resembles a wine cellar, with hand laid brickwork covering the walls.
A project which has been on the books for industry old hats and well known Canberra locals Dom and Ornella Celestino for a while, February this year felt like it was the right time to open.
“The venue came up by chance. After spending some time away from the industry over the last couple of years, we had a great time, but were too young to retire. Our previous Canberra restaurant was in Kingston and seated more people and we were busy working all the time. La Cantina is our chance to take things at a slower pace and have a business that we really love,” Ornella said.
And ‘love’ is what this restaurant is all about. Just ask Dom about the 130 year old hand made French bricks, imported from Vietnam, that set this venue’s warm interior. You’ll hear a story about determination and passion for creating a restaurant that inspires as well as excites.
“La Cantina means the cellar in Italian and that was the atmosphere that I wanted to create. I feel like a pioneer sometimes, opening a restaurant in Narrabundah, but since opening night we have been incredibly busy. My vision has turned into reality.”
Replicating the same concept as a classic restaurant in Italy, La Cantina can be classified as casual fine dining. Sticking with the principal that what comes out of the kitchen is eaten by everyone, staff included, you can be assured that the chefs know exactly what they are doing.
Wanting to create a space that boasts the warmth of a home was the desired outcome for Dom and Ornella, and the overwhelming response from customers is that they have been able to achieve just that.
Strong advice from the couple however, is to book a couple of weeks in advance for a table as the only problem they have come up against since opening is trying to fit all the customers in each night.
