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Basta Trattoria is helmed by head chef Kris Swiecinski, formerly of Hill Bar in Gerringong, Merivale's Newport pub Bert's Bar & brasserie and the Sydney Cove Oyster Bar.
At Basta, Mr Swiecinski is going all in on the Italian flavours that have captured Wollongong's taste buds in the past few years, while retaining highlights of the seafood dishes that have made his name in Sydney and the South Coast.
Across the breakfast, lunch and dinner menus, available to guests at the hotel and visitors dropping by, dishes are designed to be shared and enjoyed in the open dining room that extends from the reception check in area and spills out onto the Market Street-facing courtyard.
Being a part of a hotel, the restaurant delivers on true all day dining, with a changing menu throughout the day.
To start things off, breakfasts can be a simple or decadent affair, with options starting at toast with eggs or spreads, through to baked eggs with pork neck and butter beans and a big breakfast with all the classics for those in need of a significant start to the day. A sample of the menu is also available to take-away.
Lunch takes note from the venue's location in the heart of the Wollongong CBD with burgers, steak sandwiches and a few pasta dishes, along with a selection of pizzas from the impressive wood-fired oven.
But it's dinner where hotel manager Matt Curran has really pushed Mr Swiecinskui to spread his wings, with a wide selection of snacks and starters through to Italian mains and a gourmet pizza selection.
The antipasti list includes a selection of cured meats, as well as olives and wood fired bread drizzled in garlic oil.
Starters are seafood inflected with kingfish, seared tuna, baby octopus and sardines as well as cuttlefish with caperberries and chilli.
Mains are where the idea of sharing in the Place Studio designed dining area, which seats 135, come to the fore, with meat and vegetarian options including spatchcock, cabbage in a tomato beurre monte and lamb shoulder. For a special occasion or those with a taste for steak, Basta offers a Jacks Creek Black Angus rib eye with a marble beef score of 3+.
Pastas for dinner are a tad more complex than the lunch options, with spaghetti vongole, orecchiette with pork and fennel sausage and a vegetarian casarecce taking the place of spaghetti with arrabiata or cacio e pepe.
Finally, the pizzas come on a red or white base, and begin with the classics of margherita with basil through to the more inventive garlic prawn with fennel and nduja. A vegan cheese option means non-meatlovers can join in the fun too.
Wines are a mix of local and European drops, with a focus, naturally, on Italian varietals grown here and in the motherland by the glass and by the bottle.
Mr Curran said he hopes the restaurant becomes part of Wollongong's increasingly vibrant night-life.
"We're thrilled to be a part of the fast-growing culinary scene in the Wollongong CBD," Mr Curran said. "Basta Trattoria is a great addition to the area, and we're excited to offer locals and visitors alike a new, exciting dining experience."
After major renovations to the former student accommodation building, the hotel is now fully open to guests as well. While it had been accepting guests to some floors from earlier this year, all four floors are now open, adding 150 beds to Wollongong's tight hotel market.
Part of the Independent Collection of hotel and entertainment business EVT - which also owns Event Cinemas and the Thredbo resort, Hotel Totto is the group's 76th hotel, Norman Arundel, EVTs director of hotel and resort operations said.
"Holding appeal for both leisure and business travellers, the hotel has been tailored to suit travellers who value quality and modern and contemporary interiors, incredible guest experiences, great dining all complemented by our integrated technology."
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