Not so crazy

Ipazzi Ristorante is a tiny new eatery in Noosa Junction, a couple of minutes over Noosa Hill from the Hastings Street resort strip. It is fast gaining a reputation as the best Italian restaurant in town.

Ipazzi, Ruby explains, means something like “We’re crazy!” Ruby runs everything front of house and Fabio, her husband, is chef.

The narrow room features well-separated small tables and is all red and white checked tablecloths with candles burning in old bottles. It looks like a full house would max out at 25 covers.

Fabio, I learn, prepares house-made pasta each afternoon and the choices on our menu are fettuccine, spaghetti and maltagliati.

We order the Margherita Pizza ($22), the Fettuccine Siciliana ($24), followed by Tiramisu ($9.50).

White domes of creamy buffalo mozzarella top the Margarita; they in turn are dotted with torn basil leaves, and both decorate a layer of sweet and tart tomato sauce. The base is thin, crusty and crunchy, its edges plump and slightly charred.

The fettuccine Siciliana is a decent-sized bowl of nicely chewy pasta. Siciliana in this case refers to an EVOO-enhanced sauce of a garlicky sofrito that features fine slices of fried eggplant, salty ricotta, fresh basil and tomato, all topped with small shards of parmesan.

Lucy tells me the Tiramisu is luscious and is fortified with what seems like a double shot of espresso.

A bottle of Shaw and Smith M3 2009 Chardonnay has notes of pear and cashew and an appealing substructure of French oak. A substantial white, it pairs nicely with our tomato-influenced mains.

Ipazzi, 28 Sunshine Beach Road, Noosa Junction, Queensland. BYO – corkage $3 per diner. Phone (07) 5412 2841.