La Rustica By The Lake - Australia

'La Rustica by the Lake '  is a big Italian restaurant/bar that opens out onto the Kingston foreshore terrace. The fit out is lovely dark, warm wood tones and has a genuine Italian feel to it. I love a good wrought iron chandelier when used appropriately. Apparently the owners are from southern Italy so I guess the place is legit. There is heaps of seating so I doubt you would need to book to get in, we certainly didn 't. The staff placed us quickly at a lovely table centrally in the restaurant. No sitting next to the toilets today thank you! This is especially risky with a pram as they like to keep you out of the way. They were also really quick with menus and service in general which was great because, as always, I was staaaaaarving.

Wow!!! Amazing food coupled with warm gracious service. I would love to go back again and again. This is the restaurant we visited on our first night in canberra and it was a great experience!!!!

Went for a work lunch and was pleasantly surprised. The lunch took a lot longer than expected, but they were very accommodating and weren't in our faces about still being there gas bagging over a few more vinos when all the other patrons had left. Love the old family restaurant type service!

I went to La Rustica thinking it'd be your typical traditional Italian restaurant with high prices and small serves but the serves were quite generous and the food was all really well made. Surprisingly, the pumpkin and potato mash was probably the highlight for me and I don't generally even eat mashed potato at all. The service was quite good and the staff were there when we needed them and gone when we didn't, they were also very pleasant even with how busy they were.The only let down was that all the windows/doors were open and on a 36 degree day that made the restaurant VERY hot. They might need some ceiling fans if that is business as usual. We were all hoping to go somewhere and escape the heat but instead were sweating at our table.

La Rustica yet again provided our group with a great dining experience encompassing both great food and friendly service. I've yet to be disappointed by La Rustica, it manages to provide great authentic Italian food that is always served with sharing in mind. <br/ <br/ The meals are always fresh and you really can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Be sure to call if you're hoping to get a large group in as the restaurant is prone to being full due to its popularity with the canberra crowd.