Dear Brisbane,

Firstly, we hope that you are all taking care of yourselves and each other during this health emergency. As you’ve likely heard by now, all unnecessary places of gathering are now closed due to the COVID emergency. This means that all restaurants and cafes will be operating only in a take away and delivery capacity. We are expecting these measures to be in place for several months, and know they will be reviewed monthly. If the situation continues to worsen, we expect that stricter measures will be introduced when this measure is reviewed after a month, if not sooner.

This is a tough time for so many people, in so many different ways. Our heart goes out to our friends in hospitality that in a matter of a week have lost everything, and especially to those who have children to support and reassure during this period. I’m sure many of you are still processing what is happening.

Throughout the last two weeks we’ve been receiving an enormous outpouring of love and support from our community who have all come down to let us know that we’re not alone and night after night making it feel like business as usual. Unfortunately for our society, it has not been business as usual, and it is now absolutely essential that we all practice social distancing to as great an extent as possible. We support these new measures 100%, and while they will no doubt have a massive financial impact on us and on the thousands of people that depend on the hospitality industry for their livelihoods, it’s the right thing to do. But with that in mind I implore you all to take this social distancing seriously – stay home.

We will be doing our best to encourage people to stay indoors by doing what we in the hospitality industry do best – making it joyful. Throughout the next week, as time permits, we will be rolling out a series of new offers, specials, and programs. While the lid is still on for now, watch this space.

In addition, we will be launching our full online store this week where you will be able to buy gift cards, bulk pasta orders, and Social Distancing Pasta Party packs. We will be offering delivery, but please bear with us as we arrange the logistics of this. If you know you intend to order delivery online, hit us up with a message now letting us know your suburb, as this will help in the plan.

From the Campagnaris,

Stay safe, stay kind, stay inside <3
 
 

The festival of Carnevale is a celebration that rings out the silly season in the lead up to Lent around the world. While the name is probably reminiscent of images of scantily clad dancers in Rio, or the masqueraded Carnevale celebrations of Venice, it is a festival that is celebrated across the country of Italy in unique and often bizarre cultural customs.
However, as a Veronese, Carnevale means one thing: Venerdi Gnocolar. Every year since the Carnevale tradition began in 1531, the city of Verona – my home town – gets together on the last Friday before Lent to celebrate the humble gnocco under the guidance of the duly elected “Papa del Gnocco” (Yes, we actually vote for who will get to dress up as Papa del Gnocco each year). 
To bring a little of my old home into my new home, Ripiena will be celebrating Venerdi Gnocolar on Friday, 21st of February. For the entire day, Ripiena will be serving and selling only freshly hand-made Gnocchi. While this is a big change from business as usually, obviously the quality and authenticity that are the foundation of our business practice will remain.  As such, expect only the authentic sauces and accompaniments. If you love gnocchi like we do, it’s an event that can’t be missed. Come along and help us celebrate this important day with gnocchi and paired regional wines.

For a year now the team at Ripiena have been pulling up their socks six days a week with a working day that starts at 9AM and usually finishes after 11PM. When we first opened, our fit-out consisted of five tables and four bar stools and we managed every aspect of our business between just the two of us – and with ease. Throughout 2019 our business has grown exponentially, and with that growth we’ve hired and trained a wonderful team of people to help with our daily operations.

Despite how things picked up, we had always had one day a week that was quiet enough for just Nicolo’ and myself to manage. However, from the second half of 2019, and into the New Year, we’ve no longer had this quiet, manageable day. While we’ve become increasingly unhappy with the level of service that we’ve been able to provide on these days, we also cannot expect our staff to work six days a week as we have been doing for the past twelve months.

It is with this background that we have decided to close on Mondays and Tuesdays so that we will be able to provide exceptional service and quality product for each minute that we open (and also we’ll have two days off a week just like normal people).

In addition, closing on Tuesday night will allow us to open Wednesday for lunch, meaning we will now offer lunch service five days a week as we launch our new lunch menu. We will also be able to keep our doors open until 5PM to sell our fresh pasta to the public – which we are now updating the menu and ordering system for.

All the best, and we look forward to seeing you all in 2020!

Tomorrow, October 25th marks a very important day: World Pasta Day. Most Italian restaurants in Brisbane will be celebrating with special pasta menus and showcases, but as a dedicated pasta laboratorio it’s difficult to think how we could possibly praise this carbohydrate gem more than we do every day.
Nevertheless, we have decided to remain open throughout the entire day on Friday, rather than closing after lunch, and will be selling a variety of fresh, take-away cappellacci for just $3 a portion ($15/kg). Expect fillings like porcini and truffle, parmigiana (eggplant, mozzarella, and tomato), and stracciatella. This offer will be available tomorrow and all weekend, subject to availability.
Happy pasta-ing everyone!

To accompany the long-awaited Spring menu launch at Ripiena, we are excited to announce that we are also introducing a new aperitivo menu.