Farelli's By Giovi

We’ve actually been to this very restaurant site a number of times over the years, but the last time we were here it was called Lucianos and the walls were adorned with Mafia themed memorabilia. Not owned by the same people as back then but still very much an Italian restaurant, the mafia images are long gone but I couldn’t pick too much different decor wise otherwise. Although that could be my ageing memory.

What I do remember about Lucianos was that you got crispy squid and a reasonably sized portion of it that was delicious! So that was on our to try list this night.

Farelli’s is busy and similar to our experience of other restaurants at this end of town, the tables turn over quickly and there is a steady stream of people ready to fill emptying seats.

Our friendly waitress, who appeared to be under the watchful eye of someone with more experience was pleasant and staff overall were attentive and friendly throughout.

We went with the garlic bread and arancini to start with, followed by a children’s pizza, linguine and crispy squid (from entree menu) with Caesar salad (from side dish menu) to make up a main. You can pay a little extra to have the garlic bread topped with cheese and/or bacon. We opted for both.

The arancini arrived together with the garlic bread - but the bread arrived without our additional toppings, so was quickly returned to be amended. We weren’t too fussed by the additional delay to be honest as the entrees arrived in what felt like 10-15mins after ordering. It was very quick.

The garlic bread was worth the wait - yum. Our son loved it and basically filled up on that. You get a reasonable number of sliced ciabatta pieces which are kinda like eating pizza really. The arancini was ok, but could’ve been better. The trio of rice balls came with pesto on each and they all rested on a tomato paste, which was in turn surrounded by a buttery sauce - which I couldn’t quite make out. Part of the reason why I couldn’t quite make it out was the dominate flavour from the tomato paste. It just sat on top of all other flavours. As it was, I thought the trio of flavours was odd. The butter sauce would’ve been absolutely fine on it’s own, but chucking in another 2 flavours to me was a bit over-kill. It made tasting anything else in the arancini tricky - also couldn’t pick up whether there was any cheese in the arancini. Still it wasn’t bad, just confused but ok.

The linguine was adored by my wife and was devoured quickly, a mixture of garlic and chilli flavours with a reasonable number of prawns meant that it was digested with pleasure. My son’s pizza didn’t progress because he filled up on the garlic bread entree. The crispy squid, as with Lucianos, was a reasonable sized plate and of squid and very generous. It was also delicious! Absolutely loved it and the addition of the Caesar Salad side also meant I had something healthy-ish to eat as well. The 2 of those dishes combined still made for a reasonably priced main meal.

Portion wise we thought all the meals were good on portion size and the food was great quality. Price wise, Farelli’s is money well spent on good food with fantastic service.

This will definitely be on our to do list the next time we’re in town.

Felt like eating Italian and this trattoria came up pretty high in reviews so I thought it was worth a try.

The gnocchi carbonara is not your traditional recipe but this trattoria serves up a modern twist on this classic. Firstly the gnocchi is handmade, you can tell by the irregular rustic shapes. It is served with mushrooms, crispy bacon (and lots of it!), spinach, cream and a touch of pesto. It is a very rich pasta and the portion size is just right. My only slight feedback was that I found the gnocchi themselves a little ‘gluey’ and perhaps undercooked?

My other half ordered the spaghetti pomodorro with sausage which had classic Italian tomato flavours. It perhaps needed a touch more Parmesan cheese which the staff were happy to bring a small bowl of cheese to add to the pasta.

Ordered a glass of house white Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough to accompany my meal.

Overall a decent Italian restaurant in Queenstown.

By far my favourite dining experience in Queenstown. Food & service was second to none! Great value for money too, it will now be on my regular place to dine!

Steak was up there with the best iv ever had! Soooo good! Mash was perfect and sauce delicious. Highly recommend. We also had the carbonara which was also delicious.

Without a doubt, the best Italian food I have had in my entire life. I ended up eating here twice in my 1 week stay in Queenstown. The second time, I was literally there at opening time because I couldn’t wait! Service was extremely friendly and genuine. The only downside was that I ate my food so quickly, I didn’t even get to take a picture of it 😂 Honestly the food tasted like a warm hug 🥰 Please open a restaurant in Western Australia!!

Great service and atmosphere, awesome pizza. The only issue is the carbonara, the egg was added when the dish was too hot, so in turn i ended up with scrambled egg through the dish. Easy mistake for a novice. But overall a good experience.

Amazing home made pastas and warm comfort foods with friendly service. The cáprese and tiramisu were out of this world! Highly recommend!!!

Had dinner here our first night in Queenstown and came back two days later. It’s that good. Best focaccia I’ve ever had, incredible gnocchi, service, and vibes

My boyfriend and I walked passed this restaurant in the early morning and thought why not give it a try later that night. And can I tell you, we were delightedly surprised at how amazing this Italian food was. We both enjoy Italian food on a regular basis and this was a huge standout. From the cheesy garlic bread to the butter and sage ravioli and bolognese, it was so beautifully tasty and not heavy at all. We really enjoyed eating here, having the seat outside in the laneway kept us people watching. Small family owned business it looks, and it was fabulous. We highly recommend this quaint Italian restaurant. Thank you Farelli’s