Brisbane’s Tastiest Slice of Italy

If there’s one restaurant you must visit when in Brisbane, my greatest recommendation is to snag a seat at Beccofino. My mates Cordell Khoury, and his business partner Paolo Biscaro, opened this Italian restaurant in the heart of Teneriffe, and almost 19 years later they’re still offering up the best pizza in the city. It’s comfortable and easy, and these guys continue to give people what they want to eat. Their formula is simple but effective – good service and consistent food.

They don’t shy away from the front-of-house work either, so you’ll see either one or both of the lads most days chatting with the clientele. Cordell is a local himself, and has watched the peninsula develop and grow, both aesthetically and as a demographic. Loads of young families fill the benches early each night, giving way to couples and older groups. Babies and toddlers who grew up chewing on Beccos pizza are now returning as teenagers and adults.

Cordell and Paolo are now embarking on their fifth hospitality project, an Italian restaurant in nearby Newstead, with plans of an early 2024 opening. That’ll be the latest addition to their weighty portfolio which includes not only Beccofino, but Julius Pizzeria, Bar Brutus and Bar Rosa. They continue to succeed by recruiting and placing good people in the right positions, it’s a clear strategy which translates across any industry, including real estate.

So my hot tip when paying a visit to Beccofino – request the duck ragu. This is a menu original from 2004 but was dropped due to a regular change-up of dishes, only to be brought back by popular demand/constant complaints that it had been removed. This dish is so good, that Cordell was offered a discount on the purchase price of an apartment he was negotiating to buy, should he return the ragu to the menu permanently. To this day, it is still being devoured.

I hope you enjoy the read (and the ragu).

Matt Lancashire