With a name based on flour that’s used to make pasta, you hope you’re in for a good pasta experience, which is what owner Lewis Marro is counting on.

Farina has been open for nearly two months now on King William Road, Hyde Park. Arriving on a cold winter’s night, I was a bit concerned it would be cool inside due to the openness of the restaurant, the large floor tiles and big windows at the front, but in fact the restaurant was comfortable and warm.

When we visited, Farina 00 didn’t have its liquor licence quite yet and the waitress was quite up front with us about this. But we didn’t need a glass of wine to experience good pasta!

For entrée I had fior di zucchini: zucchini flowers with ricotta, lemon zest, nutmeg, basil with edible flowers. I love zucchini flowers and these didn’t disappoint, with smooth ricotta, strong lemon and a light, crispy batter coating.

The other entrée was the beef carpaccio: Coorong Angus beef, garlic aioli, baby chard, capers with juniper berries. The beef was sliced incredibly thinly and was beautifully seasoned.

For entrée I couldn’t go past the pappardelle with eight-hour slow braised rabbit in brodo (broth) with hazelnuts and marjoram. The last time I had a rabbit pasta dish it was in a creamy sauce and I really enjoyed it. When I ordered this the waitress alerted me to the fact that there may some small bone pieces in the meat from the slow cooking process. I appreciated the warning as I did find a couple if small pieces. Instead of having a creamy sauce this included the broth that the rabbit was cooked in. The meat was tender with a delicate flavor and I loved it.

The other main course was gigli (pasta) with porcini, king oyster and shiitake mushrooms, truffle oil, thyme, a dash of cream with grated truffle cheese. Whether you’re vegetarian or not, the mushrooms in this dish are meaty enough to satisfy any customer. An aromatic, hearty dish just perfect for a winter’s evening.

We were so impressed with our first two courses we just had to have dessert!

I had the Bailey’s zabaglione with vanilla cream, ground coffee and dark chocolate shards. This was quite a small dessert with a subtle Bailey’s flavor. I really did not like the ground coffee beans as they were bitter and crunchy and I found them annoying in my mouth.

The Nutella semifreddo with Haigh’s hazelnuts was beautiful. The Nutella was served on a small spoon next to the semifreddo and it was suggested we eat a little of each together. It was cold, light and fluffy and very chocolaty!

We thoroughly enjoyed our three-course dinner and look forward to returning for a glass of wine with our pasta.