Aleksandar and Melissa Trpkovski are the new owners of Eleven on Monaro. Photos: Lucy Ridge.
Food lovers of Queanbeyan were saddened to see the closure of Pronto Italian Restaurant at the end of last year, but newly opened Eleven on Monaro is reason to celebrate. Owned and operated by Pronto’s former head chef, it offers plenty of continuity for regulars and marks the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.
Aleksandar Trpkovski told Region he’d always wanted to run his own restaurant.
“My dad put me in kitchens because I always loved food,” he said. ”I started as a dishy, but I wanted to learn, so I was always looking behind me to see what the chefs were doing.
“I’ve been dreaming for a long time of opening my own restaurant.”
Aleksandar gained plenty of kitchen experience in his home country of Macedonia before moving to Australia in 2011. And he’d been at Pronto for a few years when previous owners Josh and Melinda Kosteski made him an offer. Aleksandar said he was grateful to them for giving him the opportunity to make his dream come true.
Next, he needed the OK from his wife, Melissa. A career public servant, she said the decision “just felt right” and has even stepped into a front-of-house role, helping out until the restaurant finds its feet.
The puttanesca was particularly tasty.
Aleksandar and Melissa opened Eleven on Monaro in mid-March, coinciding exactly with major roadworks right outside their door! But they’re counting on the community to see them through the disruption. Many of the Pronto regulars already knew Aleksandar and have been keen to support him. Several of them put in requests for certain favourite dishes to remain on the menu when he reopened.
There’s also a small alfresco dining space at the back of the restaurant, with access to the Morisset Street carpark, so diners can avoid the Monaro Street roadworks altogether.
The menu at Eleven on Monaro has stayed true to the Italian style of Pronto, and the impressive pizza oven has remained. Visiting with my parents shortly after opening, we perused the menu. Deciding to order mainly pasta, we ordered a bruschetta pizza from the entree menu so we’d have a chance to try the pizza. And we were glad we did!
The crust was perfectly light and chewy, with a lovely crunch. Aleksandar is something of a pizza expert after spending years as a pizzaiolo (eventually he got bored of doing the same thing all the time!) The fresh tomato, torn mozzarella and sticky balsamic glaze were the perfect toppings and we happily wolfed the whole thing down.
We ordered linguine gamberi, gnocchi della terra, and spaghetti alla puttanesca. The pasta was beautiful and generously portioned. I particularly enjoyed my puttanesca (a pasta with rude but delicious origins; Google at your leisure), which was studded with just the right amount of olives, capers and anchovies. The housemade pieces of gnocchi were large and pillowy, served with juicy mushrooms, lots of pine nuts and crispy fried rocket.
The linguine was served with plenty of plump prawns and a fresh tomato sugo with parsley and dill, which lightened up the dish beautifully.
The housemade gnocchi is large, with three different options for sauces.
The wine list is small but serviceable, with a mix of local drops and international wines. We had glasses of Clonakilla shiraz and an Italian sangiovese. Perhaps this is indicative of Queanbeyan prices, but we were surprised at how affordable they were.
I gazed gluttonously at a neighbouring table that had ordered an affogato — espresso served over ice cream with a shot of hazelnut liqueur — but sadly, the office beckoned and I vowed to return for dessert another time.
Eleven on Monaro is at 11 Monaro St, Queanbeyan, with parking and access available via the Morisset Street carpark. It is open for lunch from Tuesday to Saturday from noon to 2:30 pm, and for dinner from Monday to Saturday from 5 to 9:30 pm. Closed Sundays. Follow Eleven on Monaro on Instagram.
Original Article published by Lucy Ridge on Region Canberra.
