If there’s one thing we love, it’s uncovering little suburban gems that pop up quietly without fanfare to win over their local crowd first and foremost. Matteo’s is one of those. The pizza place opened as an unassuming takeaway window in Clear Island Waters to test the waters before revealing a quaint Italian-inspired trattoria, serving up woodfired delights with a splash of homestyle charm. The venue boasts some serious pizza cred with Matteo Finotto (Gemelli, Burleigh Pavilion and Miami Marketta), Andrew DiMattina (Mario’s and most recently Dante in New York City, which took out World’s Best Bar last year) and Marlon Pirie (Mario’s and Beachside Pavilion in Broadbeach) at the helm. The menu offers elevated takes on traditional Italian-style cuisine – think kingfish crudo (raw kingfish, orange zest, pomegranate and dill), Spaghetti Vongole, which is loaded with Coffin Bay pippies, and Ravioli Zucca Amaretto (plump pillows stuffed with saffron and ricotta, slathered in pumpkin sauce and topped with crisp sage and Amaretto crumb – yum!). As you may have guessed, pizza is the hero here with the Marana pizza oven (the Ferrari of pizza ovens) smouldering away from the side room churning out Matteo’s Neapolitan-style pizza with signature Roman crunch, which in pizza circles is basically the holy grail of pizza with the perfect mix of lightness and crispness. It’s a fact that pizza’s best accompaniment is wine, so you’ll be delighted to learn that just as much effort has gone into the cellar list with a stunning selection of Italian drops alongside classic cocktails such as five kinds of spritzes and Peroni beers.