With various restaurants, bars, a club, a hotel, a resort, kick ass events and of course the gaming areas, Darwin Skycity casino is its own self contained universe. I've eaten at Evoo, Dragon Court and Sunset, but this was my first time at il Piatto. The only feedback I've heard from this place was that it can take a while for your food to arrive. Other than that, I wasn't sure what to expect.

We arrived at 6.30 and were shown to our seats, a little comfy table in the far corner with fabulous views of the ocean. The modern interior is very nice with high ceilings and fancy chandeliers. The kitchen can be seen through its glass walls which is pretty cool as I always like to see what goes on in the kitchen. The cushioned wrap around chairs took good care of my round toosh.The waitress then laid out our cutlery - you know you're eating somewhere fancy (for Darwin standards) when there's more than one knife and fork in front of you.

The menu is modern Italian with various pizzas, rissotto and pasta on offer. Universal staples of varous land and sea based animals can also be found in various configurations. Everything looks good on the extensive menu, I could probably select something at random and be happy with it. For our entree we had bruschetta ($10). The Tomato and basil one was OK but the former ingredient wasn't ripe enough, they were still a bit on the yellow/orange side as is evident from the photo. The garlic and pesto one was quite nice though - simple yet flavoursome.

It didn't take long for the mains to arrive (20 minutes after entree). I was tempted to go steak but I've had a bad run lately with overcooked steaks and so opted to give it a miss this time. Instead I went with the scotch pork fillet and belly with caramelised apples and gorgonzola blend. The scotch fillet pieces were a bit tough and dry without too much flavour, but that's pork for you I guess. As for the pork belly, the first bite had my mouth climaxing orgasmically. So freaking tender! The only other time I've had pork like this was when I one fluked my first pork belly slow roast. It literally melted in my mouth - so much so that this is something old people with no teeth could really enjoy. Everything else on the dish was done beautifully but definitely secondary to the two generous cuts of pork belly. Only comment I can make is that I reckon the fat could have been rendered off a bit more in the pan.

Ridiculously over sized plate - check.

My wife had the stuffed chicken breast with porcini mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and mozzarella cheese on potato puree with baby beans and sage sauce ($25). She said it was succent, moist and flavoursome. The stuffing compliementary to the chicken whilst the sauce lovely. She wolfed it down before I got a taste, which means it must have indeed been really good.

We had some grilled mushrooms with garlic cream on the side ($7.50). They were just ok, nothing worth fighting over. Perhaps the use of some more exotic mushrooms would have delighted me more.

To finish the evening we went with the dessert tasting plate featuring tiramisu, ice cream and dark chocolate panna cotta ($25). The tiriamisu was fantastic, best I've ever had (admittedly don't have much to compare too though!). The ice cream was great with the accompanying crushed nuts. And finally the dark chocolate panna cotta was also good. Good whiff of dark chocolate and what appeared to be passionfruit in the syrup. My taste buds don't lie and they said it was a great way to end the night. Total bill came just shy of $100 which is pretty good for a three course meal for two in a fancy place such as this. I'm as stingy as they come but it didn't feel sad to part with that much money.

The service was excellent - our table was cleared after each course in under a minute three times in a row. These guys should patrol the ocean borders as nothing would get past them.

Overall very satisfied with my first visit to il Piatto. Both the food and experience passed the Darwin Foodies test with flying colours. I'll definitely return, perhaps next weekend for some breakfast - the "Casino Royale" is calling out to me with its soft egg on organic Tuscan bread with smoked salmon, sour cream, spring onions, red caviar and sauce choron. Excuse me for a second while I wipe the drool from my chin.