Perth’s love affair with Italy is long running and more passionate than ever. More than a thriving dining scene, Italian cuisine is an essential part of our food culture. Looking for a taste of the sweet life? Start here.
From porchetta panini at take-away shop Al Trancio to world-class pasta at WA Good Food Guide Restaurant of the Year Lulu La Delizia, and the famed apple strudel at Sicilian pâtisserie Corica, Perth loves a taste of la dolce vita.
Of course, this isn’t news for longstanding institution Capri, which has been serving its calamari fritti and red-sauce pasta to loyal customers for nearly 70 years; nor is it for the family behind The Re Store, who has been selling Italian groceries and deli goods (and original Continental rolls) from their Northbridge location since the Great Depression.
As our appetite for eating Italian has continued to grow over the decades, so too has our city’s list of stellar Italian restaurants and bars. Here are some of our favourites from our Top 100, plus a couple of newcomers to add to your hitlist.
For Excellent Italian Sandwiches, Pizza and Plenty More
Deli’s Continental
A continental roll may seem simple, but Deli’s take on the classic is far more than the sum of its parts. Featuring mortadella, Hungarian salami, casalinga salame, fior di latte, tomato, olives, pickled chilli, red onion, lettuce and capsicum conserva, it’s a picture of balance, the house-baked roll the perfect level of crunch and chew, the fillings combining masterfully.
861 Beaufort Street, Inglewood; @delis_continental
Si Paradiso
In recent years, the food at Si Paradiso has become more of a focus, and there are some seriously good things coming out of the kitchen. Snack on the lobster and prawn tramezzini, some of the most decadent finger sandwiches ever made, or on a bright, crisp cuttlefish tostada with smoked corn and pico de gallo. Creative pastas, hulking steaks and whole grilled fish are all available, but the place made its reputation with its Naples-style pizza, which is still some of the best around.
1/446 Beaufort Street, Highgate; si-paradiso.com
Pappagallo
This is the real deal; an Italian diner with just enough attitude to make you feel like you’re back on The Continent’s boot. There’s a constant stream of diners lining up for the scorched-crust pizza this stalwart pumps out – the sort that would make an Italian proud. They could be here for the arancini with ragù and peas (or even better, filled with mushroom and Taleggio). Or maybe it’s the just-cooked mussels in a lively sauce, heady with white wine, chilli and garlic. Vegetables are smoky from the grill. Cavatelli pasta is kissed by sweet clams, prawns and squid in a tomatoey sauce that you want to lick from the plate and crisp shelled ricotta cannoli are second to virtually none.
250 Oxford Street, Leederville; pappagallo.com.au
Third-Wave Italian
La Madonna Nera
There’s no lack of warmth in this tiny wine bar. It comes from the staff, who brim with vigour and talk about the Italian (and Italian varietal) wines. They speak of the menu with the passione of a lover, making you want to just lounge and be sated. And you can. A meal can be as simple as crostini with roasted capsicum, whipped ricotta and chilli oil, as lusty as fazzoletti with duck ragù and duck-fat pangrattato or as a comely as ravioloni stuffed with mushroom and béchamel in a porcini broth topped with pickled shiitakes. Dessert is mostly an afterthought, but the chocolate custard “bonet” with amaretti and Beechworth amaro makes for a tantalising end-of-dinner delight.
1/155 Scarborough Beach Road, Mount Hawthorn; lamadonnanera.com.au
Mummucc’
Chef Matt McDonald’s food is basically modern Italian but he doesn’t hew too closely to that mandate, particularly on the starters – you’re as likely to find Japanese phrasing and ingredients as classic Italian ones. Which works beautifully on a steak tartare crowned with a thicket of fried enoki mushrooms, which hide a soft egg yolk and bonito cream atop rich meaty Angus fillet. Raw amaebi (prawns) are cured in citrus and flayed over rice malt tomatoes, spruiked with fennel and basil kosho: freshness in a bowl. Mains are all handmade pastas, like fluttery-edged campanelle with pancetta and smoked tiger prawns. The prospect of ordering in pizza from sister venue Monsterella next door? Just another win.
Address: 6/46-56 Grantham Street, Wembley; mummucc.com.au
Testùn
It may take three or four reads to make sense of the menu at Testùn. There’s a lot going on – and yes, that really is Haddaway’s “What is Love” thumping from the speakers. When the ideas work, they work. “Pasta takoyaki” Italianises the popular Japanese street snack by crumbing and deep-frying a block of rigatoni tossed with octopus, olives and potatoes, then dressing it in Kewpie-style mayo, Bulldog sauce and katsuobushi flakes. Skewers of grilled mortadella, meanwhile, land just-charred in all the right places, their saltiness offset by seeded mustard and chunky pistachio pesto.
12/760 Beaufort Street, Mount Lawley; testun.com.au
A Little Fancy, A Lot of Excellent
Lulu la Delizia
Since opening his Subiaco restaurant in 2016, Joel Valvasori has established himself as Perth’s most adept maestro of pasta and antipasti. The wine list is mainly Italian (or Italian-style Australian), and many bottles are pleasingly affordable. Saffron- and gin-cured kingfish spruiked with juniper-infused vinegar and topped with crunchy celery hearts is a burst of sweet-fleshed freshness. Do save room for the main event, because these pastas are something special. Spaghettini with clams, white wine and spigarello is as classic as it is delicious, the sauce clinging to the al dente noodles just so. Veal, pork, vegetable and red wine ragù enveloping tagliatelle is pure comfort.
5/97 Rokeby Road (Forrest Walk), Subiaco; lululadelizia.com.au
Il Lido
Plates at il Lido traverse Italy, dancing between coastal Italian, cucina povera, lasagne and polpette, all while melding the best of the Med with the best of WA. Locally made burrata is balanced with sweet new-season plum and macadamias; charred octopus is achingly tender, its sweetness lifted by lemon rind and underscored by creamy chickpea purée. Pasta comes al dente, seafood tastes of the sea and robust olive oil gives dishes distinct boldness. It’s supported by sharp and knowledgeable service that stays charmingly Italian – staff effortlessly steering diners through the menus and tome-like wine list, which heroes Italian grape varieties drawn from the volcanic soils of the south through to the foothills of the north. 88 Marine Parade, Cottesloe; illido.com.au
Big TicketGarum
The food at Guy Grossi’s WA outpost is solid, uses good ingredients and embraces the odd Roman classic, such as a carbonara made with fettuccine or cacio e pepe with tonnarelli, a very Roman spaghetti-like pasta, and fine duck and porcini tortellini with pear and sage jus, that would well nominate for one of the city’s better pasta dishes.
Hibernian Place, 480 Hay Street, Perth; garum.com.au
Post
Post is exactly what you’d expect from a contemporary Italian restaurant occupying a prime corner of the State Buildings. The smartly appointed, atrium-like space does little to distract from the high ceilings and exquisitely maintained heritage features. Food takes a similar tack, clear in its respect for clean flavours and classic dishes from the bel paese. The likes of crisp, saffron-scented arancini with stretchy cores of Taleggio, or tagliatelle napped in a savoury tomato sugo and slow-cooked beef. Or gratifyingly crunchy pork cotoletta bolstered by capers, fried sage leaves and anchovy. It’s a tight package, made even more so by Emma Farrelly’s whip-smart wine list – a reason to visit in itself.
Como The Treasury Hotel, 1 Cathedral Avenue, Perth; postperth.com
Santini Bar & Grill
Santini takes pleasure in the theatre of eating out. Just look at the size of the menu, the tableside service, the leather, the marble, the brass-topped tables that bear scars of good times past. This may be a bar and grill, but the Italian accent sees pasta offered before mains. You could skip it, but that means skipping ink-black carnaroli risotto. Topped with squid seared until set, it’s a striking dish rendered in black and white, the only thing lacking a little more creaminess. Steak? Try sirloin, perhaps. Big, bold and buzzing, Santini is about dining as experience, and just being here is half the fun.
First Floor, QT Perth, 133 Murray Street, Perth; santinibarandgrill.com.au
