Italian

Having eaten his fill of generic “Italian” food, Pat Nourse is excited anew by the distinctly personal, regional path taken by Alessandro Pavoni at Mosman’s Ormeggio.

Omertà translates to a union of families, but in Eugenio Maiale’s version it’s first and foremost about the drinking of wine – and sharing some damned fine food, says Pat Nourse.

With accomplished food from chef Jonathan Barthelmess and views to spare, it’s clear: Coast may be the finest modern Italian dining experience in the city, reports Pat Nourse.

Stop by The Beresford for an expertly mixed cocktail – or two – and classic Italian fare, writes Pat Nourse.

REVIEW On the top floor of the historic Strand Arcade, this upmarket Italian eatery reads like a glossy boardroom: long tables, suits, ties and handshakes. The food offering is serious business, too. Parmesan is grated at the table by waiters wearing ties, and if you order more than one, ahem, $42 plates of pasta, they’ll […]

REVIEW A Tavola, “to the table”, is the call to eat in Italian homes, and the table in this instance is the marble communal number that dominates the front dining room at this local favourite, basking in the glow of copper lights and the simpatico welcome of the Italian staff. Home-style cooking is the touchstone, […]

REVIEW In an age where line-ups and street cred can too often rule Melbourne’s food scene, The Grand can seem almost retro. All the nostalgic hallmarks of proper dining are there: comfortable chairs, linen-clad tables, carpeted floors and the rare treat of floor staff who really know how to treat a guest. Though the cosy, […]

Café Sopra, at Waterloo’s Fratelli Fresh, has quietly but surely become a Sydney dining institution, and the new Potts Point branch, writes Pat Nourse, continues the tradition.

Roberto Scheriani hits the big time with Melbourne’s power dining set in the CBD, reports John Lethlean.

Perched at the top of Sydney’s elegant Strand Arcade, Pendolino swings between an olive-oil emporium and an impressive Italian restaurant, writes Pat Nourse.

A weekends-only trattoria has put the Victorian country town of Yarck on the culinary map.

REVIEW At Mildura’s Grand Hotel, there’s no shortage of dining options (café, grill, pizza), but nearly 30 years on, there’s still nothing in this Victorian town to match the appeal and rustic sophistication of Stefano’s. In a cellar lined with clothed tables and classical music, Stefano de Pieri marries Mildura produce with Italian brio to […]

REVIEW Il Bàcaro transports you from the bustle of the Melbourne CBD into a pocket of low-lit intimacy where clean-cut wood and marble surfaces display an array of fine wines, chic thirtysomethings whisper to each other in darkened corners, and skilled waitstaff patrol the room offering excellent old-school service. Classic Italian dishes are given new […]

REVIEW Like the Italian porn-star-turned-politician it was named after 24 years ago, Cicciolina has grown from saucy to stalwart without sacrificing its bohemian side. The wood panelling is worn, the walls adorned with nudes, the loos off the car park. But there’s appealing chemistry driven by grown-up service and a chef who has been here […]

REVIEW There’s something effortlessly charming about Adelaide’s oldest Italian dame. Waiters are so well versed and experienced – you’ll have a cool glass of vernaccia in one hand and grissini in the other before you’ve even begun to browse the large menu. There’s professional ease here, but also the potential for real fun, despite starched […]

REVIEW There are the restaurants in Australia that replicate ideas of what things were like in Italy, and then there are restaurants that feel like they might have sprung new from the ground in Rome or Milan today. Small of size but big on verve and casually hip to its core, Vini is of the […]

REVIEW Fratelli Fresh has come a long way since the Danks Street warehouse, now defunct, and the first Café Sopra on the top floor. There are now multiple locations, all serving authentic Italian fare: fresh ingredients cooked well from primi to dolci. Salads have serious game. Burrata, roasted pumpkin, spinach and pistachio displays a range […]

REVIEW Here’s a spot for sun-drenched lunches fuelled by white-peach Bellinis and bright antipasti. The glow of Otto’s egg lamps has long drawn Sydney’s glitterati, who flock here for the cashed-up marina vibe, snappy service and sensuous riffs on traditional Italian fare. There’s polish in Richard Ptacnik’s pasta offerings, as in twists of strozzapreti with […]

This is an inner-city dining room with a difference; a part-time restaurant with full-bore home cooking. Pull up a stool at Journal Canteen.

Look no further. The Holy Grail – a genuinely good plate of homemade fresh pasta – is here in this simple eating house.

A St Kilda stalwart re-opens with a fresh face and a nostalgic ‘Continental’ menu. It’s Mirka at Tolarno Hotel and its custodian is leading Melbourne restaurateur Guy Grossi.

A bastion of Italian restaurant culture and more Melbourne than Sydney in style, Fratelli Paradiso is a place where locals come for the ever-charming waiters as much as the gutsy food.