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Italian

Ragu Pasta and Wine Bar

When I lived in Melbourne, I loved having after-work pasta dates at Grossi Cellar Bar. The casual yet cosy (not to mention convenient!) location, the simple but refined menu, and the comfortable prices made it just about the most ideal location for a mid-week date. Unfortunately, the Sydney pasta scene has so far failed to thrill me, and two years later, I’m still trying to find that place for a quick bowl of good pasta. When I first came across Ragu Pasta and Wine Bar, I was actually pretty reticent to try it. Being a food court restaurant, I wasn’t convinced at how authentic the experience would be, regardless of how much Italian they include on the menu. What finally…

18/03/2020

Cheapie Lunch (Under $20), European, Italian, Sydney CBD

Gigi Pizzeria

Vegan food may be getting up to some rather marvellous things in the last few years, but I’ve always drawn the line at vegan pizza. Surely a dish that mandates the addition of cheese in its most traditional form can’t possibly taste good without it, right? And frankly, if it weren’t for Jan and her recommendation of Gigi Pizzeria, I would’ve gone on happily believing the same forevermore. So what’s special about Jan and her recommendation for Gigi Pizzeria? For starters, not only does Jan know what she’s talking about in regard to food, she’s also an omnivore-turned-herbivore, so she knows what traditional pizza tastes like, and she promises that the vegan version at Gigi’s is just as good. And…

25/09/2019

European, Italian, Just A Bit Special ($20-$35), Newtown, Pizza

Lucio Pizzeria

It’s been a pizza-y couple of weeks. Not only did dinner at Bella Brutta last week not quench that (wood)fire, I found myself craving pizza even more than my usual amount throughout the entire next week. So when Friday came around, there was nothing for it but to treat myself to a couple of yum discs at Lucio Pizzeria. Lucio Pizzeria actually holds the title for Best Pizza in Australia for 2018, as well as being accredited by the AVPN – the coveted stamp of approval confirming that yes, this is the real-deal Neapolitan-styled pizza. Yet you wouldn’t be able to tell any of this just by looking at it. Located in a very out-of-the-way part of Darlinghurst, the small…

14/08/2019

Darlinghurst, European, Italian, Just A Bit Special ($20-$35), Pizza

Bella Brutta

Dinner at Bella Brutta was an impromptu affair. Or rather, as impromptu as my highly-considered dining plans get. I hadn’t even heard of Bella Brutta until earlier in the week, but after a couple of veteran Sydney bloggers described the clam pizza as one of their favourite pizzas in recent memory, I was sold. I immediately made a booking for the same Friday – my curiosity proved too much for me to wait any longer. As it turns out, Bella Brutta actually opened with quite a bit of hype around it. With alumni from the well-regarded LP’s Quality Meats and Porteno behind its conception, it’s definitely worth your while to grab a booking, as the long, skinny room fills up…

07/08/2019

European, Impress Your Date ($35-$50), Italian, Newtown, Pizza

Pidapipo CBD

I had promised my sister a pasta-and-gelato date for the next time I came back down to Melbourne, and despite minor shenanigans in the form of a last-minute search for a restaurant that was actually open, the first part of the operation was carried off without a hitch. After wandering around for a couple hours, digesting the ridiculous amounts of carbs we ingested, we hit up Pidapipo for our gelato fix. I had first come across Pidapipo a couple years ago, when they only had their flagship Carlton store. The deliciousness of their gelato, the hazelnut flavour especially, absolutely blew my mind. Unfortunately Carlton is just out of the way enough for me to not be able to frequent it…

22/05/2019

Cheapie Lunch (Under $20), Dessert, European, Italian, Melbourne CBD, Victoria

Lupino

I had been promising my sister a pasta and gelato date for the next time I’m in Melbourne for months, only to realise a few days before coming back that the only day we can go out is on a Sunday… the day which Grossi Cellar Bar, my sister’s favourite place for pasta, happens to be closed. After a bit of frantic searching on my part, I found Lupino – a well-established and well-reviewed Italian restaurant that I’ve oddly never come across in all my years exploring Melbourne.

15/05/2019

European, Impress Your Date ($35-$50), Italian, Melbourne CBD, Victoria

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