Can’t live your life without pasta? Well, eat your way through Perth’s best pasta dishes before it’s too late.

There is some kind of magic in pasta. It weaves a tale, conveys so much personality and can bring the toughest person to their knees under its spell. Whether you grew up on OG spaghetti bolognese or macaroni cheese, or you were treated to more luxurious dishes like tortellini or campenelle, the love affair is real.

And we’re pretty lucky here in Perth because we have some phenomenal pasta dishes to choose from out and about. So we’ve put together a tasty list of local pasta plates that you need to make your eating way through asap.

Lulu La Delizia

All hail the king, Lulu La Delizia.

It would be a crime against nature (and our tastebuds) if a pasta list about Perth’s greats didn’t start with this Subiaco powerhouse.

Owned and operated by Chef Joel Valvasori, Lulu is a modern take on classic flavours that impresses every person who visits. Pasta is made lovingly in-house by hand, with an ever-rotating offering that mirrors the seasonality and availability of produce. While the gnocchi with crab needs a special shout-out, as does the squid ink linguini, it’s the tagliatelle with pork and veal ragu that has us speechless. Perfectly al dente, perfectly robust in flavour and perfectly seasoned. What more can you want in life?

Mosterella

Monsterella is primarily a pizza joint (and a great one at that) but there is one pasta dish that has the people of Perth absolutely reeling.

Truffle carbonara pappardelle. One bite and you just want to cry out that it’s utterly ridiculous – it’s that jammed full of comfort style flavour and deliciousness. The pasta is thick ribbons that are coated in the peppery, eggy sauce – with pops of truffle elevating the dish to another level. You definitely will not regret trying this, and if you’re anything like us you’ll be hooked and find yourself returning over and over again. Trust us, this is definitely worth a trip to the burbs.

Il Lido

A seaside view and standing the test of time are just two things Il Lido can boast above other pasta joints.

Kickstarting their day with breakfast before moving into the full menu for lunch and dinner, they are one of the popular venues along the coast in Cottesloe. Pastas are made in-house, and demonstrate their modern take on classic Italian heritage. Their must-try pasta dish is the fettuccine with nduja (a spreadable salumi made with pork meat, chilli and spices), white anchovy, tomato, mascarpone, lemon and parsley. Intensely fiery, this will awaken even the sleepiest of tastebuds.

Cecchis

It’s a small neighbourhood bar and restaurant that has charm in both the appearance and the innately Italian dishes the kitchen is slinging out.

There’s a lot to like about what they’re doing here – and the casarecce with beef spare rib ragu is nothing short of damn delicious. A different style of pasta than what other restaurants are doing, it has texture, bite and still works as the perfect vessel to soak up the sauce that tantalisingly covers the beef. This is the perfect rainy-day dish to enjoy with a glass of wine or one of the house cocktails.

Galileo Buona Cucina

Have we discovered one of Perth’s best gnocchi dishes?

Yes, yes we have.

Shenton Park’s Galileo Buona Cucina is the real deal when it comes to Mamma Mia Italiano food, and their gnocchi hits the ball completely out of the park. Light, fluffy and served simply with a tasty pesto, it just doesn’t get much better than this. While gnocchi can be hit and miss for some restaurants, these guys have it down pat – and it comes as a ridiculously big serving size. There’s a reason why this venue continues to be a favourite amongst those in the know. They showcase Italian cuisine in a way that makes you think Nonna is slaving away in the kitchen.

Lalla Rookh

Situated underneath St Georges Terrace, Lalla Rookh is more than just a bar and restaurant.

It is a mecca for all things Italian, with a strongly curated menu influenced by Head Chef Calum MacKechnie’s experiences throughout Italy. Those in the know opt for the Il Capo which is a feed me menu that puts the control in the kitchen to select six different share plates for your table to get down with. But if that’s not your style, then we definitely recommend the spaghetti with mussels, chilli, guanciale and soffritto. For those playing along at home, guanciale is cured pork prepared from the jowl or cheeks which brings bursts of meaty flavour which play oh so well with the seafood. This is utterly satisfying.

Tinys

It’s the new darling of Perth, attracting rave reviews from industry and customers alike thanks to its gutsy menu offering, fantastic drinks and a liquor emporium to boot too.

Tinys boasts an eclectic menu that is underpinned with fresh vegetables and herbs from the kitchen’s rooftop garden, and protein hits roasted on a custom-made wood-fire grill and rotisserie. While you wouldn’t expect to see pasta rocking out here, their lunch menu has a phenomenal Asian x Italian collaboration in the form of crab tagliolini with XO sauce and fermented chilli. It’s decadent, rich, oily and leaves you utterly craving more. Absolutely nothing tiny about this dish at all.

Three Coins

Italian Trattoria Three Coins in Mount Lawley bring a lot of heart and soul into every dish.

In particular, their pumpkin and taleggio ravioli with white truffle oil, butter, sage and pumpkin. It’s sweet, it’s salty, it’s al dente, it’s happiness in a cute little package. And while we can definitely appreciate their trofie with sausage and pangrattato or their gnocchi with beef and pork ragu, we’re all about the vegetarian pasta offering. There’s a reason why it’s been on the menu since they opened their doors until now.

Gazette

When Print Hall’s fine dining restaurant shut its doors, we never imagined what would replace their incredible offering would be a delightful modern Italian restaurant (cleverly named Gazette as a nod to the premises).

Open from 12pm-12am, you can get your hands on some stellar pasta dishes for lunch or dinner with the range spanning from a herbed ricotta pappardelle to prawn tortellini with prawn oil (both so yum!). But it’s the strozzapreti with slow-cooked goat, prosciutto and pea that has us going gaga. Extra, extra, now you’ve read all about it you definitely need to head into the city stat.

Shadow Wine Bar

Alex Hotel’s Shadow Wine Bar has become a destination dining location for fine food deep into the corners of nightfall.

Lit by only the barest flickers, it is moody and elegant and has an incredible wine list as you’d expect from a venue of this calibre. Their standout dish: the Shark Bay crab spaghettini with capers, lemon, tomato and chilli. It’s so delicate and yet punchy, the ideal indulgence to swirl your fork around and savour each bite. This is a perfect date night dish, or a treat yourself moment too if you’re so inclined – and if you are, we don’t blame you at all.

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