Perth’s newest Italian venue poured its first aperitivo last Thursday when it opened in Claremont on the popular Bay View Terrace. It’s being pitched as a wine-led osteria with fresh pasta made daily and more than 30 Italian wines available by the glass.
Il Santo comes from the operators behind Il Lido and Canteen Pizza, and draws on both. The brief is for an osteria rather than a trattoria, bringing a tighter menu and a venue designed for stopping in after work for a casual glass of wine, as much as for sitting down to dinner. Given Il Lido is one of Perth’s best Italian restaurants, and Canteen is one of the top pizza places, we’re excited about going in to try it out.
“We’ve had this restaurant in mind for quite some time for this space and it reflects a lot how people want to dine these days,” says operator Lyndon Waples. “Il Santo will have a tighter and simpler menu offering, more osteria and less trattoria. Quality drinks and very good snacking will be the key features, as well as a rotating pasta and main selection derived from the classics that will keep you coming back day after day.”
A pasta menu built around Italian classics
The kitchen is led by Executive Chef Nicola Lunardi, who has designed a menu that rotates through Italian classics. Lunardi’s pick on the menu is the mafaldine e fagioli, a pasta soup from his hometown with roots across Veneto, Tuscany, and Campania, which lands on the menu in time for the cooler months.
Things to do in Perth
There’s a lot on the menu for share-style dining: a Shark Bay prawn sandwich with house-made tartare, mortadella skewers with quince, and local octopus with gremolata. A rotating selection of pasta and main dishes are also on the menu, either to share or to have by yourself.
The team is also pushing one ritual hard, cantucci e Vin Santo to finish. Almond biscotti dipped into sweet Tuscan dessert wine until they soften.
“This is the best way to end a meal,” says Lunardi. “You don’t just eat the cantucci, the crunchy biscotti must be dipped into the wine, and it softens beautifully. The almond flavours are perfect with the wine’s caramel sweetness.”
More than 100 Italian wines
Wine Director Michael Mori has built a list of more than 100 predominantly Italian labels, drawing on the cellar at Il Lido, which took Australia’s Best Italian Wine List 2025. More than 30 wines are poured by the glass at any given time.
“Our drinks programme is dedicated to the classics — they are classics for a reason, plus a few little twists,” says Lovell. “Get settled into Il Santo with a Lemon Drop Martini with a refreshing yuzu kick or a Milano Torino, a delicious aperitivo with Campari and Punt e Mes. My pick would be a savoury Tomatini with the beef carpaccio.”
Where is Il Santo?
Il Santo can be found at 16 Bay View Terrace, Claremont.
