Just how does one classify this Italianate house of cool? On weekends, the DJs and energy levels in the amphitheatre out back suggest “nightclub”. But blessed is the discotheque that pours organically farmed wines, cracking cocktails and snappy beers. “Bar” also seems like an undersell, considering the puffy, occasionally maverick pizze – salt cod and XO sauce, anyone? – ensure Si Paradiso remains one of Perth’s favourite pizzerias. Delve deeper, and you’ll find the kitchen’s range is wider than benchmark Neapolitan-style pies. Roasted scallops are bathed in a bitey XO butter. Golden fried calamari is chaperoned by preserved-lemon aïoli. Gem lettuce showered with parmesan, fine breadcrumbs and fermented tuna extract coolly rethinks Caesar salad, while saucy tagliatelle Bolognese is straight Italo-Australian comfort. Warm, switched-on service and the dining room’s mid-century stylings are also both wins for the old school. For a more grape-based experience, set sail for affiliate wine bar, Casa.
This review was made independently for the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide. The guide’s reviewers visit unannounced and pay their way. To learn more about the process, click here.
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Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide 2023
Our guide gives a yearly snapshot of the best restaurants to eat at right now. The best-rated restaurants, as judged by the reviewers’ first-hand experience, form our national Top 82.
