Best of Perth
Best Italian Restaurants in Perth
Perth has built a genuinely impressive Italian dining scene, from long-running trattorias in the northern suburbs to contemporary osterie along the waterfront. Whether you are hunting a handmade pasta to rival anything in Bologna, a wood-fired pizza in a backyard garden bar or a leisurely Sunday lunch that stretches into the afternoon, the city delivers on all counts. This guide covers the best Italian restaurants in Perth across every budget and postcode, with notes on what to order and when to book.
The northern corridor around Mount Hawthorn, Leederville and North Perth concentrates some of the oldest Italian-Australian family restaurants in WA - places where the breadsticks arrive before you sit down and the tiramisu recipe has not changed since 1987. Head into the CBD or across to South Perth for sleeker, modern Italian that leans into WA seasonal produce: marron, Manjimup truffles and Margaret River olive oil woven through classic Roman and Sicilian frameworks.
Sunday is the big day. Perth Italians treat the midday meal as theatre, so expect full rooms, loud families and dessert menus that go on forever. Booking two or three days ahead for weekend lunch is standard at the better-known spots. Midweek dinner is far more relaxed and often when kitchens are at their most experimental. Most restaurants are BYO on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for a modest corkage fee - useful given WA's outstanding varietal whites and sparkling shiraz.
Standout dishes to look for: house-made spaghetti alle vongole using Shark Bay clams, saltimbocca with prosciutto sourced from a WA producer, and Sicilian arancini that arrive properly crisp and molten at the centre. For pizza, Neapolitan-style with leopard-spot char and a pillowy cornicione is the dominant style, though Roman al taglio by the slice has been gaining ground in recent years.
Generated by AI. Confirm current trading hours and menus directly with each restaurant before visiting.