Pappagallo

I had heard many a positive review about Leederville new kid on the block Pappagallo. Their popularity was growing so quickly that when we first tried to get a table on a whim, the reserved signs were situated on all inside tables and the weather hadn’t quite warmed up enough for me to be thinking about dining outside. Precious much? You better believe it 🙂 When it comes to outdoor dining at least. Conditions have to be cherry ripe. We were given the heads up though that the best way to make a booking was to PM their Facebook page. Sorted! GG and I were booked in for a post PT Saturday lunch and I could already foresee the epic carb-o-rama we would enjoy! (Now on Dimmi I believe)

What I enjoy about the menu at Pappagallo is that the pasta dishes vary each day based on what they have made fresh, so on our lunch time visit there were just the two available. I didn’t mind though and ordered one of each type, along with a Caprese Salad and a pizza, the Capricciosa, with San marzano tomato DOP, mozzarella, leg ham,  mushrooms, artichokes and olives. You’d think we hadn’t eaten for days, but we were a hungry pair and confident that between us we’d smash the lot.

In keeping with all things Italian I ordered an Aperol Spritz. I fell in love with this vibrant orange drink when I visited Italy earlier this year and they are so refreshing! Really perfect for a Perth Summer as they are not overly sweet, but with a welcome amount of fizz from the prosecco. I suspect they could well be a drink of choice for the warmer months ahead.

But I digress, tends to happen often 🙂 I happily savoured my citrus beverage and soon enough the Caprese Salad arrived. What total perfection the combination of ingredients in a Caprese are. All the more so when the mozzarella is of the buffalo persuasion. All hail buffalo mozzarella! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you spy it on a menu then lock it in. Immediately. It is simply divine. The creaminess is heavenly and when matched with the sweet loveliness of ripe tomatoes – mamma mia! It was a stellar start and then it was pasta time.

Pillowy soft gnocchi in a dreamy and creamy cheese sauce with subtle blue overtones, as you’d expect from Gorgonzola.

Then GG’s spaghetti amatriciana was such a winning dish. Skinny ribbons of al dente spag with chunky pieces of crispy pancetta with just the right amount of garlic, tomato and chilli. A real marriage of some classic Italian flavours.

Now thankfully by some Christmas miracle we had enough room left to tackle the vision that was the pizza we had ordered. It was love at first bite and Meghan Trainor’s catchy tune ‘all about that base’ played harmoniously in my head. Not quite the bass she had in mind, but it worked for me!

As we found out the flour was a combination of four different types with some specially ordered from the motherland. Grazi Italia! The right balance of topping for ample flavour, but the base was still crispy. It was delicious and promptly devoured.

Now we were there for a short and sweet visit on this occasion, but I was sold and look forward to heading back another time for dinner to see what’s on the night time menu!

Bellisimo!