Best Pasta in Melbourne

Updated 1 month ago

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There are few things more comforting and delicious than a good bowl of pasta. With its longstanding Italian community and commitment to good food, Melbourne serves up some of the best spaghetti, fettuccine, pappardelle, orecchiette and ravioli in the world. It’s telling that some of the places on this list have been operating since the ’80s, with few changes to what they do. Good pasta is timeless and resistant to trends.

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Best Pizza in Melbourne

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  • A fine-dining chef's handmade-pasta passion project.

  • The CBD sequel to restaurateur Rinaldo Di Stasio's St Kilda institution goes just as heavy on the hand-made pastas. But it also throws high art into the mix, with video installations and dramatic artworks lining the walls of the restaurant’s brutalist, contemporary interior.

  • Pasta backed by years of research and experience, plus exceptional customer service.

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  • Housed in a 19th-century building, this spot freshly extrudes pasta shapes such as rigatoni and bucatini in-house – an expensive process rarely seen in restaurant kitchens. Try them in the cosy dining room, or pull up at the parklet.

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  • No list would be complete without this St Kilda institution.

  • If you forget to book at this cosy neighbourhood restaurant, grab a seat at the bar, order a spritz and picture yourself in the streets of Palermo as you wait for a table. You’re in for home-style Sicilian fare, nostalgic Italian desserts and a welcoming vibe.

  • The owners at this sleek osteria show their Italian roots with varieties of filled pasta that hail from the Lombardy region in Italy’s north – where the owners are from. In a nod to their second home Down Under, there’s a big focus on local produce and a wine list featuring all-Australian drops.

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  • All about that Moreton Bay bug spaghettini.

  • A tight list of hits from the same restaurateur behind Il Bacaro.

  • The seafood linguine has been a classic for years.

  • Dine on elegant dishes below a giant vista of the Italian countryside.

  • An easy CBD haunt based on a Northern Italian trattoria.

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  • Where papperdelle, tagliatelle and risotto are second-nature.

  • If you forget to book at this cosy neighbourhood restaurant, grab a seat at the bar, order a spritz and picture yourself in the streets of Palermo as you wait for a table. You’re in for home-style Sicilian fare, nostalgic Italian desserts and a welcoming vibe.

  • A cosy space, a compact menu, and a whole lot of heart.

  • A strong player in the city’s crop of sharp, contemporary Italian joints. Find classic dishes with subtle twists, and a wine list that picks from the country’s premier growing regions. The commanding terrazzo bar is the best place to take it all in.

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  • Nods to a number of different areas of Italy.

  • Peruse the blackboard for always-changing specials with a focus on slow braises and seafood.

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  • Pasta made fresh, twice a day.

  • An old-style Italian local.

  • Intimate and communal, like a real Italian restaurant should be.

  • A tiny, no-fuss space where the interior is older than you.

  • First, they started a wholesale pasta business. Then this restaurant.

  • After your meal, pop next door to the deli to try and reproduce the same quality at home.

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  • Choose your own adventure at this cosy underground institution. If you fancy casual Italian dining, pull up a table in the cafeteria opposite the bar. For a more refined atmosphere, make your way to the dimly lit trattoria lined with bottles of vino.

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  • Look past the lengthy pizza list and choose a bowl of flavour.

  • A longstanding but largely unsung spot for Italian classics.

  • It's not particularly authentic, but this comfort food has stood the test of time.

  • The pasta here isn't show-stopping, but it's not trying to be. With pasta dishes ranging from $9 to $14, this Fitzroy North spot is affordable and punches well above its weight when it comes to atmosphere.

  • It hasn't changed in years, because it's never needed to.

  • A remnant of old Carlton that's thankfully never changed.

  • Look for the lush olive-green facade on Prahan’s High Street to find this handsome restaurant and bar. Inside, a dedicated “pasta lab” produces all shapes and sizes, with a big emphasis on egg-based pastas specific to northern Italy. The wine list includes a handful of Italian varietals produced here in Victoria.

  • A cosy, familial Italian restaurant where the menu changes every week. Enjoy oysters, hand-rolled pasta and creative seafood dishes alongside wines from Australia, Italy and Argentina.