Best Pasta in Melbourne

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.

As of this year, you don’t have to leave home to eat Tipo 00’s casarecce with sausage ragu, Grossi Florentino Grill’s testaroli or Park Street’s rabbit and veal agnolotti. You can recreate them in your own kitchen with The Broadsheet Italian Cookbook. Pastas from Il Bacaro, Pellegrini’s, Mario’s are are also among the book’s 80 recipes. Available now at shop.broadsheet.com.au.

Related pages:
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Tipo 00

Restaurant

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

361 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne

Di Stasio Citta

Restaurant

Restaurateur Rinaldo Di Stasio is back in the city with an extraordinary restaurant that blends high art, high drama and high cuisine.

35 Spring Street, Melbourne

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Florentino

Restaurant

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

80 Bourke Street, Melbourne

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Park Street Pasta & Wine

Restaurant

Fresh, handmade pasta rolled from the best possible ingredients is the draw at this intimate osteria.

268 Park Street, South Melbourne

Agostino

Bar

A modern take on the classic Italian enoteca, a 50-seat wine bar with house-made pasta, hard-to-find wines and waiters clad in head-to-toe white Japanese denim in an iconic heritage-listed building.

297 Lygon Street, Carlton

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Cafe Di Stasio

Restaurant

No list would be complete without this St Kilda institution.

31 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda

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Pentolina

Restaurant

At this CBD pasta bar, you'll find an extensive menu of hand-rolled pastas, bolstered by a fun line-up of wines and cocktails. It's all set within a sleek, modern space.

2/377 Little Collins St, Melbourne

Va Penne

Restaurant

To find this dimly lit Italian bar and eatery, look out for a flashing red neon hand in the window. Inside, you’ll find old-school breadbaskets (loaded with carbs to salsa-verde-doused burrata); garlicky spaghetti vongole swimming in oil; a cocktail list centred around Vermouth; and more.

493 High Street, Nortcote

Oster

Restaurant

Northern Italian fare in a dimly lit osteria.

76-78 Bridge Road, Richmond

Il Bacaro

Restaurant

All about that Moreton Bay bug spaghettini.

168-170 Little Collins Street, Melbourne

Bar Carolina

Restaurant

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

44 Toorak Road, South Yarra

Cecconi’s

Restaurant

The seafood linguine has been a classic for years.

Cellar Bar 61 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

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Scopri

Restaurant

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

191 Nicholson Street, Carlton

Trattoria Emilia

Restaurant

An easy CBD haunt based on a Northern Italian trattoria.

360 Little Collins Street, Melbourne

1800 Lasagne

Restaurant

After years running lasagnes around town in a ’91 Holden Barina, Joey Kellock has moved into a former pizza shop. On the menu: lasagne, maybe a dirty Martini and little else.

653 High Street, Thornbury

Rosetta Ristorante

Restaurant

Neil Perry is just as competent at Italian as he is at other cuisines.

8 Whiteman Street, Southbank

Thirty Eight Chairs South Yarra

Restaurant

Where papperdelle, tagliatelle and risotto are second-nature.

4a Bond Street, South Yarra

Bar Idda

Restaurant

A cosy room serving home-style Sicilian food with generosity and heart.

132 Lygon Street, Brunswick East

Umberto Espresso Bar

Cafe

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

917 High Street, Thornbury

Tipico

Restaurant

A polished Italian diner that’s ditched the traditional red-and-white tablecloths for contemporary art and modern plating techniques.

242 High Street, Windsor

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Becco

Restaurant

Nods to a number of different areas of Italy.

11-25 Crossley Street, Melbourne

Pinotta

Restaurant

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

32 Best Street, Fitzroy North

Etto

Restaurant

Pasta made fresh, twice a day.

261 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne

Caffe e Cucina

Restaurant

An old-style Italian local.

581 Chapel Street, South Yarra

Cucinetta

Restaurant

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

4 3 Murphy Street, South Yarra

The Waiters Restaurant

Restaurant

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

20 Meyers Place, Melbourne

Fox in The Corn

Restaurant

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

4 Droop Street, Footscray

DOC Espresso

Cafe

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

326 Lygon Street, Carlton

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Il Solito Posto

Restaurant

This cosy, cellar-like restaurant is an old favourite with a sophisticated wine list and classic Italian cuisine.

Basement 113 Collins Street (enter George Pde), Melbourne

Supermaxi

Restaurant

Here to feed us traditional home-style pizza, pasta and all things Italian food and drink.

305 St Georges Road, Fitzroy North

Rita's Cafeteria

Restaurant

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

239 Johnston Street, Abbotsford

Lupino Bistro

Restaurant

A longstanding but largely unsung spot for Italian classics.

41 Little Collins Street, Melbourne

Marios

Restaurant

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

303 Brunswick Street,, Fitzroy

Good Times

Restaurant

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.

214 St Georges Road, Fitzroy North

Pellegrini's

Cafe

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

66 Bourke Street, Melbourne

Tiamo Coffee

Restaurant

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

303 Lygon Street, Carlton

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