Al Trancio Slabs of Pizza

Al Trancio is a poky canteen serving grab-and-go Italian food in Perth’s inner east. The star of the show here is the porchetta panini. Made in-house and seasoned with garlic, rosemary, and salt and pepper, Al Trancio’s thick-cut porchetta is a chunky, meaty wonder that requires zero adornment. (But if you did want to gussy it up with seasonal condiments like slow-cooked eggplant paste, giardiniera or pesto, that wouldn’t be a mistake.) Just as notable is the panini itself: a low-rise, crisp and bubbly flatbread that’s also made in-house.

Al Trancio’s other calling card is Roman-style pizza: long rectangles sold by the slab, half-slab or slice. Beyond the ubiquitous margherita, there’s an all-veg contadina, while the cicciosa features a house sausage made with parts of the pig not used for the porchetta. While the pizza base is made with Italian tinned tomatoes, the cheese is Australian – the fior di latte is sourced from local cheesemakers La Delizia Latticini, and a semi-dry mozzarella comes from New South Wales.

Each day’s pizza, pasta and street-food specials are written up on brown butcher’s paper. They might include baked rigatoni, gnocchi in a slow-cooked, four-meat Abruzzo-style ragu, and very good suppli: golden fried balls of rice, sauce and cheese.

Owner Marco Di Ciano is an old hand in the cooking game. Born in the mountainous, coastal Abruzzo region east of Rome, he grew up in a family that was connected to its food. His parents grew their own wheat and had it turned into flour at the local mill. (Even into her 80s, Di Ciano’s mother continues to bake her own woodfired bread.)