Located just along Oxford Street, not far from the main Leederville strip is Pappagallo. I have passed by Pappagallo several times on my way to Leederville and was determined to check it out when Rob Broadfield reviewed Pappagallo in the recent Weekend West magazine.

After a bodypump session at the gym, mum and I decided to head to Pappagallo for lunch (carb loading much?). As we arrived early before the lunch hour, we managed to get a table easily. As Pappagallo is gaining its popularity, I heard that they are usually fully booked for dinner at night. The interior of Pappagallo is modernistic and edgy. There’s hanging lightbulbs from the ceiling with plenty of natural day lighting coming into the restaurant.

We decided to order from the lunch special. I had the rigatoni with ragu bolognese ($17.50), perfect for a cool, cloudy day. The ragu bolognese had a great tomato flavour, complementing well with the tenderness of the minced meat. It’s overall a hearty dish, bursting full of flavour. 

Mum had the spaghetti with mussels and cherry tomatoes ($19). I had a taste test of mum’s spaghetti and it was cooked perfectly to al dente. Compared to my rigatoni, this dish was not too dry and very delicate in flavour. The mussels were fresh and the cherry tomatoes gave the dish a punch of sweet flavours.

I have heard many things about the pizzas at Pappagallo and decided to give it a try. We took home a Pizza Suprema ($26) comprising of a San Marzano tomato DOP, mozzarella, fresh hot Italian sausages, ventricina salami, leg ham, roasted capsicum and olives. Wow the pizza was delicious! It was flavoursome, topped with a hint of chilli kick with each bite, complementing well with the crispy base.

What I found interesting at Pappagallo was that the pasta dishes changes every day, which means every visit might not be the same. From our dining experience at Pappagallo, I can’t wait to be back for dinner to try the other pizzas and perhaps be surprised with a different pasta dish. Delizioso!