Si Paradiso

You’ve seen Si Paradiso before. The laminex flooring? Just like what grandma had at her place. The washed aggregate concrete in the outdoor courtyard? Borrowed from the primary school pool party of your dreams. And how about the dining room’s style clash of framed art and indoor and outdoor furniture? Like all those Roman trattorias in Europe? Si Paradiso is a bit stained, it’s a bit chipped – everything has a little bit of texture. It isn’t perfect, and that’s deliberate, because it makes it all the more charming.

The eating and drinking is similarly cosmopolitan. The cellar is made up of lo-fi, natural-leaning wines from Italy and Western Australia. The cocktail list is big on Campari and reimagined Negronis, Americanos and other interwar classics. Tap beer is available with the state’s craft brewing community well represented.

Then there's the puffy and pliable pizza; a golden crust laden with a red sauce of San Marzano tomatoes, and topped with options such as salumi, confit garlic and good cheese. Snacks might be sardine toast with whipped chevre and confit tomato; or fried zucchini flowers with stracciatella and spiced honey. The rest of the menu involves salads, charcoal-grilled proteins and pastas.

And expect music and dancing – some of the best DJs in Perth and farther afield spin here often. It's part of creating an atmosphere you might find in Italy, where people head to a single place to eat, drink and dance: restaurants that feel a bit thrown together, that don’t always make sense, but inspire a seriously good time because of it.