Where to find the best pasta in Melbourne

Cross a Southern Italian grandmother’s kitchen with a moody inner-north drinking hole and you’ve got Bar Idda. The refreshingly rustic restaurant nestled at the top end of Lygon Street specialises in home-style Sicilian fare, craft beers and characterful bottles of continental red.

The menu is designed for sharing, ideal for larger groups looking to sample a number of authentic regional dishes. Naturally, the pasta on offer here has generated plenty of buzz.

Try the Cavatelli pasta smothered with an umami blend of Sicilian pesto and parmigiano, or the twirly maccaruni with slow-cooked beef and pork ragu. Seafood lovers will fall in love with the garlicky tagliatelle with blue swimmer crab, chilli and zucchini.

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In a small enclave upstairs on Hardware Lane, you’ll find one of the best modern pasta bars and restaurants in Melbourne.

While there’s an entire menu of meaty mains, salads and smaller snacks to indulge in, pasta lovers will want to make a beeline for the carbs section of The Hardware Club’s menu.

From fresh pappardelle with caramelized lemons to a very crispy, very spicy spaghetti dish made from yesterday’s sugo charred, here’s an opportunity to taste a more creative take on your pasta favourites.

An indulgent treat is the ossobuco ravioli with saffron cream and garlic gremolata – it’s a must-try.

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Emilia Romagna is widely recognised as one of the most beloved regions in Italy for foodies worldwide.

So it makes sense that many of the ingredients and wine at Trattoria Emilia are imported from this region.

The pasta dishes here pay respect to tradition with a focus on doing the classics well. Think fluffy pillows of ricotta gnocchi coated in summery confit tomatoes and basil pesto, or rich strips of tagliatelle Bolognese.

The flavours may be familiar, but they’re no less impressive to true Italian traditionalists. For something a bit more daring, try the tortelloni filled with prosciutto and mortadella with parmesan sauce and aged balsamic vinegar.

Sexy, sleek and modern, Tipo 00 isn’t just one of the world’s most famous pasta bars – it’s also a romantic spot to whisk a special someone out for a top-notch dinner to remember.

Named after the finely milled Italian flour used to make pasta and pizza, the intimate laneway locale has perfected every dish on its menu. Beautiful presentation is the cherry on top.

Sit by the dynamic open kitchen and watch your chef prepare a braised duck gnocchi or a prawn-peppered risotto with utmost care. Other noteworthy pasta dishes include the midnight-black squid ink tagliolini and the fresh tomato rigatoni with melt-in-your-mouth Sher Wagyu beef and confit chilli.

From Umbria to Lazio, hand-picked Italian bottles from all across Italy dominate the wine list. Why not try something new to complement your meal?

Melbourne’s very own “Little Italy”, Lygon Street in Carlton, isn’t the worst place in the world to find yourself next time you have a hankering for good pasta.

But lest you find yourself in a tourist trap situation, it pays to know where the best is to be found. Our vote’s always going to be for D.O.C. Espresso, a perpetually busy and happening Italian cafe on the northern end of the strip.

Before you order, ask for the pasta of the day – it’s always something interesting, using fresh fare from the ocean or bathing in an earthy, truffle-spiked sauce.

Special attention in the kitchen is paid to how the pasta is cooked to reach the perfect stage of al dente, and ingredient quality is king at D.O.C. The lasagna is one of the best in Melbourne, a traditional recipe with bechamel sauce from Emilia Romagna.

Want to continue the experience and can create your own pasta magic later at home?

The D.O.C. delicatessen next door offers a wide range of authentic Italian fresh and pantry ingredients – pop in after your meal and say hello to the friendly butcher.