During my annual visit to Perth, I discovered that there was a Guy Grossi restaurant and was keen to make a trip to the Perth CBD to try it out. Garum focuses on Roman-style cooking with handmade pasta and ancient Roman techniques.
After we were seated, we were asked whether we wanted tap, still or sparkling water, and provided with the menu for the day. Our waitress was happy to explain the menu to us and was very knowledgeable about each dish. It was actually a really tough choice to decide on what to eat!
After ordering our meals, complimentary sourdough arrived at the table with moretum on the side. Moretum is what the ancient Romans used to eat – a herb cheese spread eaten with bread. This was a coriander and ricotta moretum. The waitress provided us with some butter on the side as Mr FPJ can’t stand coriander. The sourdough was still warm and it seemed like we received half a loaf!
We started off with a salumi plate ($18) which came with three different cured meats – prosciutto de san daniele, cotta (pork), and salami with fennel.
I love seafood and wanted to take advantage of the fresh seafood in Perth, so I ordered the maltagliati ($28) with prawn, colatura, and zucchini. Maltagliati is a type of pasta that’s rolled out and cut into strips – these were diamond-shaped strips. The sauce was absolutely divine consisting of a long-stewed prawn broth turned sauce that was light but full-bodied and rich in flavour. It tasted as good as it smelled. Just delicious. I wish they sold this bottled up! One of the best pasta meals I’ve had in a long time.
Mr FPJ ordered the carbonara ($24) with fettuccine, guanciale (Italian cured pork), pecorino and egg. The fettuccine had been cooked perfectly al dente, and the creamy carbonara was light and cheesy, not sickening like some other carbonara’s we’ve tried.
We were both really happy with our meals and glad we got to dine in. It was some of the best pasta we’ve had in a long time. Perfectly cooked handmade pasta and fantastic flavours. We were having afternoon tea later on, otherwise I would have ordered the tiramisu from the dessert menu. Service was great with knowledgeable staff, our water topped up regularly, and the dishes arriving quickly. It was easy to get a table during a weekday lunch, but it’s probably best to book on weekends.
Garum Perth
480 Hay St, Perth, Western Australia
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday: 6.00am – 10.00pm
Saturday to Sunday: 6.30am – 10.00pm
Foodgasm 10/10
Value for money 8/10
Service 8/10
FPJ score 26/30
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