Mille fogile

With Da Vinci’s unfortunately closed, Mum and I had no choice as we sat in the carpark on a Tuesday evening. We had to find good Italian that is reasonably priced fast. Urbanspoon to the rescue.

Not far away in the Avenues of Mt Lawley, Threecoins Italian Trattoria seemed a good option and what’s more they had a spare table for two. My figurative take away tonight was, if you hesitate, like I do, at eating in a small shopping complex, you may miss something special every now and again.

It was busy! A slightly illegal park, a friendly greeting, and in no time we were seated just outside in the undercover but alfresco front area. The restaurant is styled in minimalistic Italian trattoria fashion. Given it is located on a main street in a small shopping complex, it is surprisingly ambient. On top of that it is nice and warm; a comfortable night to be eating outside.

The menu is your usual informal Italian with an asterix being the completely homemade pasta options on offer. The growth in homemade pasta being offered across Perth is fantastic. Here they are served in clay bowls that add some interest, and keep the dish warm. At first the serving looks on the small side, but given the dishes are rich and good quality, not to mention reasonably priced, we are happy.

Fettuccine with lamb ragu

My pasta is a fettuccine with a lamb ragu. The pasta is nice and firm and holds together. I’m curious on the lamb ragu at first because there are quite a few defined chunks rather than being almost dissolved through the sauce. Luckily, it is very tender and has good depth of flavour making for a nice dish.

Mum’s ravioli of pumpkin and taleggio is even richer, with a white truffle oil, and a burnt butter, sage and parmesan sauce. Again it comes in a clay bowl, and there is a good serving given the richness. Out of the two dishes, the ravioli is the star. Both dishes were mopped up with bread from the selection, which includes grissini and flatbread amongst others.

For dessert we share the mille fogile of strawberry and Chantilly cream with other berries scattered through and white chocolate too. For a simple dish it is well executed and the puff pastry is nicely cooked. The slightly sweet cream and strawberries are a classic combination, providing a light end to the meal.

One plus for Threecoins is the ability to bring wine to the restaurant for only a small corkage per head. The service at times seemed a little inexperienced, but this was made up by the politeness and friendliness of the couple of waitpersons who served us, and some nice touches like holding dessert until we were ready. The restaurant is popular and should look at better stemware, but other than that our craving for good and reasonably priced Italian was well and truly catered for.