ALT Pasta Bar is another brilliant Italian restaurant in Melbourne’s CBD

It’s around the corner from one of our favourites. We were well overdue to try ALT Pasta Bar, having now been established for over three years. Coincidentally we are not long back from Canada, and a day trip to Niagara Falls, so eating on Niagara Lane feels entirely appropriate.

It’s a cool clear Melbourne night in winter. The fitout is striking with an expected dominant bar, and a section in the back right we are seated at, which is comfortably warmed. It is a thoughtful space, and we are already thinking of where we could sit next time depending on the numbers.

We are here to celebrate my Aunty Sher’s birthday. She’s been having a wonderful time earlier at the Cartier exhibition, and has spent the last few days celebrating with friends and family, visiting the Geelong Gallery to Discover the Impressionists, interspersed with indulging her shopaholic tendencies. Looking around the city on the way in it is clear that Melbourne well and truly has its game on, and being with someone who is familiar to Melbourne, but from WA, brings it out even more.

The tasting menu looks to provide diners a good opportunity to taste the diversity that ALT Pasta Bar offers. As is often the case, there is enough on the a la carte menu that we simply can’t look past a few of the dishes, and settle on some snacks, a couple of entrees, a main each with some side leaves, and dessert. We’re in for the long haul!

While it takes some time to arrive on a busy Friday night, Sher and my negroni is beautifully made, and perfectly balanced. Catherine’s “Right on Thyme” is a terrific cocktail too, balancing out the sweetness of the lemoncello with some lemon juice and thyme, plus a good dash of gin. Later we move to trying some of the wines by the glass which have some interesting selections at good price points. Catherine tried the Bergaglio Gavi made from Cortese grapes and from Piedmont. I tried the Langhe Nebbiolo by Vajra from the same region, and Sher went with the Margaret River Nocturne Cabernet. They were all were great.

The star was the pasta, but first we enjoyed some bread with superb mushroom butter, and tried a gnocco frito filled with ricotta, and covered with bresaola. It was nice, but not incredible, potentially left on the pass a touch too long and with a thicker pastry. What were incredible were the entrees. One contained a very generous serve of sous-vide scallops; a lovely way to prepare them. Set amongst cauliflower puree, and some fronds, plus yuzu ponzu (citrus soy), I would be hard pressed to not have this again next time. Then the sweeter grape and stracciatella dish contrasts perfectly. The share bowls were clean by the time we finished with them.

Sher and I both chose the paccheri pasta with duck ragu, rosemary crumb and black olive powder. Sher had made her mind up immediately, but I was choosing between several others including one with Moreton Bay Bugs that I love. In the end, on this winter evening I couldn’t go past the sound of the duck. One part that held me back was the crumb, but this wasn’t over the top. The pasta worked diligently to keep the generous portions of deeply flavoursome ragu on top, and again there wasn’t a bite left. Catherine’s wonderfully presented carbonara seemed more traditional, but no less delicious, with the guanciale adding that gorgeous saltiness you associate with traditional carbonara; the ALTernative aspect being the Kampot pepper from Cambodia.

While they were very busy on the floor, service didn’t suffer, and was very friendly and professional. They made a good deal of fuss about Sher’s birthday which was a nice touch, including a complimentary affogato, which Sher really enjoyed. My tiramisu to finish was terrific, and again the theme of generous servings shone through. But for the cool evening, Catherine’s strawberry icy pole with watermelon granita would have been the winner, the splice-like offering from the kitchen a very cool way to end.

It had been an extra hectic week at home and work. Being at ALT tonight was genuinely an oasis fit for a big celebration. It’s easy to see why the bar and restaurant tables continued to turnover during our three hour meal. As we left we all had an eye on the spot of the bar we’d like to try next.