Il Lido Italian Canteen

LOCATION
Across the street from Cottesloe Beach, 10 minutes from Fremantle.

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
Perth may be a relatively small, quiet city when compared to the likes of Melbourne or Sydney, but our restaurant scene is moving in leaps and bounds, thanks to a handful of consistently fabulous restaurateurs. One of these is Nic Trimbole. Nic is responsible for giving Perth diners venues to boast about, such as Duende, Balthazar, and, most recently, Il Lido Italian Canteen in Cottesloe. Being a devout fan of Nic’s work, I was not really surprised at what greeted me when I visited his latest restaurant. Simply decorated with lovely wine racks, floorboards and gentle lighting, it’s filled with long communal dining tables to encourage visitors to share mouth-watering antipasti.

Fresh figs with vincotta cheese, zucchini flowers with goat’s cheese and tapenade, crab arancini with aioli and char-grilled cuttlefish with chilli and oregano are just a handful of antipasti on the menu. I could quite happily spend the evening making my way through the entire selection, but then I wouldn’t want to miss out on what the rest of the menu has to offer. In addition to a handful of fresh salads (the smoked duck breast with peach and fennel salad is superb), there’s a selection of pastas and a lovely risotto nero with rocket and red wine squid. Risotto aficionados like myself will know how hard it is to find a good one and will no doubt appreciate the freshness and flavours of this dish. If you’re hoping to sink your teeth into something a little more substantial, I’m told the char-grilled lamb rump with olive mash and paprika peppers is very tasty, as is the crispy skin salmon. Staff at Il Lido are more than happy to suggest wine to go with your meal, which is a must when indulging in such beautiful Italian food. Thank you, Mr Trimbole.

Karen Bilsby

Open lunch & dinner 7 days