15 of Melbourne’s best pasta deals from $20 lobster linguine to great date nights
The servings are generous, the wine is flowing. These great value pasta nights make going out more fun and affordable right now. Give them a twirl.
Pasta is never a bad idea. But while Melbourne shivers through an icy blast and every second person you follow on Instagram lives it up on the sunny Italian coast, behold the latest edition of Specials board, all about the city’s best (and best-value) pasta nights.
$20 lobster linguine at Pinchy’s
Are you a lobster lover? Thursday is the night to visit recently refurbed CBD seafood and champagne bar Pinchy’s because that’s when its new signature lobster linguine is half price. For just 20 bucks, get a bowl loaded with lobster meat and tossed through miso butter.
Level 1, 200 Bourke Street, Melbourne, pinchys.co
$50-a-head pasta for two at Marameo
Take a date (or a mate) to suave city Italian joint Marameo on Wednesday night for an excellent-value three-course feast – costing just a pineapple a head – complete with a half-litre of Italian red or white to share. The main event? Baked, bechamel-y spinach-and-ricotta-filled conchiglie (large pasta shells) in a rich ragu of both pork and beef.
6 Russell Place, Melbourne, marameo.com.au
$18-$19 pasta mezzanotte at Joanie’s Baretto
Curb your late-night pasta cravings – without breaking the bank – at charming Thornbury bar Joanie’s Baretto. From 10pm to midnight Friday and Saturday, spaghetti aglio e olio (garlic and oil) is $18 and cacio e pepe rigatoni is $19. Nearby sibling Umberto Espresso Bar also has a deal: $25 pasta and wine, four days a week.
832A High Street, Thornbury, joaniesbaretto.com.au
$35 gnocchi with wine at Comma
At Moorabbin’s neighbourhood gem Comma, Thursdays celebrate gnocchi – perhaps with slow-cooked beef ragu and parmesan, or spiced pumpkin, brown butter and sage. $35 buys you a big serve and a glass of vino, and you can add on a cocktail for $15.
2 Station Street, Moorabbin, wearecomma.com.au
$45 date night at Rocco’s Bologna Discoteca
There’s a lot to love about this Wednesday special at Rocco’s Bologna Discoteca. The $45-a-head spread includes Jerusalem-artichoke agnolotti, a cotoletta Milanese roll (you can swap for the signature meatball sub), a soft-serve, and a half-litre of wine.
15 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, roccosbologna.com
$25 lasagne with wine at Puttanesca
Wednesdays from noon, pull up a seat in the front bar of Puttanesca, Guy Grossi’s eastside osteria, for a budget-friendly slab of bolognese- and bechamel-heavy lasagne, with wine. Bonus: at weekday lunchtimes, the puttanesca parmigiana is $25 in the front bar.
99 High Street, Kew, cliftonhotel.com.au
$25 pasta night at Tipico
On a regular night, you could pay as much as $38 for a pasta at Windsor Italian spot Tipico. But if you go on Wednesday, the entire pasta menu drops to $25 apiece. So, will it be squid-ink tortelli with Moreton Bay bugs, or tagliatelle with lamb-shoulder ragu?
242 High Street, Windsor, tipico.melbourne
$29 pasta and vino at The Gertrude Hotel
Have you checked out Fitzroy pub The Gertrude Hotel since its most recent makeover? Drop in on hump day and be rewarded with a $29 pasta and vino special. The pastas rotate but you might find rigatoni with vodka sauce or a spicy, garlicky broccoli penne.
148 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, thegertrude.com.au
$30 icons only at Bar Carolina
On Monday nights, South Yarra’s Italian stallion Bar Carolina is revelling in Italy’s most iconic pasta dishes with a weekly changing special for $30, announced on Instagram. Upcoming options include spaghetti alle vongole and spinach-and-ricotta cannelloni.
44 Toorak Road, South Yarra, barcarolina.com.au
$30 pasta and wine at Greta
Flinders Lane’s Euro-inspired wine-diner Greta has a great Thursday-night lure: your choice of two pastas and a glass of “very good” wine for only $30. (Hot tip: Wednesday night is dedicated to $22 parmigiana). Walk-ins are welcome, but bookings are encouraged.
450 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, gretamelbourne.com.au
$35 live music with gnocchi at Rossi
What sets Rossi’s gnocchi night apart? It’s soundtracked by live jazz, hip-hop and neo-soul. On Wednesdays, your gnocchi choices are threefold – wagyu beef ragu, carbonara or roasted pumpkin – and each comes with a vino from Mitchelton label Preece Wines.
162 Greville Street, Prahran, rossi.bar
$75 pasta with friends at Lagotto
Last year, The Age’s chief restaurant critic Besha Rodell declared Lagotto one of Melbourne’s great under-appreciated restaurants. Still sleeping on it? Rally the troops and book one of these long Sunday lunches for a less-expensive-than-usual experience. Find the week’s menu on Instagram, but you can expect it to be centred around pasta.
1 York Street, Fitzroy North, lagotto-fitzroynorth.com.au
$15 pasta night at The Cheeky Pint
Monday nights are cheap and cheerful at no-frills west-side pub The Cheeky Pint. There’s always a trio of different $15 pastas to choose from – maybe fettucine all’amatriciana or spaghetti bolognese – and select wines and schooners for $5.
231 Barkly Street, Footscray, thecheekypint.com.au
$35-$42 pasta night at Sebastian
The team behind the Spanish-leaning Sebastian, right on the beachfront in Williamstown, is set to open an Italian cafe-restaurant in Cremorne called Amatrice. And it’s giving diners a taster at its new Friday pasta nights, where you might find gnocchi with porcini mushroom and lavato cheese, or a traditional spaghetti carbonara.
26 Esplanade, Williamstown, sebastianwilliamstown.com.au
$65 we love pasta menu at Oster
This isn’t the cheapest pasta night going, but Tuesday through Thursday, you can get around Richmond’s modern-Italian restaurant Oster – for less. An entree, pasta main and dessert are $65 a head, and BYO bottles are welcome, with $15 corkage.
Tomas Telegramma is a food, drinks and culture writer.