Rosa’s Canteen

Two things are assured from a meal at Rosa’s – a warm welcome to start and some of the city’s best cannoli to finish.

Sour cherry pie. Picture: Jesse Marlow

Cnr Little Bourke and Thomson streets, Melbourne

[phone]

rosascanteen.com.au

Two things are assured from a meal at Rosa’s – a warm welcome to start and some of the city’s best cannoli to finish.

In between there’s plenty to keep loving at Rosa Mitchell’s cossetted CBD sanctuary of home-style Italian cooking and hospitality, where name-checked, local ingredients loom large.

Pasta is a must, especially the rigatoni in a chunky ragu with nubs of pork and fennel sausage.

Rigatoni with pork and fennel ragu.

Or branch out into mains, such as the duck leg, all crispy skinned and fork-tender meat on the bone, on a brothy bed of rib-sticking pearl barley and chestnuts.

Let charming staff guide you through fare-friendly wines and Italian desserts, but really, after a hearty session here, a chocolate cannoli is the perfect full stop.

Must-eat dish: Rigatoni with pork and fennel ragu

Cuisine: Italian

Chefs: Rosa Mitchell, Clare Bartell

Open: Mon-Fri lunch, Mon-Sat dinner

Price: $$

Bookings: Yes

BYO: No

Instagram: @rosascanteen