From the best creamy, fluffy bechamel this side of Italy at 1800 Lasagne, to theatrical special-occasion dining at Di Stasio Citta – and everything in between – these are the Italian restaurants worth getting excited about right now.

1800 Lasagne

This Thornbury restaurant’s basic premise is that it just sells lasagne and things that go with it (garlic bread, cos salad, affordable Italian wines, classic cocktails). After starting out as a delivery business, boy does it deliver. The signature slab is a goddamn wonder, a perfect mix of beef, pork and delicate pasta topped with a crown of fluffy, creamy bechamel (there’s a vegetarian eggplant version, too). The service is friendly and informal; the room is nostalgic fun − brick, wood panelling, orange pendant lights − honouring Melbourne’s long tradition of neighbourhood Italian-Australian restaurants.

Must-try dish: The, um, lasagne ($26.50)

653 High Street Thornbury, 1800lasagne.com.au

Caterina’s Cucina e Bar

Black-clad waiters weave past marble-topped tables and baroque mirrors inside this basement bunker to rattle off the specials – often as many as a dozen. But the legal and corporate clans, for whom “Cat’s” has been a haven for more than a quarter-century, keep returning for menu mainstays such as beef carpaccio or crisp, dainty calamari curls. Nothing’s starchy about Caterina’s, despite abundant white linen. Least of all, the host herself, who has a knack for making newcomers feel like regulars.

Must-try dish: Wet-roasted baby goat on polenta ($45.50)

Basement, 221 Queen Street, Melbourne, caterinas.com.au

Centonove

The only thing more comforting than the handmade pasta at this ornate, art-filled restaurant is the number of locals sent off into the night with a “see you again soon”. The heavily draped downstairs room has the feel of an upmarket Italian club with classic dishes (choose from two or three courses, perhaps shiitake, confit garlic and sage teamed with buffalo-ricotta gnocchi as light as the sauce is earthy), warm hospitality and the best of the boot in a glass. Do as the regulars do and finish with chocolate fondant.

Must-try dish: Chocolate fondant with vanilla gelato

109 Cotham Road, Kew, centonove.com.au

Di Stasio Citta

Experienced waiters set the tone of this theatrical salon, the light from video art projections rippling over their crisp white jackets and the colossal marble bar. A place for dates, mates and handing over estates – the larger the occasion, the more monumental the room will feel. Classic dishes are served with ceremony: spinach piled under shards of parmesan shimmers on a silver plate stand; lasagne pasqualina is disarmingly, persistently delicious. Citta won’t be for everyone, but it is a mood piece and an epic site for Melbourne magic.

Must-try dish: Merenda after-school schnitzel sandwich ($17)

45 Spring Street, Melbourne, distasiocitta.com.au

Grossi Florentino

A night out in this beautiful room calls for a silk dress, a crisp shirt, a jacket and tie. The menu is $175 or $210 a head, either a three-course meal, or six-course degustation. Brodo, poured over tortellini, is so concentrated with flavour it almost tastes like caramel. House-made spaghettini is topped with spanner crab, the sauce coating every strand. With expertly trained staff, technique and an impressive wine list, it’s a love letter to the decades in which grand, formal dining was king.

Must-try dish: Tortellini in brodo

80 Bourke Street, Melbourne, florentino.com.au

The Hardware Club

This casual upstairs den is an underrated city wild card. The bustling room is fresh and functional, with an open kitchen and a bar slinging natural wine. The menu updates trattoria staples: the crunchy cacio e pepe toastie is an instant classic, and beef carpaccio is lifted with an umami-rich dressing, while some dishes feature a slight Asian accent – the sugo-based spaghetti assassina comes with a serious chilli-heat warning, while a coil of pork and fennel sausage is covered in crisp fried shallots.

Must-try dish: Cacio e pepe toastie ($16)

Level 1, 43 Hardware Lane, Melbourne, thehardwareclub.com

Rina’s

The daily set menu is scrawled over the mirror in this polished 24-seater: share plates that change with the markets and explode with flavour alongside niche wines from southern Italy. Symphonic caponata; rustic strozzapreti tossed through duck ragu; wagyu brasato al Barolo, a stew as warm as nostalgia. It’s modern, relevant home-style cooking turned out with instinct by an unlikely pairing: Danny Natoli, whose heritage is southern Italian, and Adrian Li, whose family origin is Chinese.

Must-try dish: Cannoli (part of the $75 set menu)

857 High Street, Armadale, rinas3143.com

Lagotto

Lagotto’s handmade pasta dishes are twisted just a little – squid-ink spaghettini, perhaps, tangled with spanner crab and sea urchin roe, or deeply satisfying carbonara given interest with white asparagus. This is Italian, yes, but like the stunning focaccia with molasses glaze and brown butter, layered well beyond your local. A combination of dates, mates and families bring bustle to a room filled with marble and terrazzo. Attentive waitstaff gently steer you to something Italianate on the single-page wine list, and the kitchen will work just as hard to please vegetarians.

Must-try dish: Wholemeal focaccia ($8)

1 York Street, Fitzroy North, lagotto-fitzroynorth.com.au

Scopri

This split-level restaurant serves Italian food at its generous and seasonal best, whether it’s a refreshing kingfish carpaccio with citrus and rocket, Piedmontese-style agnolotti del plin filled with rabbit and pork, or a rustic secondi of goat cooked on the bone with wine, potatoes and peas. Check out the blackboard specials – whole flounder, perhaps, or risotto. Throw in lively waiters and a wine list rich in Italian and Victorian choices, and it all makes for a very happy scopri (discovery).

Must-try dish: Don’t miss the exceptional sauteed silverbeet seasoned with parmesan ($12)

191 Nicholson Street, Carlton, scopri.com.au

Tipo 00

Making a booking? Hoping to snare a walk-in spot at the marble bar? Either way, be early. The black bar stools and bentwood chairs in this temple of pasta excellence are keenly sought restaurant real estate. Those who hesitate may face a long wait for perfectly al dente spaghetti topped with scampi, or pillowy gnocchi tossed with porcini and braised duck meat. For drinks, fleet-footed staff are well-versed in the Italian-led list, and pour fizz or sangiovese with flair.

Must-try dish: The “Tipomisu” dessert has a following of its own ($15)

361 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne, tipo00.com.au