Restaurant review: Lulu La Delizia

This specialist pasta joint in Subiaco, Perth, is a raucous trattoria blending respect and tradition.

Lulu la Delizia Picture: Philip Gostelow

Blood. Why do so many come over all Doc Martin at the thought of it anywhere near their dinner? We eat animal muscle, for goodness' sake.

And skin. Nobody except the odd vegan seems to have an issue with potatoes cooked in duck fat. Yet perfectly rational people get all silly and squeamish at the idea of pig's blood as an ingredient.

So here we are, nestling into a small table in Perth's bustling new Lulu La Delizia, halfway between the Foreign Minister's electoral office and the famed Subiaco oval, when our waiter comes over to "special" us on the pasta del giorno, a tagliolini made with pig's blood and a "sauce" of chopped prawn meat, white vermouth and fennel seed.

At risk of stating the bleeding obvious, Lulu, new venture for Perth chef Joel Valvasori, is a specialist pasta place. A friendly, raucous little trattoria in a cute pedestrian lane with a bit of tongue in its cheek and proper focus. Pasta. Handmade, unpredictable shapes and styles, spurning the usual suspects for unusual sauces and garnishes.

Having sussed out the Perth scene at Lalla Rookh in the CBD, Valvasori — old enough to respect tradition, young enough to be adventurous — has gone his own way with a place that is modern in its attitude yet feels like it's been pumping out food for years. A simple white, black and timber palette gives the place style and warmth. To me, it screams "chef's own restaurant".

Wine sticks to either Italian producers or local Italian varietals.

Which works. Choose while you nibble complementary polenta and grilled montasio (cheese) wafers dusted with smoked mushroom powder. It will give you a feeling for the chef's savoury/bitter bent.

Naturally, there's more than pasta ... A kind of kingfish ceviche using Aperol, juniper and lemon thyme as the main flavouring agents is augmented with celery heart and cucumber, a hint of chilli pepping things up. A tomato, fried bread, artichoke and stretched curd salad gets olfactory liftoffwith bay and basil and the acidity of good red wine vinegar. Capretto — little goat loin chops cooked in umido on the bone in white wine, nutmeg and goodness knows what else — is a main course served with cannellini and celery salad dressed with white wine vinegar. It's rustic and wonderful.

But it's dishes like that sticky, bisquey tagliolini you'll look back on most: the texture and mouthfeel; the flavours and quality of the produce.

Or another worm-like semolina extrusion — gargati — in a sticky/ sweet onion sauce with smoked pancetta and exceptional duck livers. Utterly memorable.

The chestnut flour cjalsons (pictured) filled with cinnamon ricotta with Christmas cake-spiced sultana dressing and wafers of smoked ricotta is exceptional. As are the fat pillows of ricotta gnocchi served with an emulsified tomato and spanner crab sauce fragrant with rosemary and sage, and even a straight tagliatelle with veal and pork ragu.

Panna cotta and tiramisu spiked with grappa are dessert options; I liked them both. And, yes, I liked Lulu as a whole, too. So much so I went back for lunch next day. The staff are stars in a town where service is often lacklustre, and the mood is relaxing because of it. It's a "we'll look after you" approach.

More importantly, Valvasori seems to have leveraged hitherto latent talent and a need to explore mature flavours and dishes seldom seen in this country. I love this restaurant's tight focus. It's bloody good.

AT A GLANCE

Address: 5/97 Rokeby Road (Forrest Walk), Subiaco

Contact: 08 9381 2466

lululadelizia.com.au

Hours: Lunch Tue-Fri; dinner Tue-Sat

Typical prices: Starters $18; mains $38; pasta $28; dessert $15

Summary: Pasta glories like this? try ... Tipo 00, Melbourne; Lucio's, Sydney