Perth Voice Interactive

by JENNY D’ANGER

THE blackboard sign on William Street simply said “spaghetti”, but “where?” was the question.

Francoforte Spaghetti Bar is tucked away down one of the increasingly hip lanes being opened up around Northbridge.

The first time I’d tried to visit I failed to find it, as there were no tables in the laneway and the sign above the door is simply a fork and a few wavy lines (which, it occurred to me later, represent spaghetti).

The next time I was determined and there it was like the (almost) lost treasure it is, one shop back from the rear of the lane and right across from a waffle shop that is unashamedly brash in letting you know it’s there.

Judging by the trendy young things queuing around our laneway table, word is out that Francoforte is “the” place to eat. The difficulty finding it probably only adds to the allure.

The lane was a hive of activity as workers cut through on their way home, and both the waffle joint and a fast-food style Japanese eatery were also enjoying brisk trade despite the relatively early hour.

Grande

Francoforte thoughtfully has “piccolo” and “grande” serves of its pasta.

As the only entree is an antipasto we went straight for large serves of carbs, for me the eggplant sugo ($16) and for Dave the cartdriver’s pasta ($17).

The best Italian I’ve ever eaten was in Capo d’Orlando, an eggplant dish that is a speciality of the region and it lives on in my taste buds’ memory and haunts my hungry dreams.

Ok, so this wasn’t quite up there but it came pretty close, with its simple, reduced tomato sauce clinging to the spaghetti with an oily deliciousness that seemed to get more intense the closer I got to the bottom of the bowl.

Good thing we’d ordered some wonderfully chewy Italian bread ($3) to mop up the last of the sauce.

The robust cartdriver’s, with its porcini and button mushrooms, tuna, onion and tomato, was similarly dispatched with a flourish of bread so as not to miss a morsel.

The menu is as simple as the food is good, and why not. Francoforte specialises in spaghetti—all the better to perfect each dish, instead of trying to offer too much to overly fussy diners.

There are just two choices for dessert, a tiramisu ($6) and an affogato ($5).

The cake was divine, soft and creamy with a wonderful coffee/chocolate richness. And I reckon the affogato was the best I’ve had anywhere in Perth, or outside Italy for that matter.

Was it the coffee, which was rich and full bodied, but not in the least bitter, or the beautiful vanilla bean ice cream?

Whichever, it’s owner Julian Staltoni’s mum’s recipe: “Grazie mamma”, I say.

Francoforte Spaghetti Bar
189-199 William Street, Northbridge (just down from Kakulas Brothers)
open Tues–Sun 5–10pm