Perth Voice Interactive

IN honour of Jannik Sinner winning The Australian Open, I decided to take my kids out for an Italian meal.

Yes, I was paying my respects to a supreme athlete by eating my bodyweight in pizza and pasta.

But it made sense in some parallel universe where there were no wars, over-eating was good for you and watching Today Tonight was punishable by death.

On the penultimate day of the school holidays it was so hot even the solar panels were begging for mercy, so I quickly parked and frogmarched Bamm-Bamm and Pebbles into Il Milanese.

Situated just over the Inglewood border in Bedford, the Italian cafe had an impressive facade with lovely art deco architecture framing the bay windows.

Inside it had a large counter, a display cabinet filled with meats and cheese, and a variety of glasses and bottles on shelves, creating an arty backdrop.

There were a few small tables, but the owner recommended we sit in the lower level which was more spacious and resembled a  formal dining area.

It was a nice spot with the walls festooned with photos of Italian soccer teams and rustic sacks of coffee beans.

The owner was incredibly nice, a humble gent originally from Milan, and he put on some extra air con so we didn’t feel the extreme heat.

The menu had a vast range of pizza, panini, panzerotti, pasta and risotto.

There was also a kids menu and a nice range of authentic Italian drinks including chinotto.

Before going back to vegemite sandwiches at school, the kids had one last hurrah and decided to share a Margherita pizza ($19).

I was lured in by the Specials Menu which included dishes like squid ink risotto, spaghetti frutti di mare and truffle tagliatelle.

I ended up going for the boneless pork fillet cotoletta ($28).

While waiting for our meal, a few people came in for coffees and the owner was on first-name terms with all of them, illustrating the cafe was ingrained in the local community.

I battled the heat with a Zero Peroni ($6) and it was a pleasant surprise – when alcohol-free beers first came out they were pretty grim, but they are now very palatable and the flavour almost tricked my brain into thinking I was getting soused.

It wasn’t long before the kids were wolfing down their Margherita pizza. Any sit-in pizza under $20 is great value these days and this was a cheesy delight with heaps of mozzarella, a thin mottled base and a judicious serve of San Marzano tomato.

According to the menu, the pizza dough is naturally risen for at least 48 hours. 

It was a hit with the kids and they had no complaints.

Unfortunately, my cotoletta was a bit of a misfire.

The large pork fillet was tough and the salad was a bit of an afterthought – rocket with some cherry tomatoes and no dressing.

It was surprising as I’ve been in before and the pasta and breakfast dishes were pretty good, so maybe it’s best to stick to the stalwarts – coffee, pizza and pasta.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

Il Milanese
1004B Beaufort Street
Bedford