Eight of Perth’s best Italian restaurants have been separated into a league of their own with the Italian government recently awarding them its authenticity and quality stamp of approval.
The Ospitalità Italiana system has remained within the boot’s borders since 1997 when the government moved to protect Italy’s cultural wealth with the seal, but this year 721 restaurants were awarded the Ospitalità Italiana outside of Italy, with 34 of those in Australia.
So did your favourite Italian spot make the cut?
Shenton Park’s Galileo Buona Cucina, Gargano in Nedlands, West Perth’s Julio’s, Pergino and Villa D’Este, inner city eateries Maurizio Restaurant and Millioncino and Osteria dei Sapori in Nedlands made the grade.
To be endorsed with the Ospitalità Italiana restaurants had to meet criteria which included having at least one Italian speaking person, a menu in Italian which is made up of a majority of Italian dishes along with a description of their origin, a wine list that includes at least 20 per cent Italian origin wines and even stringent ruling around the use and availability of Italian extra virgin olive oil.
Perth pipped Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide to the post, with 5, 4 and 3 restaurants obtaining the tick of approval in those cities respectively, while 14 of Sydney’s restaurants were awarded the Ospitalità Italiana.
The Italian government designed the approval system with three objectives in mind, to develop and promote the traditions of the Italian agricultural and food products and value the Italian gastronomic culture, to value the image of Italian restaurants abroad that guarantee the respect to standard quality of Italian hospitality and to create promotional opportunities for its tourism industry.
