News feed
The humble Aperol Spritz gets a reprisal on our Instagram feeds around this time every year; for every friend spotted sipping the orange aperitif inside a colourful nook of a speakeasy in Trastevere, another is clinking a Spritz whilst perched atop a striped daybed on the black-pebbled sands of Positano. But the spirited Aperol is not just a seasonal drop. Rather, it’s an all-year-round staple in bars and restaurants across our great country. Below you’ll find a complete list of the best Italian restaurants serving up the traditional Aperol Spritz.
BAR M, SYDNEY
Loved by bureaucrats, business people and the cool crowd, this 160-seater, former tyre factory in Rushcutters Bay is dedicated to homemade pasta. May we suggest coupling your Friday night Aperol Spritz with a selection of cured meats, cheese, vegetables and focaccia bread to start before skipping the silky spaghetti and getting to the rich stuff: Gnocchi 4 Formaggi. (Read: Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Pecorino and Parmigiano cheese.) Note: This restaurant was formerly known to Sydney-siders as Bar Machiavelli.
OSTERIA OGGI, ADELAIDE
Be still our beating hearts. Or should we say, our open mouths. On any given day, Osteria Oggi is serving up the finest Aperol Spritz ratios on Pirie Street in Adelaide. But pair it with a salumi appetiser and mouth-watering Bucatini (with Adelaide Hills pine mushrooms and shaved Tasmanian truffles) and you have yourself the most delectable date night. Pasta is made in the kitchen daily.
SANTINI BAR & GRILL, PERTH
Acknowledged for its geek-level risotto-making skills, Santini has been stamped a rockstar restaurant among the Perth dining scene. Wonderful cookery aside, Santini’s dim lights and palpable glamour are a huge part of its mise-en-scéne; a Sinatra vibe if you will, the ideal aside to your Aperol and orange wedge. Located inside the QT Hotel on Murray Street, it’s concept was designed by veteran restaurateur Robert Marchetti who owned Bondi Icebergs, North Bondi Italian and Seminyak Italian.
BECCOFINO, BRISBANE
Finally, an upper-class bistro open beyond Bingo hour. You haven’t quite experienced a traditionally Italian Sunday afternoon without an Aperol Spritz and a Beccofino famous thin pizza. Cooked in their wood-fired oven, the restaurant adopts traditional Italian style cooking with less toppings than the Australian palette is used to. Yes, in this big business of pizza, less is more. Unless of course, you’re talking about Aperol; only then is more is more is more.
ROSETTA, MELBOURNE
Hello Neil Perry, it’s nice to see you again. The famed chef plays with truffle like never before at this Melbourne establishment. Order up on the Aperol Spritzes at this place and the Risotto with Fontina cheese, roasted Jerusalem artichokes and shaved truffles. Or go for the Handmade ‘Tajarin’ (long Spaghetti-like egg pasta) with truffle butter and freshly shaved black truffle. The plush dining room setting at Southbank only makes this choice extra spectacular. That and the generous truffle shave.
Drink responsibly.
