Perth’s re-emerging food landscape has seen precincts like Mt’s Hawthorn and Lawley surge to the fore in foodie surprises. Staple and slick venues like Lupo Lab, Spritz and Birraz have a solid heritage of serving superb Italian fare.
But the biggest surprise for us was new kid on the block Testun on Beaufort street. The tiny, bright and colourful room seats about twenty in a pinch and has more of a cafe feel than a fully fledged resto.
We were the first in and chose to sit at the window bench and watch the world go by - a bit like Freo fave Mrs Brown just with food. We had done no research and did not know what to expect.
The shortish menu punches well above its weight - pasta, lamb, goat and a swag of veg offerings also.
We chose the house-baked Focaccia, Testun Frittatina di Pasta, Lamb Spiedino with charred veg, and the roasted Brussel Sprouts.
The wine list reflects the owners passion for true Italian wines - orange varietals, edgy whites and robust Abruzzo reds. We both decided on the Cantina Margo trebbiano from Umbria and ordered just as the bread arrived.
The focaccia was a small high loaf not unlike the loaves you see in the bakery and beautifully nutty and semi sweet.
The trebbiano and pasta arrived at the same time, the service is very quick here.
The pasta dish, translated as pasta omelet, was actually a small rectangle made from crushed pasta and eggs to form a hard outer layer. When cut open pasta, in this case penne, and a luscious pasta sauce oozed out. Think lasagne pie…
The dish was as delicious as it was unique.
The lamb skewers appeared and were a beautifully presented dish. Glossy, fragrant lamb pieces sitting on a bed of fab charred carrots, onion, all nestled on wilted cavalo nero.
The lamb was melt in your mouth tender and wonderfully flavoured.
The dish of roasted Brussel sprouts dressed with raisins, pine nuts, balsamic and pecorino was amazing.
We were chatting with one of the serving staff and she said they had only been open for four days! I would have said four years such is the high quality food, service and vibe.
Tetsun is a must do for a lazy weekend lunch.
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