Siena's Mt Lawley

Mt Lawley's perennial favourite

For almost a decade, Siena's Mount Lawley has been a favourite for great Italian pizza and pasta in Perth, but they are also much more than this. Having become somewhat of a landmark in one of the city's trendiest suburbs, Siena's boasts great food, friendly service and fair prices. With a new menu for summer, the restaurant's new manager Leone Radici says they are ready to turn the stereotypes attached to Italian restaurants up side down.

From Wednesday to Sunday, Siena's is open for lunch. Leone told me that thanks to their central location, they get a wide variety of patrons, from friends catching up, to business meetings. This diversity of diners really struck me as I sat in the courtyard, salivating over the food they presented.

As part of their efforts to stray away from the expectations of an Italian restaurant, Leone and his team have put a lot of thought into creating a new, vibrant menu. Don't panic though, they have kept all the favourites, but there are a few dishes, such as the Siena's Tasting Plate, that give the restaurant a more modern Australian feel, as opposed to traditional Italian. With over 80 choices available on the menu, deciding what to order is certainly a challenge - but I think it's a challenge I can handle.

The Tasting Plate is the perfect dish to order if it's your first visit to Siena's, because it's a teaser for about five other meals. It includes homemade grissini bread, meatballs, marinated fetta, olives and vegetables, calamari fritti, sauté sausage and marinated octopus, and is great to share with someone else. The presentation shows off the fresh ingredients, and I really liked the juxtaposition of the subtly flavoured calamari with the spicy sausage, alongside the fresh, crisp salad.

Next up was the Spaghetti Marinara. Being someone who readily admits I could live on spaghetti and pasta, I'm naturally biased towards this dish, and it's no surprise that this was my favourite. Served in a slightly spicy tomato sauce and topped with fresh seafood, the Spaghetti Marinara is a winner on all accounts, and it's obvious to see why this dish was kept on the new menu. It's got a gentle punch with a bit of spice, but the sauce isn't too rich, like some can be. It's cheekily presented with the mussels standing to attention like soldiers around the spaghetti - I loved it.

We were then treated to Siena's most popular pizza - Quattro Stagioni, which means "four seasons." It is a very traditional dish, consisting of tomato, mozzarella, basil, artichokes, mushrooms, capsicum and Italian sausage. In Italy, the main ingredients are usually separated into four corners, and patrons mix them accordingly. Siena's have taken this messy work away for you, by mixing the plentiful toppings. I'm very picky when it comes to pizza, probably because I've had so many bad ones, but I am a big fan of the Quattro Stagioni now. The toppings were fresh, it wasn't at all greasy, and the homemade pizza base was light and literally melted in your mouth.

Finally, it was time for some serious meat. Leone presented us with the Filetto Mare Monti, which is a tender chargrilled beef fillet, topped with king prawns in a light mushroom sauce. This is a great meal for the bloke within. Like all of Siena's dishes, the serving size is generous. The mushroom sauce is wonderfully complimentary to both the beef and the prawns, and it is served on chunky mashed potato - perfect if you want a hearty meal. The Siena's house red set off the rich taste of the beef and sauce beautifully.

Siena's have an exciting dessert menu, which includes daily changing cakes and ice creams. I've never seen so many heads turn when one of the waitresses served an amazing looking sundae style treat to a table - it was irresistible. With over 15 flavours of Gelati ice cream to choose from, you can either go for the good ol' ice cream in a cone, or venture into one of their more exotic desserts, like the Coppa Pinocchio, which looks like a rocket about to take off, with a waffle cone stuck right in the middle of the mountain of delicious ice cream.

Siena's remains one of Mount Lawley's busiest and most popular places to dine. Whether it is for a five-course meal, coffee and cake, or just to indulge in some Gelati ice-cream, Siena 's caters for every patron. With personable and welcoming staff, I'm sure Siena's will become one of your favourites soon too.

By Tiffany Wertheimer