Whether it’s pizza with the family or something a little more fancy, these are the restaurants, cafes and bars the Aussie actress keeps returning to.
Italian food is a subject close to Australian actress Pia Miranda’s heart, so sharing her passion for it came easily when she recently joined chef Matt Moran on his SBS TV series Memory Bites to recreate the nostalgic dishes from her childhood.
Miranda has fond memories of spending time in the kitchen with her Nonna Angelina in Melbourne, preparing Easter feasts, making traditional Italian doughnuts and devouring her artichoke dishes.
“I love people cooking for me, and that’s why I immediately said yes to being a guest on Matt Moran’s show,” she says.
“I love eating and love artichokes – they’re the ideal dish for me, and Matt puts his own twist on stuffed artichokes, which is really lovely. He also made me a soup and cooked me a beautiful Italian meal which is a nice indulgence.”
Best known for her breakout role as Josie Alibrandi in the 2000 Australian film Looking for Alibrandi, the Melbourne actress has since gone on to win Australian Survivor and loves to dine out with friends and family, with Italian food often a focus.
Eating in
My signature dish
It’s usually pasta, but I was given a new pizza oven for my birthday last year, so now it’s pizza. I love a simple topping of prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, basil and chilli flakes. I also love vegetarian pizza with artichokes, capers and olives.
My guilty pleasure
One habit I can’t kick is Coke Zero. I just love it. I figure I am pretty healthy, so this is my weakness.
Kitchen wisdom
Use the olive oil as a moisturiser. I always lather myself in olive oil while I am cooking. I am also a clean-as-you-go person.
Eating out
My favourite Melbourne restaurants
For a fancy romantic night out with my husband Luke, it’s the Italian restaurant Tipo 00 in the city. I order rigatoni and ricotta-crumbed pasta.
When we get the whole family together – on my side – with my sister, we have a huge family lunch at Papa Gino’s in Carlton. We order a capricciosa pizza and a Napoli pasta plus a chicken schnitzel and garlic bread. It’s cheap and cheerful and so fun. We have been going here since I was a kid.
I also like Leonardo’s Pizza Palace in Carlton, and it’s always the jalapeno pizza.
Grill Americano – for the tiramisu at the end, it’s a standard thing to do. Even though I don’t love dessert much, I have it here.
An old-school pick is T. Cavallaro & Sons [in Footscray]. They are so nice, a family business that makes the best cannoli. I highly recommend the custard filling and especially love the ricotta-filled ones.
Favourite hometown cafe
Greenwich Deli in Newport makes great New York-style sandwiches and toasties. I love their tuna melts. My husband and I drop in after a dog walk and have a toasted sandwich together. They’re as good as what you’d find in Prahran Market, but cheaper because it’s westside!
On the weekends, I love to go to La Manna in Essendon Fields – sometimes you can get a coffee, and they put pistachio crema in it as well.
I do like going to Brunetti in Lygon Street for coffee and a cake as well – that’s another weakness.
Barkley Johnson in Yarraville is a beautiful bar where I will drink wine with the girls on a Friday afternoon before school pick-up. We sit down at the back and eat cheese and drink wines by the glass. They had fabulous Italian and French wines here.
My secret spot
The Circle Lebanese Pizza [in Altona North] is fantastic. We always go there for takeaway authentic Lebanese. There’s also a fabulous butcher, Gugliotta & Sons, on Blackshaws Road. They sell some great cuts of meat, they’re friendly, they wear berets, and it’s not expensive like butchers in the fancy eastern suburbs – so come west and fill up your freezer bag.
Favourite Sydney spots
Bar Italia in Norton Street [in Leichhardt] is one of my favourite places to eat in Australia. It stirs all the nostalgia for me because it reminds me of moving to Sydney for the first time to work on Looking for Alibrandi. I always order a simple pasta, lots of white bread with butter, and crunchy salad. I often go for a tomato, salty pasta dish like a puttanesca. When we were filming Looking for Alibrandi in the ’90s, we’d hold all of our meetings there every week. I still love to go back when I crave that beautiful memory.
I love Pellegrino 2000 in Surry Hills. They make old-style artichokes – the kind you find only in Rome. Taylor Swift dined there when she came to town, but I was like, I went there first [laughs]. They have smaller snacks on the menu and great wines too.
I like 10 William St [in Paddington]. We order the classic whipped [bottarga] pretzel, focaccia, and the fried prawns and the spaghetti with meatballs are fantastic, too.
My friend Janine Ellis [the founder of Boost Juice] lives in the northern beaches and we often go to Barrenjoey House [in Palm Beach] and do a lot of share plates. The last time we were there, we shared a crab linguine, fresh oysters, zucchini flowers and crab toast, and my daughter Lily ate salt and pepper squid. We also order a serve of seasonal greens and a salad.
Love Tilly Devine is a cute bar [in Darlinghurst] where I have been for a drink in Sydney. I am not a pub person because they’re so loud, but I do love the intimacy of this space. I ordered a martini here. I also like to go to hotel lobby bars like Crown Sydney for a martini. It feels international.
I always recommend a bakery on the road trip from Sydney to Melbourne. Stop at Holbrook Bakery in NSW for the best chicken and salad roll – not a sandwich! It’s the best you’ll ever eat in your life. It’s old-school, and everything is grated, crispy and cold. Beautiful baked bread and great customer service.
My favourite food city
My favourite place for food is the Aeolian Islands. The food here reminds me of my late Nonna and the dishes she used to make. Rent an e-bike in Vulcano and enjoy fresh seafood at every turn. In Lipari, I recommend A Sartania for the best pasta vongole and Ciaurimari where I ate regularly and ordered fish of the day and calamari − it was pan-fried in flour, and you could taste the seawater.
There’s lots of oranges here, too. I ate a slice of orange with cheese and an anchovy on top which sounds disgusting, but was so incredible. I also stayed at a place called Hotel Tritone, which is beautiful.
Whenever I am in Milan, I go to Ristorante Da Giacomo. I am heading back there in September with my family. I ate an artichoke pasta which was literally the best thing I have ever eaten in my life − I ate it so slowly just to savour every moment.
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Jane Rocca is a regular contributor to Sunday Life Magazine, Executive Style, The Age EG, columnist and features writer at Domain Review, Domain Living’s Personal Space page. She is a published author of four books.Connect via Twitter or email.
