“For us, being Italian is all about the quality of things. It’s not about quantity. It’s about how much love you put into your drinks, it’s about how much love you put in your food. Because food is a way of healing as well for us.”
“You know, food heals relationships, food heals family, food heals wounds – whether spiritual or physical, regardless, it heals wounds. When mum and I fight, I’ll reach out to her, ‘Do you want to have some dinner?’ Or she’ll reach out to me and she’ll be like, ‘I made you a plate of pasta.’”
“It’s our love language – it’s how we tell people we love them, but without actually telling them we love them.”
It’s a searingly hot afternoon when we visit Monelli. Ahead of its opening, the Burns Beach restaurant is a cool, quiet reprieve – wide ribbons of fabric gently rippling above us in shades of cream and sage.
We’re sitting down with Eleonora Patrizi, who has joined forces with her parents Cinzia Di Pio and Ezio Patrizi to open the restaurant. The cosmopolitan family has bounced all over the world, from their home bases in Rome and Sydney to stints in Dubai – before eventually moving into the neighbourhood back in 2018, when they first spotted the unique plot of land sandwiched between a park and the fragrant scrub of the Burns Beach dunes.
“Monelli itself means mischievous rascals. We got the name from our dog, actually: his name is Rocco, he’s a cavoodle, and he’s the cutest little thing… But he’s such a rascal, such a naughty boy. So my dad, when he talks to him, he goes, ‘Non fare monello. Smetti, non fare monello!’ which means, ‘Stop it, don’t be mischievous, don’t be naughty!’”
“Monelli is a love letter to a 40 year journey that started when my parents first met. They’ve met in 1984, mama? Oh, in 1985, there you go!”
“Mum and dad met in Rome,” continues Eleonora. “They got married quickly after. Mum was raised in Sydney, so they moved back. My grandfather had two restaurants in Sydney, so hospitality has always been a big background for our family.”
“And then we met Luca [Minetti]: Luca is incredible. He was executive chef of Print Hall, he worked as head chef at Volare. He worked in St. Barts, and grew up, culinarily, in Paris for eight years. He’s incredible, and he really resonates with what we wanted to do with Monelli – which was staying true to our culinary heritage.”
“We wanted to bring a piece of our childhood, a piece of our home to the northern suburbs – because we live in Ocean Reef, like two seconds away from here!” says Eleonora.
“We love home. We love our country. We love our food – I think that’s the biggest thing that we miss about home as well. Meals and dishes that aren’t just made well, aren’t just made with love, but they also make you feel a specific way.”
“We’re from Rome. My dad’s family is from Naples. Mom’s family is from Sardinia. So we’re all Southern Italian: very, very loud. Very, very noisy. Very, very obnoxious! Which is such a distinction because Monelli is so elegant, very calm…”
“We’re all loud, obnoxious, weird… But I wouldn’t have it any other way. And that’s what we kind of wanted the ambience to be, somewhere where you can also share that with your own family.”
Loud, rambunctious family-style Italian might make you think of classic red sauce joints, with checkered table cloths and straw-wrapped Chianti bottles – but in this case, think more coastal elegance, cool hues of green, white linens and refined plates.
“We really want our menu to just be quite refreshing, summery – something that reflects the coast. The best way to put it is that the coast is always changing, the sea is always changing, seasons are always changing, so we want to focus on something that reflects the changes and textures of nature. Something that is fresh, crisp, sour, soft: different textures, different shapes, different flavours, different accents.”
“It’s a mixture of northern and southern [Italian cuisine],” adds Cinzia.
“We will have some dishes that we do in Rome, because we’re from Rome. Luca’s from the north-north, practically in the border with France. Then our other sous chef, he’s from Naples. Every region has their own different ways of doing it, like carbonara and amatriciana, gricia and cacio e pepe are from Rome. Tortellini are from Bologna, this ravioli is from the north – it’s all so mixed, you know, but it’s all incredibly tasty. Yum!”
Both Cinzia and Eleonora are particularly excited for one dish in particular: a freshly-made pasta that they both shared for lunch earlier that day.
“It was amazing!” Eleonora enthusiastically tells us.
“It’s called agnolotti del plin, kind of like ravioli, they’re rectangles – but they’re called agnolotti del plin because they get pinched. They have a pumpkin and ricotta filling, in a sage, truffle, butter and lemon zest sauce.”
“We’re also incorporating some things that are from home: for example, from 2 to 5 we have aperitivo service. Aperitivo, if you’ve ever been to Italy, in Milan and in Rome – you just sit down and have a nice glass of wine or a cocktail with your girlfriends, order some share plates and just talk, talk, talk, talk, talk.“
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Given the proximity to both the beach and the neighbouring playground, it makes sense that Monelli won’t limit their hours to just dinner – in fact, they’ll be swinging open the doors from 6.30am for breakfast and coffee, and plans are in motion to introduce free yoga classes on the lawn.
Other plans are a little further away – eventually, they’d like to expand their alfresco, as well as to make the most of their coastal location with a premium private dining offering: “Monelli by the water”, as Eleonora puts it, which will offer a private chef and butler on the beach itself for extra special occasions like proposals and birthdays.
“The best way I can describe it is Monelli is paying tribute to our culinary heritage, our country’s craftsmanship, and our food. In the most fun and innovative and modern way.”
“And it’s keeping real and true to the traditions that have followed us our entire lives – but doing that in a way that challenges the scene here in Perth, because as Luca said, Perth is always evolving. Perth is probably the most versatile city that I have ever seen: it’s constantly evolving, constantly there to challenge expectations, to provide new opportunities and growth, and that’s exactly what Monelli is.”
Monelli is scheduled to open on Saturday, March 1, and is located at 59 Beachside Drive, Burns Beach.
Dining and Cooking