NOW EXPERIENCING:La Madonna Nera
Drinks Directory|Date night|Restaurant|Bar

La Madonna Nera

1/155 Scarborough Beach Road, Mount Hawthorn, WA, 6016
Phone
0467 522 244
Website
lamadonnanera.com.au
Instagram
@la_madonna_nera_v

Read time 3 Mins

Posted 06 Mar 2025

By
Max Veenhuyzen

Some of the wines on offer at La Madonna Nera in Perth

Taste the bittersweet life at this neighbourhood wine bar specialising in Italy’s amari and a compelling line-up of the country’s lesser-seen eats.

The amari selection at La Madonna Nera is impressive
Why you goIt’s no secret that Australia has the hots for Italo-drinks culture. From our new-found love of (Aperol) Spritzes to a long-standing appreciation of Chianti, Barolo and other classic Italian wine styles, ours is a nation fascinated with the red, white and green. Could amari – herbal, bittersweet liqueurs that are traditionally taken as a digestive – be our next Italian drinks crush? Fiona Di Lanzo, owner of this engaging inner-city wine bar specialising in amari, reckons so. In readiness, she’s assembled a line-up of more than 50 amari that captures the diversity of these wondrous elixirs.
Why you stayLa Madonna Nera’s raffish good looks speak to Fiona’s past life as an interior designer. Here, lovers, is a date-night-ready spot where Italianate trinkets evoke memories of visiting your nonna and nonno. The communal table anchoring the room, meanwhile, also conjures a sense of the familial. Service is appropriately warm and grown-up. If engaged staff aren’t tableside with guests, they’re behind the bar pouring drinks or relaying messages and plates to and from the open kitchen. Put this all together and the result is a neighbourhood watering hole that covers all bases from a quick bite and a beverage to an all-out wining and dining experience.
Bar seating and specials boards at La Madonna Nera in Perth
Serving amaro at La Madonna Nera in Perth
What drink to orderJust as every corner of Italy boasts its own pastas and regional specialties, amaro styles across Italy come in all shapes, weights and flavour profiles. Take Montenegro, for instance. Distilled in Bologna in Italy’s north, this liqueur is prized for its citric sweetness and can be enjoyed as is and in cocktails. By comparison, Fernet-Branca is a powerfully medicinal love-it-or-hate-it amaro that divides and delights in equal measures. Lean on staff for recommendations or ask them to make up a tasting flight for you. Or take a peep at the chalkboard menus for details on the current Italian and local wines – with a focus on organic – being poured.
What to eatIf a person drinks an amaro in the forest but there’s no food in their body to be digested, does the amaro make a sound? Thankfully, La Madonna Nera’s concise, fluid menu of lesser-seen Italian cookery ensures eating here is no chore. The Sicilian broad-bean soup maccu gets reworked as more of a dip and would go great guns with Soave or any other fresh Italian white, along with the house-baked focaccia. (The focaccia goes great with everything, really.) A ragù of fall-apart braised goat brings rustic “handkerchiefs” of fazzoletti pasta to life. Vegetables are one of the kitchen’s fortes and come in raw, cooked and pickled versions.
A bowl of pasta at La Madonna Nera in Perth
Who to takeFor anyone with a taste for all things bitter, vegetal or herbal, La Madonna Nera might well be your new happy place. Otherwise, come with an open mind and get yourself a slice of la dolce vita that isn’t all that well known outside the Old Country. Yet. But regardless of where you’re at on your amaro journey, La Madonna Nera ticks a lot of suburban (Italian) bar and eatery boxes including the offer of weekly Tuesday night pasta specials. Our infatuation with Italy continues apace.
Authour image
Max VeenhuyzenMax Veenhuyzen is a Perth food, drink and travel journalist who contributes to key Australian publications.
Tags
Drinks DirectoryOutdoor areaPerthAfter work drinksMeal and a bevCasual catch-upVego Food OptionsRestaurantA+ spirits listTop notch wine listBarFancy occasionWheelchair accessibleDate nightSpecialty Bar
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