Mummucc

When Tania Nicolo and Ryan Bookless opened Monsterella in late 2016, they had little idea how popular the suburban pizzeria would become. Mummucc’ (say it "MA-mooch"), a 60-person small bar the couple opened in early 2019 just three doors down from Monsterella, rivals the mothership for deliciousness and casual Italianate good times.

Save for an eight-person solid teak table, most of the seating is designed for couples and small groups. Banquette seats hug the wall. The bar has a handful of comfortable stools. Round tables cleverly mounted onto a concrete bench provide al fresco options. A portrait of Anna de Laurentis, Nicolo’s grandmother as well as the bar’s namesake – mummucc’ means mother in Abruzzese and was the name everyone in the Italian community knew de Laurentis as – hangs by the entrance.

Although it’s possible to get Monsterella pizza delivered, the bar’s food offering warrants serious consideration. Matt McDonald, the former chef at Monsterella, has written a tight menu that keeps things straightforward and delicious. Start with antipasti and sourdough toasts of wood-smoked sardine and pickled vegetables before diving fork-first into thick-cut beef tartare with a spicy 'nduja cream or pastas such as spaghetti con vongole (as it is at the mothership, Nicolo’s mother Maria hand-makes all the pasta).

The drinks list sticks to the same Italian-Australian script as the menu and features small-scale West Australian and Italian producers. (The list isn’t exclusively “natural” but features a smattering of minimal-intervention wines). Otherwise, there’s a selection of tap beers plus Italian aperitifs and digestifs.