Pizza and pasta perfection! – Eat Drink West

The neighbourhood trattoria with something for everyone.

NINE-month-old Beppe Kitchen & Bar is a restaurant “Daylesford was missing.”

Co-owner Samantha Mackley said the new neighbourhood trattoria on the corner of Raglan and Wombat streets is a space she wanted to see in the town, settled amongst little houses and leafy trees.

“There was nowhere you could consistently go to get beautiful Italian food, like Neapolitan style pizza and handmade pasta,” she said. “So we created this experience that we would enjoy.”

Beppe caters for everyone. Tables in the window covered with crisp table clothes are ideal for special occasions or date nights, while the pizza bar is more casual.

“If you can’t be bothered cooking for the night, you can come out for a quick pizza and a wine.

“There’s lots of outdoor dining now too, thanks to COVID,” Ms Mackley said.

The kitchen’s pasta, bread and dough are all made in-house, and every pizza is Neapolitan style, cooked in the woodfired oven.

“We serve a Beppe sauce with every pizza, which is a delicious creamy sauce for dipping those big puffy pizza crusts into.

“Our wine list has a strong emphasis on the Western region, as well as Italian wines, and beer on tap,” Ms Mackley said.

“We have a really big takeaway pizza and wine trade as well.”

The building’s side laneway leads to a mini pick-up point where this trade is done.

“If you’re just getting takeaway, you don’t have to worry about coming into the restaurant, past the tables where people are having dinner.

“If you’ve been working on the farm all day, or don’t want to see people, you can duck down the laneway and pickup a pizza through the window there,” Ms Mackley said.

This summer, her favourite side is coming back to the menu, utilising and celebrating the flavours of quality regional producers.

“I’m really excited to see our summer Caprese salad back, which has beautiful tomatoes from Florian’s farm; Mount Franklin Organics.

“I’ll only make that with his tomatoes,” Ms Mackley laughed. “In the next couple of months, they will be ripe and ready to eat to make up that salad.

“We work really closely with the producers around here.”