Papa’s Pizza & Pasta Restaurant
Shop 17 St Ives Shopping Village
166 Mona Vale Rd
St Ives, Sydney
We’re always on the hunt for new places, and new Italian places are a particularly huge attraction. We were browsing and came across papa’s and decided to pay them a visit. Obviously things are a little different during current times but they play things particularly safe here. Tables are spread out, sign-in rules apply, all staff have face masks and there’s lots of hand sanitiser around. Everyone here has continued to work hard though to create a friendly and relaxed atmosphere - and it shows.
Mlady said no but Sir prevailed (this time) and we ordered some garlic bread. It was a good sized serving of three pieces and it tasted great. The beautiful smell as it arrives at the table is worth ordering it alone. This was a nicely balanced one too and not overpowering.
Pasta and prawns are a regular choice for Sir. He looooves this. This dish was gamberi olio with fettuccine (you can vary the pasta you choose for each dish too). This had tiger prawns with a mix of chilli, extra virgin olive oil, garlic and basil. Having pasta without a tomato or creamy sauce is sometimes foreign to some but it works so well. This dish had plenty of plump prawns and lovely flavours.
Mlady went for the lasagne which came with chips and salad. It was a massive serving that filled the plate from side to side. The flavours were great too.
Italian food for us usually means red wine. This was no exception and we grabbed a few glasses of Shiraz and sipped away.
Although we were quite full, the board with dessert choices was right next to us and hard to ignore. Mlady was very full so went with the lightest choice, the affogato. The three glasses arrived - one with vanilla ice cream, one with a shot of hot coffee and one with Frangelico. She did the rest, simply pouring the coffee and Frangelico on top of the ic e cream, creating a tasty alcohol based coffee ice cream mix. It’s a great combination and such a good way to finish an Italian meal.
Sir went for their tiramisu which came in a large serving with cream and ice cream at the side and a fresh strawberry garnish. The tiramisu was light and delicate and had a great creamy coffee taste to it.
They have a range of drinks here too with a very visible stocked bar. They also have aperol spritz available too - something we would definitely have had if it’d been a bit warmer.
We left papa’s Pizza & Pasta restaurant very satisfied. The service was great, the portions large and the quality and tastes is very good. This is a great addition to Sydney’s Italian dining scene.