The Western Australian capital is now a hive of activity, thanks to an influx of hotels and restaurants that includes the newly welcomed QT Perth. The sleekly designed space has not only provided the city with a luxe way to enjoy a staycation (or for visitors to rest their heads) but has brought along with it Perth’s most recent Italian venue, Santini Bar & Grill.

Santini Bar & Grill has now just been open three months, but has already proven itself a rising star of Perth’s food scene. The Mediterranean-favouring menu comes courtesy of Executive Chef Nic Wood and QT Hotels & Resorts’ Creative Food Director Robert Marchetti. Over the past twelve months the duo crafted a menu which revolves around local growers and producers, cooked up in dishes inspired by traditional Italian flavours.

Marchetti believes the team is an unbeatable one. “After launching two incredibly successful QT signature restaurants with Nic, I knew there was no better chef to head up the QT Perth kitchen. Having spent most of his life in WA, Nic is in touch with the local flavours and produce, and is committed to delivering the very best hospitality to the local Perth community,” he explains. Wood agrees: “Being back in my home town, I wanted to create a concept that celebrated food from the sun, using amazing WA produce. Guests can expect an abundance of flavour and dishes that are paired back, as they were intended.”

Unadorned local produce is at the heart of the menu, which boasts signatures including Bistecca Fiorentina (a sea salt-crusted t-bone cooked over wood and lava rock) and a Cacio e Pepe Clam pizza accompanied by 24 months aged pecorino, mozzarella, burrata and spiced pancetta. Of course the Italian influence has also pervaded the desserts menu, where a 1988 recipe for classic tiramisu mingles with a blood orange and Campari granita.

Santini Bar & Grill is open for breakfast and dinner seven days a week, and for lunch on Wednesday to Friday. It sits within the QT Perth, 133 Murray Street, Perth; santinibarandgrill.com.au.