La Sosta Fremantle review: April Ooi visits Market Street Italian restaurant for octopus carpaccio, tiramisu

In my opinion, you can never go wrong with taking a date night recommendation from a friend. If it’s good, that is an obvious win. But if it’s bad, at least I’ve someone else to blame it on. A friend of mine recently visited La Sosta in Fremantle and could not stop yapping about it. So I decided to take a chance, and I was not disappointed. The dining space is inviting, with wooden beams and soft lighting creating a relaxed yet sophisticated atmosphere. The energy strikes a nice balance between casual and refined. We kicked things of with the carpaccio di polipo (octopus carpaccio, $24). The octopus had transformed into thin, translucent slices laid flat in an artistic formation akin to something you might see hanging up in the Art Gallery of Western Australia. I liked the capers and fennel as a garnish, and overall the dish was balanced and impressive. We weren’t going to order another entree, but we saw a table getting a coiled sausage on a spit, and we couldn’t help our curiosity. The Salsiccia luganega della casa’s ($23) meat was rich and dripped its juices on a bed of sauteed red cabbage. For my main, I decided the pappardelle al ragu di agnello e tartufo in the entree size ($28) would be enough, seeing as my boyfriend said he’d share his cinghiale in Salmi — braised wild boar ($45). The pappardelle texture was the highlight. It was slightly chewy and had an exciting unevenness to it that you can only get from handmade pasta. The thick lamb ragu was tender and earthy. However, I enjoyed the boar even more, and ended up swapping it for my pasta. The salty gravy over the soft boar was such a simple yet successful combination. I loved the creamy mashed potato, and the meat had an enjoyable gaminess that wasn’t overpowering. For dessert, I had heard the tiramisu ($17) was fabulous — and it did not disappoint. It had a subtle coffee kick, but it was mostly straight-up chocolate. My boyfriend had the panna cotta ($17), which had a thicker texture to it, like cheesecake. I prefer the jiggly pudding kind, but this was a nice sweet treat to end the meal. La Sosta may not reinvent the wheel when it comes to Italian cuisine, but it delivers authentic, high-quality dishes with flair and attention to detail. It’s an impressive date night spot and I’ll be giving props to my friend’s tastebuds for picking a winner. La Sosta 1/85 Market Street, Fremantle OPEN Wednesday-Thursday 5pm-9pm; Friday-Sunday 11.45am-9pm CONTACT 9335 9193, lasosta.net.au BOOKINGS Yes THE VERDICT Well thought-out modern Italian plates in a charming location. 15/20