Testun Bar — Restaurant in Mount Lawley

Overall Testun is a lively place but the music is way too loud and the food is nearly inedible.

We had the crudo, tartare, prawn fusiloni pasta and the Vegemite truffle pasta.

Fish crudo 6.5/0 and beef tartare 6/10: The crudo and tartare were quite nice. They had a different flavour profile from what we have had in other restaurants. Would possibly order them again and I am sure they had a lot of work put into them. They were well made and had finesse.

The pastas were unfortunately completely the opposite: Prawn fusiloni 4/10: The prawns in the fusiloni dish were chopped into mince like sizes and therefore, from the amount we had in the dish, we can only think we had about 1-2 prawns worth of meat in there. The sauce was so watery that it did not coat the pasta and the overall taste was confused and salty. We could not taste any of listed ingredients like chilli and fennel. It was a blend that gave an overall salty feel and it was not a cohesive dish at all.

Tuffle porcini vegemite pasta 1/10: The vegemite truffle pasta was the reason we went to the restaurant in the first place. We were very excited and had high hopes. Once again the main ingredient, porcini mushroom, was cut into such small pieces we were searching for them at the bottom of the dish. To their credit, there was a substanial amount of truffle on the dish. The flavour however was so salty that it was inedible. The overpowering flavour was vegemite and unfortunately it was not balanced. We all love vegemite as much as the next Aussie however, when it's being used in a dish with other very umami strong ingredients, it can be so overpowering. We had to return this dish as none of us could eat more than a few pieces of pasta.

When we attempted to return the dish and have it removed from our bill, we were met with a friendly staff member who had good intentions, but came across as quite defensive. After they removed the dish from the bill, they stayed at our table for some time explaining that it the flavour was normal and alluded to the idea that our palates were to blame and that they were not as refined as their other customers. Just because no one has complained about a dish, it does not imply that the dish was good. The staff member also suggested that the next time we want to order something like this, we should think about our tastes first and see if it's appropriate for us. I wasn't very happy with this exchange with the staff member but we understand their good intentions and the requirements in doing their job.

Overall, we would rate Testun a 5/10. We will not be returning as the larger portions of food were just not up to scratch and the response to feedback could have been a lot kinder and more...

How could such a so-called “restaurant” still running in Perth? Unbelievably shocking!! I CAN cook and I am a good home cook. Meanwhile we eat at the restaurants in North Bridge or Victoria Park often! I had a very disappointing experience to the food here: a very few options from the menu.

The price doesn’t match the real dish itself at all, it’s a joke to serve to the public like that! If you charge $29 for an octopus dish, please make your cook worths the price you charged—having the salad on the side, increase the potion, making it looks like an Italian dish from a restaurant… but no, this dish was just casual homemade food like a daily life at home! And unbelievably, some customers gave the positive comments about the food itself with that prices! I feel sorry for ppl who doesn’t know how to cook and knowing the value of the money to get what matches! It’s difficult to understand the menu, you just didn’t know what ingredients were in a dish! They should not charge that prices! We paid $88 for two pasta—plain! One actually was a kid’s pasta——as simple as only having 3 ingredients: plain pasta, olive oil, cheese (a primary student can cook like that; and I make a better one at home); the other pasta was tomato base——too simple to not go wrong to anyone who can’t cook! Those two pasta dish were homemade standard, not the restaurant’s standard, therefore, you should not charge them as the restaurant price!

The only protein dish was ONE lonely skewer of the octopus, it was charged $29, and it was covered by thin sliced of the cheese (one skewer was too tiny put on a plate, so covering it was a good idea).

The last one was: four slices of bread as the starter (a common one loaf bread shaped), that’s it, for $88, embarrassing! With $88 I can have a better experience in any another restaurants I had in Perth! The restaurant like this should not still be open, such an insult to ppl who can cook and knowing the better value of the money to match the dishes they ordered!!! I won’t go back even it’s for free, and the kitchen should be closed (the bar can keep running) It is way below the restaurant standard, and it is just a causal home cook standard, but it charges as the restaurant standard, so wrong.

It is a joke as it is still running as a restaurant, Gordon Ramsay should have the kitchen...

Since its inception the team at this creative and kinda crazy locale have been working hard. Continuously adapting, they have this ability to manage each packed out dinner service with a cheeky grin whilst delivering more sparkling or topping up that chilled red before you know you need it. You’re never left waiting, and always entertained.

The dirty martinis are balanced and filthy, the pastas always hit that nostalgic itch but are twisted to new depths of flavour with things like tuna crudo, roe or Vegemite. Plus I truly believe Testun started the “let’s put yum random things on hashbrowns” trend in Perth and I’m so grateful because one of those yakiniku topped crispy potatoes has saved me from many a hangover and is always complimented by a follow up of the tartare, which is usually an imaginative and somewhat insane interpretation by the chefs, always salty, sweet, sour and savoury at the same time and blowing traditional tartare out of the water.

I could rant on about how interesting, exciting and quality the food is, but the knowledge, dedication and talent of the team there is indisputable at this point. We know the food is good, the food is great.

I think the thing that holds fast about Testun is the community it’s created.

Testun has turned into a second home for my partner and I, we instinctively pop in every fortnight or so, roughly, for when the menus are updated. It’s a staple in our diet and our most consistent food group. The team have become our close friends, always willing to sneak in a complimentary limoncello (ask for the house-made it’s delicious yet nuclear).

Grazie to the team for bringing so much life to the Beaufort street strip and creating fare that’s delicious and never boring. There’s always something new to discover in this little Italo joint and it’s why their community...