+39 Pizzeria & Degustation Bar - Melbourne - 362 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne

Danger alert everyone - a vegan was coming to dinner.

The last time I felt this sort of stress was when I had to cook for a vegan back in my uni days, now I was tasked with finding a place to eat with something edible.

Thank god he is only a part time vegan so will eat mozzarella if he has to.

I had heard many good things about +39.  A rainy night and one of the few places with streams of people coming in and out, just like Rome.

This place is all about the pizza and seriously it is up with the best around town.

The vegan ate hot chips - quite rightly he is an expert on hot chips and reckons these flat potato chip styled-ones were very good. Having said that his partner did remind us that he will say anything is beautiful even if it is terrible - vegans can't be choosers.

He also ordered a broccoli pizza which sounds bland but was actually very tasty.

The best pizza was the bufala, simply home made tomato salsa, mozzarella and basil. The pizza base perfectly thin and there was some magic in the tomato.

Have all the pizza you want but you gotta try the lasagne.  Hands down below zero it is the best lasagne I have ever had in my life. It is a major call and I am a bit reluctant to go public with this one as I have always branded my aunty's as the best.

This lasagne had pork, beef and veal ragu with egg, peas, mozzarella and parmesan. Don't be put off by the egg, it adds a mild creaminess. I have been dreaming about this dish all week and could go back every night of the week.

My aunty still makes the best home-made lasagne, so she still has a first place.

The gelati for dessert was great but the pastry of the cannoli was way too chewy.

The service is not the slickest and sometimes it feels like the waitress is standing like a dear in headlights wondering what to do with the left over pizza, but it suits the casualness and italianness of the place.            

As for the company, well vegans are actually rather normal my friends. You may get some tips on alternate sources of iron and an email to follow with diets that may change your life but overall they are kind, generous and have a great sense of humour.

Only $40 per head, including a good glass of wine.

9/10 - marked down only by the cannoli.



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