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About Us

Melbourne’s laneway haven for fresh pasta and authentic Italian hospitality

Pentolina was established in May 2018 with a dream of becoming Melbourne CBD’s premier destination for fresh pasta and authentic Italian hospitality. Tucked away in a cosy laneway, we make our pasta by hand on-site every day and cook it for you in a “pentolina” – the Italian word for “little saucepan”.

Our delicious, heart-warming pasta dishes honour our chefs’ Italian heritage and training but add in generous touches of creativity and playfulness. Head chef Gabriele Olivieri’s menu showcases a range of pasta types that you know and love like pappardelle and gnocchi, and a few you probably haven’t tried like strozzapreti and spoia lorda.

Our recipe for great food is simple: find fresh, seasonal, sustainable produce and make it the star of your meal. We make it a priority to choose small, local producers. And we’re more than just pasta! Our mouth-watering menu of small bites, entrées, main courses and desserts, accompanied by our carefully-curated selection of local and Italian wines, beers and cocktails, will transport you on a virtual trip to Italy.

But most of all, Pentolina is about giving you an unforgettable dining experience. We’re a casual restaurant, but there’s nothing casual about our approach to serving our guests. Our floor staff know and understand the warmth of true Italian hospitality and love nothing better than to see you feeling relaxed and at home. For the full Pentolina experience, we recommend that you dine on our chef’s choice tasting menu with matched wines.

Unfortunately, we’ve closed the doors to our Little Collins Street pasta haven due to the expiry of our lease. Needless to say we’re devastated, and we’re exploring alternative options for keeping the Pentolina spirit alive in another location. Thank you for all your support over the pasta 4 years! We’re so proud to have made it so far against all the odds, and to have given thousands of guests an unforgettable dining experience over the past four and a half years. Subscribe to our mailing list or follow us on social media to keep up to date with our future plans!

meET THE TEAM

Head Chef Gabriele Olivieri knew from a young age that he wanted to be a chef. Growing up in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, he spent every weekend at his Uncle Aldo’s country house gathering fresh seasonal ingredients from the market and cooking for the whole family. It was those early days in the country that instilled in him a passion for fresh, seasonal produce and led to his choice of career.

Gabriele started working as an unpaid chef aged 14, then trained for five years in traditional Italian cuisine at the Institute Savioli in Riccione. He undertook part of his training at the Institute’s sister school in Montreal, Canada, and the experience sparked a lifelong passion for travel.

After completing his formal schooling, Gabriele worked at renowned Michelin-starred restaurants across Italy including Relais Santa Croce Hotel in Florence. From there, Gabriele experimented with foreign cuisines including traditional Thai food at Michelin-starred Nahm in London and Peruvian cuisine at Chica por Gaston Acurio in Cusco.

In 2008 he arrived in Melbourne, where he progressed from senior chef de partie roles at Ezard and Cecconi’s Cantina to sous chef and then head chef at Bottega. During his five years at Bottega, Gabriele made a name for himself as an expert in traditional Italian cooking, culminating in an award for Best Pasta in Australia in 2013.

Gabriele departed Bottega in 2015 to embark on a three-year working holiday taking in Costa Rica, Peru, Italy, Brazil and Thailand. Then, in 2018, he was lured back to Melbourne head up the kitchen at Pentolina.

Head Chef Gabriele Olivieri

Head Chef Gabriele Olivieri

Owner/Director Julia Picone was born and bred in Melbourne, but developed a passion for Italian language and culture from a young age. She completed a double degree at Melbourne University in Law and Arts, majoring in Italian, and won a scholarship to study Italian in Florence as part of her studies. She extended her stay in Italy to travel the country and fell in love with Italian food and hospitality, returning many times over the ensuing years to sample the food of as many regions as she could squeeze in.

After completing her studies, Julia gained her legal qualifications and worked as a civil litigation lawyer for two years. She then moved to the other side of the law, working for the Victorian government for 10 years as a senior policy adviser on red tape reduction and environmental protection law and progressing to senior management roles. A woman of diverse interests, she also pursued a career in musical theatre and opened up her own life coaching business.

In May 2018, Julia finally brought together her passion for Italian food and hospitality with her business management skills and creative flair to open up Pentolina, which she views as her ultimate career achievement.

Owner/Director Julia Picone