Images courtesy of Quando Quando Cucina Bar
About the restaurant
It's perfect for
long dinners where regional Sicilian cooking is craved over the standard Italian-restaurant playbook
You need to try
the tiramisu, one of Melbourne's best: balanced and coffee-forward, properly done
Look out for
The pink marble bar overlooking the open kitchen - the best seat in the house to see the chefs work
Named after a classic Italian love song, Quando Quando is Sicilian chef Pino Trigilia's deeply personal ode to Italy, tucked down a laneway off Little Collins Street in Melbourne's CBD. Trigilia brought two chefs over from Sicily, Adriano Minutola and Vincenzo Accardi, and on most nights you'll spot them working the open kitchen in their signature big puffy chef hats. Pull up a stool at the pink marble bar for a front-row view, or claim a seat in the intimate main dining room. The menu is traditional at heart but not afraid of a flourish: black ink tagliolini with baby clams and bottarga, lamb ragu pappardelle, and a tiramisu that leans bitter and coffee-rich in all the right ways.