Another one of those posts, that has sat in the folder of drafts for more than half a year. In the meantime Pellegrini’s has established itself as a permanent fixture in my lunch breaks. It’s such a nice atmosphere, the food is good and the short waiting times are very convenient. But here’s my view as I wrote it down in August last year:
#44 – Dare to ruin a white shirt at the communal kitchen table of Italian Melbourne at Pellegrini’s – Friday, August 9, 2013
One of the 111 things I was anticipating most was having lunch at Pellegrini’s. Not that I had especially high expectations, but it was more an unexplained fascination with this place. Pellegrini’s is a Melbournian institution and full of stories. About its long history since the opening day in 1954 … or that it was literally the first coffee place in Melbourne, which is synonymous with the fact that it had the first espresso machine in Melbourne … or the rumours about its friendly atmosphere.
However, having read up before our visit, I was kind of confused. If you look at their page on UrbanSpoon, you recognise a lot of raving reviews next to a number of devastating reviews. My curiosity sparked, me and Olga went for a Friday lunch. The first thing I noticed was the long bar and the absence of separate tables. That’s what the talk about “Melbourne’s communal kitchen table” was all about. It’s a very nice place to go with one or two friends. For larger groups I’d recommend the round tables of the Waiter’s Club. The long, narrow room does not leave much room for speculation about change since the 1950s: There has been none. The menu on a wooden board hanging from the ceiling has the patina of six decades, which is all part of the charm.
The long bar provides a good setup to get into conversations with strangers. We sat next to a girl from Europe who was visiting Australia and traveling the continent for a couple of weeks. The gentleman behind the bar made sure that there were enough conversation starters. It’s a busy place, so rather get there shortly before 12 to beat the start of rush hour.
The guy behind the bar was old enough to have witnessed Pellegrini’s opening day himself. Instead of a menu he gave us an oral run down of the day’s specials: Gnocchi and lasagna. For every meal, a couple of different pasta sauces is available. A selection how it should be: short and to the point. Pellegrini serves every dish with some buttered Italian buns, that you shouldn’t eat directly. Better wait save it for the end, when you will need it to soak up the richly supplied tomato sauce – no difference here between the lasagna and the gnocchi.
We finished lunch with two slices from the extensive variety of home-made pies. Full and happy we went back to work wishing for an afternoon nap. Pellegrini is a very special place for Melbourne. It’s very unpretentious, very traditional and combines a lot of qualities. I’m looking forward to getting back there. Since it’s not even five minutes walk from work, it should become a regular venue for lunch breaks.
