#306 Antonio Loffredo | Pepe's Parlour

If Pepe’s Italian & Liquor is all swagger and spectacle: snow machines, themed decor, and a big personality, then Pepe’s Parlour offers something quieter and more composed. The original venue opened in 2019 in a former synagogue on Exhibition Street, serving Italian American classics in a space that leans into old-school New York glamour. Next door, Pepe’s Parlour channels the elegance of a London members’ club, softened by a Melbourne sensibility: martinis, soft light, hand-painted tomato murals. It’s also where Antonio Loffredo is doing quietly brilliant things in the kitchen. Antonio grew up in Campania and then the Amalfi Coast and started making pizza in his father’s shop at 16. He has worked across just about every section of a kitchen since arriving in Melbourne more than a decade ago. Now head chef at the Parlour, he’s turning out focaccia made from a slow-fermented dough, fresh pasta, and light, lunch-friendly plates that still manage to feel generous. We talked about the emotional pull of food, why he won’t use bread with a 15-ingredient label, and how a baking course during lockdown completely reshaped the way he cooks.