Pepe’s embodies the retro glamour of New York and late-night Italian American restaurants. White and black accents make up the venue along with deep burgundy hues that coat the venue’s leather banquette seating and irregular chequerboard floors.
Owner Nick Kutcher gave the former Trunk Bar and Restaurant an Italian American makeover and maintained the charm of the courtyard lined with pontoon lights and burgundy and white striped parasols.
Inside, a menagerie of youthful influencers have their photos taken over bowls of pasta; families talk over each other as they celebrate birthdays; and groups of friends catch up over colossal towers of Aperol Spritz. It’s the meeting place for anyone and everyone from all walks of life.
The bar sits at the side and is viewable from any vantage point. An occasional bottle can be heard being popped, cocktails are shaken every few seconds and an impressive array of liquor is lit up in the background.
The cocktail menu is short and sweet. The Dolcezza Martini is recommended and doesn’t contain an ounce of gin or vermouth, but is rather a concoction of Russian Standard Vodka, spiced vanilla liqueur, blood orange and lemon. It’s creamy, sweet and perfectly balanced so we’ll let it slide.
The venue’s seasonally changing themes means there’s always a different Italian-inspired experience to be had here. The flavour of the month now is Sicilian. If it wasn’t obvious enough on the menu, there are Sicilian moor heads lit up by spotlights dotted across the venue – that probably cost enough to secure a small mortgage.
The signature dish sees a spicy vodka sauce slick itself over tubes of rigatoni and heat-radiating flakes of dried chilli. Powdery shaker parmesan accompanies it in a steel gravy boat – inviting you to give in to your desires for the cheap stuff. The Pepe’s-roni is a thin Neapolitan-style pie dotted with crisped up rounds of pepperoni that emit a little kick and layers of Parmigiano Reggiano, scamorza and fior di latte, rendering the thin base slightly soggy. Fold it and eat it fast enough or prepare your knives and forks at bay. Either way, it’s delicious.
Dessert here is just as beautiful and Instagrammable as the other dishes. A slice of lemon cheesecake isn’t just a slice but more of a quarter of the entire thing. It towers up high to the sky, sitting tight in its gelatinous glory on a thin biscuity base, citrussy as ever and better shared.
The city isn’t void of Italian-leaning venues, but Pepe’s proves that Italian American cuisine will never go out of fashion in Melbourne. It’s comforting and oh so visually appealing – just what the doctor ordered after enduring the world’s longest lockdown.