Spaghetti Club opens with Southern Italian dishes shaped by a Sicilian family recipe book
Spaghetti Club has opened on Swan Street in Richmond with a Southern Italian menu built around an orange recipe book kept by co-founder Lucas Gugliandolo’s late Nonno.
The restaurant, from MAMAS Dining Group, uses Sicily as its family starting point rather than a narrow label for the menu. Gugliandolo’s Nonno spent years cooking across Sicily before moving to Australia, including at Bar Irrera Messina, which still operates near the family’s former home.
Over decades, he filled a faded orange notebook with recipes from his work and home kitchen. It began with pastry recipes from the 1950s, then grew into the Southern Italian dishes that became part of the family’s weekly dinners.
Those Monday night meals included cotoletta with homemade potatoes, fresh pasta rolled that morning, warm bread, lasagne, involtini and pasta alla norma. At Spaghetti Club, those memories now sit behind a broader Southern Italian menu.
“The orange book was never meant to become a restaurant,” Gugliandolo said.
“It was simply Nonno writing down what he cooked throughout his life, from pastry kitchens in Sicily through to the dinners we all grew up around. Seeing those dishes evolve into a menu in Melbourne feels incredibly emotional for our family.”
A Southern Italian menu with family roots
Head Chef Michael Fleming leads the kitchen, bringing experience from Totti’s Bondi, Botanical Hotel and Press Food & Wine Adelaide. His childhood in Myrtleford, a regional Victorian town shaped by Italian migration, also informs his approach to the food.
Fleming has worked closely with Gugliandolo’s family to adapt recipes from the family table for Spaghetti Club’s live-fire kitchen and house-made pasta.
“It’s not about replicating the dishes exactly,” Fleming said. “It’s more about preserving the feeling of their generosity, simplicity and food that naturally brings people together around a table.”
Menu highlights include cacio e pepe arancini with black garlic aioli, house-made spaghetti vongole with bottarga and lemon, involtini filled with provolone and herb crumb, and Nonno’s Lasagne with bolognese, béchamel and ricotta.
The pork chop cotoletta nods to the Monday night staple Gugliandolo grew up eating. It is served thick-cut with fried capers, parmesan and green goddess dressing.
Desserts stay close to old-school Italian comfort, with tiramisu, ricotta cannoli and zeppole finished with smoked honey. The menu also gives space to Fleming’s Italian-Australian upbringing through a Vegemite focaccia inspired by the pantry staples he grew up around.
Inside, Spaghetti Club uses amber lighting, dark timber panelling, stained glass and white tablecloths to reference the warmth of Nonna and Nonno’s home. Marble surfaces, plush booths and candlelit tables give the room the feel of a polished neighbourhood trattoria.
The drinks list has been developed by MAMAS Dining Group Beverage Manager Aaron Wall, formerly of Eau-De-Vie. It focuses on Italian aperitivo culture, with spritzes, Negronis, Italian lagers and local wines.
Cocktails include the Sicilian Sour, Not Your Nonno’s Negroni and an Espresso Martini served hot or cold with chai cream. The wine list includes Barolo, Negroamaro and Primitivo, alongside Australian blends and familiar labels.
Every Saturday and Sunday, the venue runs Aperitivo Hour from 3pm to 5pm, with snacks and cocktails before dinner service.
Location: 95 Swan Street, Richmond, VIC 3121. It opened on Thursday, 14th May 2026.
Opening hours: Monday and Tuesday from 5pm to 11pm, and Wednesday to Sunday from 12pm to 11pm.
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