What are the opening hours?

Monday 12pm - 10pm Tuesday 12pm - 10pm Wednesday 12pm - 10pm Thursday 12pm - 10pm Friday 12pm - 10pm Saturday 12pm - 10pm Sunday 12pm - 10pm

Donnini's Restaurant

Name: Donnini's Restaurant
Address: 320 Lygon Street, Carlton, VIC, 3053, AU
Telephone: +61 3 9347 3128
Price range: $$
Rating: 4.7

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Carlton, VIC
Donnini's Restaurant

Donnini's is a generational Italian eatery with a sincere focus on handmade pasta, real food, genero
(622)

15/09/2026

Carbonara, the Donnini’s way.

No cream. No shortcuts.

We use beautiful free-range eggs, Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly cracked black pepper and our own house-cured Victorian Black Pig guanciale.

The real love comes from our head chef, Vito. He takes each pork cheek and meticulously rubs it with salt, then watches over it through the curing process, checking it, caring for it and giving it the time it needs to develop properly.

It is slow, patient work and it is the kind of thing Vito does best.

By the time that guanciale reaches the pan, the flavour has already been built over time.

Carbonara is a simple dish, which means every ingredient and every step matters.

And that’s our Carbonara. See you at Donnini’s

11/09/2026

PIADINA.

One of the dishes that has been part of Donnini’s at 320 Lygon Street from the very beginning.

BBQ Romagnolo flatbread, roast veal, tuna mayonnaise and wild rocket.

A simple combination, carefully balanced and one that has become unmistakably Donnini’s.

Twenty-four years on, it remains one of the most loved and most ordered dishes on our menu — something we are incredibly proud of.

Some dishes become part of a restaurant’s identity.

Our Piadina is one of them.

05/09/2026

Our ravioli are handmade daily, filled with local asparagus & Parmigiano Reggiano, finished simply with fresh asparagus, a little butter and sage.

These are the flavours we love most — honest, seasonal and perfectly matched. Nothing complicated, nothing overdone, just beautiful ingredients doing what they’re meant to do.

Asparagus season never lasts long, so while it’s still poking through, we’re making the most of it.

For us, this one is a 10/10.

21/08/2026

A restaurant doesn’t just happen.

Long before the doors open, before the tables fill and before the first plate reaches the dining room, the day is already well underway.

At Donnini’s, it starts early.

Our head chef, Vito, heads to the Queen Victoria Market — stopping at Queen’s Harvest, Alec Watson’s and the traders we’ve built relationships with over many years.

Vegetables are chosen. Meat is collected. Produce is checked. Conversations are had.

Then it all makes its way back to Donnini’s, 320 Lygon Street.

And another part of the day begins.

Vegetables are washed and prepared. Sugos start slowly cooking. Our pasta chefs begin rolling, filling and shaping the handmade pasta we make every day.

Before service even starts, countless small jobs have already happened.

Ingredient by ingredient. Hand by hand.

By the time you sit down at Donnini’s, hours of work have already gone into what eventually arrives on your plate.

And this is only one small part of running a restaurant.

It takes growers, butchers, cheese makers, chefs, pasta makers and front-of-house staff. It takes preparation, relationships, experience and dozens of moving parts all coming together at the right time.

This is how our day begins.

This is Donnini’s Winter Series — Part One

12/08/2026

The Donnini’s table, wherever you are.

We’re excited to introduce Donnini’s Catering — bringing the food, handmade tradition and hospitality you know from Lygon Street to your next event.

From intimate gatherings and corporate lunches to celebrations and full-scale events.

Your event. Our food. Donnini’s hospitality.

Enquire with our team to start planning.

07/08/2026

👉 SWIPE RIGHT TO SEE THIS WEEKEND’S SPECIALS

Today marks 24 years since Donnini’s opened the doors at 320 Lygon Street.

This weekend, we’re celebrating the best way we know how — through our food.

Three beautiful traditional dishes that represent the flavours, cooking and history that have been part of our kitchen over the past two decades and beyond.

Vitellino — slow-roasted milk-fed veal shoulder, Nicola potato mash & rosemary.
Lasagne Donnini — our traditional lasagne, made the way it has been for generations.
Tortellini in Brodo — handmade tortellini in brodo (Sat/Sun)

Come and celebrate with us this weekend. See you at Donnini’s.

06/08/2026

KNOWN FOR PASTA. BUILT ON COFFEE.

Donnini’s may be known today for its handmade pasta, but coffee has always been an important part of our story.

Fernando Donnini stands behind one of Melbourne’s earliest Gaggia espresso machines at the original University Café on Lygon Street—helping introduce Italian espresso culture to Carlton.

Decades later, Fernando returned to the Gaggia machine at Marco’s and Kim’s wedding at Donnini’s on Lygon Street.

Two moments, many years apart.
The same hands.
The same passion.
The same commitment to hospitality.

29/07/2026

Carb-loading for 250
Patrick Cripps
Carlton Football Club

28/07/2026

Join us on Tuesday, 25 August for a very special collaboration between Donnini’s × Soumah of Yarra Valley.

Together, we’ll present a beautifully crafted multi-course menu, each course thoughtfully paired with some of Soumah’s finest w**es. It’s an evening celebrating exceptional produce, outstanding w**es and a partnership that has spanned more than 15 years.

Swipe through to discover the menu, w**e pairings and all the event details.

$150 per person – W**e Dinner
$175 per person – W**e Dinner + Exclusive Soumah Gift Bag

Places are strictly limited.

Please reserve your table through OpenTable and include “W**e Night” (or “W**e Night Gift”) in your booking notes.

If you’re unable to book through OpenTable, please call us directly on (03) 9347 3128 and we’ll happily make your reservation.

We look forward to sharing a truly memorable evening with you.

**eDinner

21/07/2026

There is something truly special about watching pasta being made by hand and tortelli may be the most beautiful of all.

Every fold, every seal and every tortello reflects decades of tradition, patience and skill.

It is a reminder that some things are worth taking the time to do properly. Made by hand, with care and experience, the difference is something you can see and taste, it simply cannot be beaten.

13/07/2026

Should We Bring It Back?

One of the biggest surprises from our Have You Been Part of Our History? newsletter has been discovering how many of you still have Dad’s cookbook, “Donnini’s Pasta”, first published in 1984.

Seeing well-loved copies on customers’ bookshelves is incredibly special. It reminds us that our family’s recipes have become part of yours.

As we celebrate 75 years of Donnini’s next year, we’re thinking about bringing it back with a beautifully updated anniversary edition, featuring the original recipes, family stories, photographs and a couple photo’s of Riccardo. Leave a comment below if you or a family member still has one—we’d love to hear your story.

01/07/2026

School Holidays, Family & Lasagne.
School holidays have a special way of bringing generations together.
Across Melbourne, grandparents are once again stepping in— keeping the little ones entertained over the school holidays,
sharing stories from their past and creating new memories.
It’s one of life’s great traditions and one we truly admire. So while you’re looking after the grandchildren, let us look after
you. We’ll take care of the cooking, the dishes and everything in between, so you can simply enjoy each other’s company. Some of the best family conversations have always happened
over a lasagne and during these school holidays.
Bring the kiddies, bring the stories and leave the rest to us. From our family to yours, we look forward to welcoming every
generation through our doors.
See you at Donnini’s

27/06/2026

“Tortellini in Brodo, All Winter Long”.
What began as a special winter weekend offering has quickly become something much more.
Our traditional Tortellini in Brodo has been met with such a beautiful response that we believe it deserves to stay with us for the rest of winter.
Handmade tortellini, served in brodo, is one of those dishes that speaks to tradition, patience and comfort. It is the kind of food that has warmed tables in Modena for generations, and over the past few weeks, it has clearly found a special place here on Lygon Street too.
As the Melbourne winter settles in, we invite you to join us for a little bit of Modena at Donnini’s.
Traditional Tortellini in Brodo. Available throughout winter weekends.
Numbers will remain limited each week due to the time and care required to make every tortellino by hand.
When making your reservation, simply write “Tortellini” in the booking notes and we will do our best to reserve a serve for your table.
We look forward to welcoming you in from the cold.

Address

320 Lygon Street
Carlton, VIC
3053

Opening Hours

Monday	12pm - 10pm
Tuesday	12pm - 10pm
Wednesday	12pm - 10pm
Thursday	12pm - 10pm
Friday	12pm - 10pm
Saturday	12pm - 10pm
Sunday	12pm - 10pm

Telephone

+61 3 9347 3128

Website

http://www.donninis.com.au/

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