Since launching panino shop Pinco Deli in Eastwood in 2022, Saba Maghsoudi and Elijah Makris have been on a roll. They co-founded Pastel Wine Bar, opened (and closed) smashburger joint Jumbo, added a second Pinco Deli site, and merged their creative agency into 2049.
Now they’re expanding the Pinco concept with a new sibling space, Pinco Italo, which opened this week in the former Jumbo digs. “We always wanted an evolution of Pinco ... to offer pasta, bring in some culture and have a more in-depth offering while keeping the brand the same,” says Maghsoudi.
Its new iteration is a more grown-up Pinco, with white tablecloths, cocktails and a menu of Italian classics by chef Jimmy Garside (ex- Pastel, Jumbo).
Where burgers proved a difficult lure for attracting regular, repeat visitation from the corporate lunch crowd, the team is hoping the proven success of the sandwiches, alongside time-honoured Italian staples, will resonate with city workers.
“We’ve gone back to basics [with] tasty, simple, produce-driven food that’s executed with a lot of love,” says Garside. “Italian cuisine doesn’t need to be messed with … we’ve really listened to what the market wants here in Adelaide, with some crowd-pleasers and a few twists in there, too.”
That means lighter plates like rockmelon wedged between slices of buffalo mozzarella and basil; a Sicilian crudo of tuna, kingfish and scallops served with figs, pepperoncini and mandarin oil; and fritto misto with school prawns, calamari and saffron aioli. The dinner menu adds on a beef tartare that pairs Jack’s Creek Wagyu rump with caesar dressing, parmigiano and cured egg yolk – all scooped up in baby gem leaves ‘like a san choy bao’,” says Garside.
The house-made pastas might include pappardelle with a white pork and beef ragu; rigatoncini alla vodka; and gnocchi cacio e pepe concealed with thinly sliced prosciutto cotto. “The gnocchi is a nice take on the childhood ham and cheese pasta, and people love it,” says Garside.
The lunchtime sandwich menu includes all the Pinco regulars, as well as newer items like fried chicken alla vodka and a spanakopita melt. In the evening there are larger plates like eggplant parmigiana, chicken cotoletta and a 650-gram dry-aged rib eye, best paired with a glass of Delinquente, Italian Plastic or Sven Joschke wine.
The venue’s “brutalist shell” – with its concrete floors, exposed ceiling and stainless-steel bar – has been warmed up with curtains, those aforementioned tablecloths, a mirrored backbar, and a large still life by local artist Jessica Votino.
It’s now somewhere you’d want to linger, perhaps with a cocktail in hand (the drinks list keeps to the classics alongside riffs like the Paloma di Pinco, which replaces grapefruit with sweeter pomelo) while you enjoy the weekly Thursday jazz nights.
Pinco Italo
50 Exchange Place, Adelaide
No phone
Hours:
Mon to Wed 10.30am–2.30pm
Thu & Fri 10.30am–2.30pm, 5pm–late
Sat 5pm–late
Sun closed
