First Look: Leichhardt’s New Diner Dom Panino Channels Sicilian Nostalgia and Sundays With Nonna Into Hearty Panini

Popular Breakfast Point food truck Dom Panino has ditched its wheels and opened an eatery in Leichhardt. And after only a few weeks it’s already a local go-to for its panini loaded with Sicilian-inspired fillings. Diners eat surrounded by owner Dom Ruggeri’s family photos.

“My family migrated to Leichhardt from Sicily,” Ruggeri, who co-owns Dom Panino with his wife Sara Ruggeri, tells Broadsheet. “It’s a special suburb for us.”

As customers came to expect from the food truck, and as its name suggests, Dom Panino’s focus is nailing panini. The fillings are simple combinations inspired by Ruggeri’s childhood. Take, for example, the Nonna’s Nostalgia. It comes loaded with five-hour slow-cooked pork and veal bolognaise, smoked fior di latte, parmesan and rocket.

“On a Sunday morning, you’d go to Nonna’s house and she’d be cooking a big pot of sugo,” Ruggeri says. “I’d get some crusty bread and dip it in, and she’d get annoyed, but these are some of the fondest memories of my childhood.”

Meanwhile, a couple of extra-saucy panini pay homage to New York. These include the Joey Vodka, which comes crowded with chicken schnitzel, spicy sopressa, buffalo mozzarella and basil, all lathered in vodka sugo, as well as the Porchetta-Bout-It, a feast of free-range slow-roasted pork, crackling, eggplant paste, pecorino cream, rocket and Kewpie chilli mayo.

In the spirit of keeping things classic, the drinks list is all-Italian. Among the beers are Peroni’s Gran Riserva range and Birra Baladin, a drop spiced with organic Calabrian bergamot and coriander. The seltzer collection includes Sicilian blood orange and limoncello versions, while the wine list focuses on Piedmont and Sicily, with various barolo wines by the glass.

Out the front, Dom Panino’s signature pink and black signage makes it hard to miss. The colour scheme continues at the custom-made bar, decked out in pink terrazzo tiles and topped with black stone. There’s a back room with a communal table for socialisers and outdoor seating for people-watchers. The day starts with vintage classics by Dean Martin and Elvis, before moving onto Italian disco later on. A dedicated booth hosts guest DJs on the weekends.

Sweet tooths should swing by on Saturday and Sunday mornings, when Ruggeri’s mum spends several hours frying sfinci (traditional Sicilian doughnuts) fresh to order. They come rolled in cinnamon and sugar, or covered in decadent toppings like pistachio and white chocolate.

“People come in and buy 20 each,” says Ruggeri. “Sometimes older Italian gentlemen, whose wives have passed away, come in and eat them for the first time in a long time,” he adds. “It has happened a few times since we opened Dom Panino, both at the food truck and now the shop.

“They literally cry in front of you, saying, ‘This reminds me of my wife.’”

Dom Panino
122 Marion Street, Leichhardt
0450 441 345

Hours:
Tue to Sun 7am–3pm

dompanino.com.au
@dompanino