When Anthony Whitehouse was 26 and working at a restaurant in London’s Soho, his boss offered him a chance to own a share of the place. That gesture was the spark that ignited a decades-long career in hospitality. In the time since then, Whitehouse has run Michelin-starred restaurants, catered for the Monaco Grand Prix and, closer to home, has revamped old favourites – including the Gundaroo Inn, outside of Canberra.

Now, with Pan Divino, he’s giving chef Stefano Mondonico (ex-Gowings, North Bondi Fish) the same opportunity he was offered all those years ago.

“I met Stefano through a friend, and we got on really well,” Whitehouse tells Broadsheet. “I told him I had an idea for a restaurant, and asked, ‘Why don’t you come and do it, and I’ll give you a share?’ I hope that in 20 years he does that for someone else.”

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While Mondonico got to work on the menu, Whitehouse found the space – a heritage ground floor spot on Crown Street, right opposite the tramline. Whitehouse loved the building’s bones, with soaring ceilings and arched windows, and began to fill it with era-appropriate bits and bobs.

“We basically did it from skips, Marketplace and people’s houses,” says Whitehouse. Inside, motley paintings and photographs – including a portrait of Whitehouse by his daughter – dot the walls, backdropping Thonet chairs, white tablecloths and warm pendant lighting. Outside, a paved outdoor courtyard, draped in bougainvillea, is the show stealer on warm evenings. It feels like a centuries-old trattoria – not a place that opened a handful of weeks ago.

Traditional Mediterranean food has long influenced Mondonico, who grew up working at his father’s Italian restaurant in Rio de Janeiro. At Pan Divino, he combines both of his cultures – Brazilian and Italian – with the handy assistance of a Josper woodfire grill.

“I tried to do really simple, really straightforward dishes,” Mondonico tells Broadsheet.

A summery night at Pan Divino might start with tuna crudo bathed in blood orange and sprinkled with eschalots. It’s best enjoyed alongside an Amalfi Spritz – a refreshing burst of limoncello and fino sherry, blended with ginger, lemon, lime and yuzu, and topped with soda. Moving onto antipasti, the top picks are the charred Tassie octopus on bagna cauda (garlic-anchovy confit) dotted with cherry tomatoes, and the baby artichokes with peas and vegan aioli. “We cook them the traditional way with peppers and bay leaves, before roasting them over charcoal,” says Mondonico.

There’s an entire section dedicated to the grill, including salted blue-eye trevalla. “We wanted to do baccala, the way it’s done in Italy,” says Mondonico. “We can import it, but we have such beautiful fish in Australia – hundreds of species – so I thought, ‘Why not use blue-eyed cod and replicate the whole process here?’” The whole fish is cured onsite for seven days, then put into water for a couple of days to extract the salt. Fillets are served with scalloped potatoes and encircled with caperberries. Pastas haven’t been overlooked either. Some of the best-sellers right now include an on-point pappardelle cacio e pepe, and a serve of plump gnocchi submerged within a 12-hour smoked beef short rib ragu.

Sommelier Matt Austin, who worked with Mondonico at North Bondi Fish, put together an approachable wine list featuring mainly Italian drops, while the cocktail menu, designed by Jorge Galdo Porca (ex-Solotel) offers mini-collections of signature Spritzes, Negronis and Americanos.

“I didn’t want to overcomplicate things,” says Mondonico. “I want people to come here, relax, and enjoy good, honest food.”

Pan Divino
560 Crown St, Surry Hills
0413 254 669

Hours:
Wed 5:30pm–late
Thu 12pm–9pm
Fri to Sat 12pm–9:30pm
Sun 12pm–4pm

@pandivino.syd
pandivino.com.au