Those with friends that have travelled through Sardinia have likely been regaled with tales of the Italian island’s beauty. Picturesque beaches, coastal coves ensconced by limestone cliffs and large swathes of unspoiled nature from seaside to rugged hinterland – Sardinia’s geographical charms are numerous. Ask Sardinian-born restaurateur Andrea Contin what he believes to be Sardinia’s most essential factor and he’ll tell you it’s the local cuisine. “The most magical element is the way they cook things,” says Andrea. “And because it’s still a wild island, the quality of the products are better than elsewhere in Italy. It’s a little bit more retro – they don’t have huge supermarkets or shopping centres there.” Andrea can wax lyrical about Sardinia’s culinary charms, from locals cooking suckling pig over coals in their backyard to the groups of women that make pasta street side. It’s no wonder, then, that Andrea has wanted to open a restaurant channelling this aspect Sardinia ever since he arrived on our shores. Andrea and his wife Valentina Vigni are the brains behind La Lupa on Montague Road in West End, an incredibly popular Roman-style pizzeria that has become a fixture of the local dining scene since opening in 2017. Before they put plans in motion to open La Lupa, the couple first toyed with the idea of opening a restaurant specialised in Sardinian-inspired fare. “We always wanted to do a Sardinian restaurant because we always thought that Sardinian food really complemented Australian produce,” recalls Andrea. “You have a lot of lamb, pork and lobsters – the availability of seafood and stuff like that, I feel like it’s very similar to Sardinia.” With a bit more experience under their belt, the duo is finally acting on the long-held dream, opening upscale restaurant Pilloni on Wednesday February 8.

Pilloni sits in a striking site on the corner of Hardgrave Road and Loch Street, near institutions like Lefkas Taverna and Caravanserai. Alkot Studio and Tonic Projects have spearheaded the design and fit-out, with Valentina and Andrea funnelling inspiration from their recent holiday through Sardinia into a multifaceted venue comprised of separated-but-related spaces. Guests enter into a semi-alfresco bar area, where they can sip aperitivo while lounging on curved banquettes, or perch al banco at the ivory-coloured Sardinian-marble-topped bar itself. From the bar, diners can move into the Camino – a dining room illuminated by terracotta pendant lights and the flickering flame of the massive fireplace at the kitchen’s heart, which dances across the building’s redbrick walls. The terrazzo – a curtained dining space adorned with old artworks and decor – boasts a colour scheme of cream and blue, with a classic 1950s aesthetic offering a contrast to the warm and rustic interior of the Camino. Finally, located down a short corridor is a 16-seater private dining space and wine cellar. Andrea and Valentina have added Sardinian touches to the restaurant’s decor via exquisite pieces imported from the island. In the wine room, a collection of mamuthones – traditional masks worn during an ancient ritual practiced in Mamoiada – peer over the guests. Other pieces of decor include a vintage bread cloth that hangs in the hallway leading to the wine room, a collection of trays wrought from Sughero cork visible in the kitchen and patches of bamboo in Pilloni’s ceiling.

At Pilloni, Andrea and Valentina are drilling down into Sardinia’s produce-forward cooking culture, using the idea of Sardinian agritourismo (a farm designed to also receive guests, whether for food, accommodation or a combination of the two) as a basis for the restaurant’s aesthetic and menu direction. “The concept is like farm to table, which is pretty much what it’s like when you go in Sardinia,” Andrea elaborates. “They catch fish and then you find it on the table that night. The feeling is like going to a [Sardinian] bed and breakfast.” Head chef Mimmo Miceli is helming Pilloni’s kitchen and is tasked with cooking the majority of the restaurant’s produce, which is sourced from small producers, local growers and sustainable hunters. A snack menu is available to those enjoying an aperitivo at the bar, including smoked-eel doughnuts with porcini dust, chickpea crisps with pecorino cream, mushrooms and preserved truffle, and Pilloni’s own 48-hour fermented focaccia with a selection of cured meats and pecorino sardo. The main menu leads with charcoal-caressed and flame-licked entrees like charred Fremantle octopus with potato foam and ember-seared wagyu eye round, as well as a take on Sardinian pane frattau with carasau bread, tomato, egg yolk and pecorino sardo. Pilloni’s Sardinian influence manifests again with a trio of pasta dishes, including dumpling-like culurgiones filled with potato, pecorino and mint with tomato sauce, and ribbed malloreddus pasta with lamb-shoulder ragu. The crown jewel of the menu is the clutch of share-style mains. Groups can devour Tasmanian lobster with tomato, red onion and lemon, whole market fish roasted on embers with il bono salsa, and slow-roasted lamb neck with fregolone and parsnip, but Pilloni’s true stand-out signature is the porceddu. This traditional dish of spit-roasted Schultz Family Farm suckling pig must be preordered 24-hours in advance, with one quarter of the animal able to feed a group of four. All of this is enough to leave even the most hungry guests with a glazed look of contentment, but let’s not forget the wine. Accomplished sommelier Phil Poussart (previously of Essa and Fico in Hobart) is assisting Andrea with the wine list, which tallies roughly 220 bottles, with 18–22 available by the glass. The oenophiles have extended a radius outward from Sardinia, drawing wine from the island itself, Sicily, Corsica, Liguria and Calabria, as well as coastal regions of France, Spain and Greece, to accumulate a collection of drops that Andrea dubs ‘sea wine’ – that is, Mediterranean-adjacent vino that meshes well with Sardinia’s balanced mix of protein and seafood. Pilloni’s bar stocks a sturdy selection of amari and vermouth, Sardinia’s Ichnusa beer as well as a selection of non-industrial aperitivo liqueurs (like Aspide from Sardinian distillery Silvio Carta S.R.L) that funnel into a short list of cocktails.

Pilloni is opening to the public on Wednesday February 8. Head to the Stumble Guide for operating hours, sample menus and booking details.