Thirty Eight Chairs

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Corner of Italy on Bond Street

Thirty Eight Chairs sits on a quiet stretch of Bond Street in South Yarra, bringing contemporary Italian cooking to one of Melbourne's most considered dining neighbourhoods. The room draws guests in with warm lighting and a mood that guests have described as feeling like a genuine slice of Italy — right down to the Italian waiters and the aroma of dishes prepared with evident care.

The restaurant earned recognition from Gambero Rosso, Italy's most authoritative food and wine guide, a nod that speaks to the kitchen's commitment to Italian tradition done properly in an Australian context.

Pasta Cooked Nonna Style

The kitchen's clearest statement of intent is its pasta, made by hand daily. The menu describes it plainly: handcrafted and cooked nonna style. Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina arrives with San Marzano tomato, mozzarella and basil; Spaghetti Marinara brings together calamari, clams, prawns and scallops in a bisque with cherry tomato; Fettuccine Sausage pairs pork and fennel sausage with mushroom, cream and truffle oil. These are not reinventions — they are Italian contemporary dishes that respect their source material.

Starters lean into sharing: pumpkin and pea arancini, Calamari Fritti fried lightly in rice flour with a rocket and fennel salad, and 18-month prosciutto alongside smoke-filled diavoletti. For larger appetites, the kitchen runs daily specials — a market fish, a pasta of the day, and a substantial Black Angus T-bone — keeping the menu responsive to what's best at any given moment.

The Bar and the Room

The bar holds its own alongside the kitchen. Cocktails are taken seriously, and more than one guest has handed the bartender free rein and been rewarded for it. A curated cheese board — with selections from France and Spain — rounds out a meal that moves comfortably between casual and considered.

Thirty Eight Chairs accommodates private functions and larger groups as well as everyday dining, and the team's attentiveness has been noted consistently by returning guests. It is the kind of place people come back to, not because it surprises them, but because it doesn't let them down.