gnocchi gnocchi brothers Archives

Paddington’s Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers Named Finalist in 2025 Lord Mayor’s Business Awards

Paddington’s own Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers has been named a finalist in the 2025 Lord Mayor’s Business Awards, bringing wider recognition to a restaurant that has become a regular choice for many local diners. The eatery is best known for its handmade gnocchi and Italian menu, and it attracts both regulars and visitors from across Brisbane.

Read: Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers Looking to Hire a ‘Nonna’ to Mentor Staff at Paddington, Other Outlets

Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers has been shortlisted in the ANZ-sponsored High-Growth category. According to the LMBA category outline, the High-Growth award recognises companies that have scaled significantly — for example through growth in revenue, staff or new markets — while demonstrating sustainable and strategic expansion.

Photo credit: Facebook/Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers

Being a High-Growth finalist places the Paddington restaurant alongside a group of fast-expanding enterprises from sectors such as retail, technology and hospitality.

A moment for the team

The restaurant itself has shared the news on its social channels, describing the finalist nod as a “true testament” to the journey of its co-founders, Ben and Theo, and the support of their team and customers. The business has framed the recognition as a milestone in its growth and has thanked the local community for its backing.

About the awards

The Lord Mayor’s Business Awards (LMBA) are running in their 20th year and recognise business achievement across Brisbane. This year’s program has shortlisted businesses from a wide range of sectors, and winners will be announced at a gala dinner at Brisbane City Hall on Thursday 6 November 2025. The awards are presented across multiple categories and aim to highlight innovation, growth and community impact in the city.

The 2025 shortlist includes 44 finalists across the awards program. For a small Paddington business, the nomination provides a chance to be seen on a larger stage; the awards organisers note that being a finalist or winner can raise a business’s profile and open new connections.

What it means locally

For Paddington, the finalist announcement highlights how neighbourhood hospitality can compete for citywide recognition. The LMBA shortlist brings together long-standing local names and emerging innovators; for the restaurant, the nomination is likely to increase interest from diners and business peers alike, regardless of the final result on 6 November.

Read: Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers Opens in Paddington, Becomes Australia’s First Gnoccheria

Whether or not Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers takes home the trophy, the nomination itself emphasises the role small and growing businesses play in Brisbane’s economy — and gives Paddington one more reason to celebrate a local food business that has quietly increased its footprint across the city.

Published 6-October-2025

Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers Looking to Hire a ‘Nonna’ to Mentor Staff at Paddington, Other Outlets

Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers, with outlets in Paddington and six other locations, has opened a unique job opportunity for a woman over the age of 65 to serve as their honorary nonna.

As an honorary nonna, or Italian grandmother, the person to be hired for this job stands to earn $25.51 an hour but they will not need to fulfill a 12-hour shift. Instead, Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers co-owners Ben Cleary-Corradini said that the honorary nonna will have a mentorship and guidance role. She will help the gnoccheria’s young staffers develop the right skills for preparing authentic, old-school Italian food.

Mr Cleary-Corradini said that they have chosen to tap the “grey army” or the retired population because nonnas have the wisdom and the skill for this job. Women over the age of 65 are usually discriminated against during recruitment but Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers need their expertise.

“For the last two years, we found it very, very difficult to recruit enough people to be cooking, to be making our gnocchi,” Mr Cleary-Corradini said. “We decided instead to recruit a nonna,” adding that she should have at least 10 years of gnocchi-making experience.

Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers was established in 2016 at the Wednesday markets in the city before the store opened its original gnoccheria in Paddington. The compact location on Given Terrace, which is a short walk from the Suncorp Stadium, has a small number of seats but it is a very popular takeaway site, where gnocchi lovers get their fresh Italian meal prepared fast.

Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers became in demand because there is no other restaurant in Australia that’s solely focused on one Italian dish: gnocchi. Today, aside from Paddington, the eatery has an outlet in South Bank, New Farm, North Lakes, Southport, and Newtown in NSW.

Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers Opens in Paddington, Becomes Australia’s First Gnoccheria

Australia’s first ever gnoccheria, the Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers, is now part of Paddington’s claim to fame. Located on Given Terrace, this authentic pasta place is owned by close friends Ben Cleary-Corradini & Theo Roduner, both very passionate about making fresh Italian gnocchi.

In fact, the place even has its own Italian mascot, Puncherella, a puppet from La Commedia Italian puppet theater. Puncherella was commissioned and made in an artist village near Rome.

Photo credit: Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers / Facebook

The idea behind Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers began as a series of pop-up stores at markets, events and festivals in Australia. Seeing the warm reception that their gnocchi received made them finally take the plunge, set up shop and establish permanent residence in west Brisbane.

Ben and Theo both take pride in producing fresh gnocchi and sauces to provide customers with an authentic Italian food experience. Paying homage to their market roots, you can also still find them at the Mt Gravatt Marketta every Saturday from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00p.m. They also have a stall at the Milton Markets, every Tuesday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and a take-away shop in New Farm.

On top of these, their food truck is still alive and rollin’. You can view the food truck schedules or their market updates through their Facebook page.

In Paddington, their dine in and take away shop here is bright and airy, with tables both inside and outside the store, and a counter filled with everything Italian. The walls are lined with black and photos of the gnocchi-making process.

The menu offers different types of (what else?) gnocchi, served with a variety of sauces such as the wild mushroom and truffle sauce, or the Genovese-style pesto and many more rich, flavourful options that will have guests coming back for more.

Their dessert is a scrumptious mix of Italian favourites such as their tiramisu or vanilla bean panacotta.

Ben and Theo are also all set to share their love for pasta by starting a gnocchi master class. The class aims to teach people how to make their own gnocchi at home. The partners are also aiming to have permanent stores across Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney in five years’ time. They aim to do this by launching their own line of branded gnocchi and sauces. With such clear vision, a great product and an awesome store, Ben and Theo seem well on their way to making their gnocchi empire a reality.