Eight Melbourne Openings Signal Winter’s Food Shift

Thanks to Roma and Daybaker, it’s already been an extremely exciting year. But some of the year’s biggest openings are still to come. From Andrew McConnell’s first new Melbourne restaurant since Gimlet to two revamped pubs, here are eight venues to watch out for this winter. Cote Basque, CBD Andrew McConnell will open his first new Melbourne restaurant since Gimlet, with his partner Jo McGann. Cote Basque, a European grill inspired by the Basque coast, is expected to open at 25 Crossley Street this winter.

The team worked with Vince Alafaci and Caroline Choker of Acme, the same design firm behind Trader House venues Gimlet and Apollo Inn. 25 Crossley Street, Melbourne Sergio’s, CBD Con Christopoulos is behind some of the city’s best venues including Kafeneion, Angel Music Bar, Siglo and Le Pub. In May, he opened Roma, a glamorous yet understated dining room off Collins Street, decked in green marble, intricate chequered stone floors, vintage Italian lamps and chandeliers. This winter the Roman trattoria will be joined by Sergio’s,

a bar and record store named for Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone, at the same 120 Collins Street address. The bar will take more influence from the director’s life and style than his films, with architectural details drawn from Leone’s home in Rome. The record store inside will be run by Greg Molinaro of Abbotsford’s Hub 301, who Christopoulos describes as “the grandaddy of dance music in Melbourne”. 120 Collins Street, Melbourne Smith & Deli, CBD Shannon Martinez will expand Smith & Deli thanks to an

injection of capital from impact investor Kelly Jarrett. In mid-June, the duo will open a new outpost of Martinez’s vegan Collingwood deli on Degraves Street. It’s the first project from the newly formed Tomorrow Food Group, which now encompasses Smith & Daughters, Smith & Deli and a new wholesale business, Made by Smith. The Degraves Street outpost will be small compared to the Collingwood original, though large for a CBD laneway, with 22 seats. During the day, there’ll be less focus on the sandwiches Collingwood

is known for (though they’ll still be on offer), and more attention on cafeteria-style dining, allowing for quick service. You’ll be encouraged to build your own lunch plate by choosing from a range of changing seasonal hot mains, salads and soups. Most of the food, including vegan croissants and doughnuts, will come from Smith & Deli’s production kitchen in Collingwood. At night, the team plans to take advantage of an 11pm liquor licence and flip the space into a Spanish tapas bar, with snacks that

draw from existing Smith & Daughters recipes and a small wine list. 16 Degraves Street, Melbourne Agnii, Windsor Agnii was always the plan for Gayan Pieris. The Sri Lankan-born chef describes his well-regarded Red Hill restaurant Many Little as something like a diversion. When you realise the specifics of Agnii, you understand why Pieris has held onto the dream for years. In many a Sri Lankan kussiya (kitchen), you’ll find a dara lipa, an open clay hearth where earthenware pots are heated over open fire,

and a poranuwa, an enclosed hearth more akin to a kiln or oven. And Agnii (“fire” in Sanskrit) will have these two essential bits of kit. When the restaurant opens in August, Pieris will rep the food from his home region of Kandy, which features lots of finger millet, sesame and cassava. The kitchen will source spices and kithul (palm syrup) directly from Sri Lanka, while continuing to rely on Polperro Farm and other Mornington Peninsula producers for veggies. 105 Chapel Street, Windsor Cherry Tree

Hotel, Cremorne After changing hands in December, Cremorne’s nearly 170-year-old Cherry Tree Hotel is undergoing a major renovation, with plans to reopen this month. The new, more spacious art deco style draws inspiration from the pub’s earlier years, maintaining the bones of the building. A second window now opens onto Balmain Street, bringing in more natural light, while the popular al fresco area on the footpath remains. Chef Daniel Hilton (The Graham Hotel, The Leveson, The Wayside Inn) and his business partner Keith Gallacher (former

manager at the Railway Club Hotel and The Graham Hotel) are leading the revamp. They’re focused on keeping the soul of the pub intact and will serve classics such as parmas, burgers, roasts and steaks done in classic style, with mushroom or pepper sauce and mash. 53 Balmain Street, Cremorne Delmonte, Carlton In February, after an 18-month closure, Carlton’s King & Godfree precinct sprung back to life with the opening of zippy pizzeria Garfield. Delmonte, the second of three new venues slated for King &

Godfree’s rebirth, will open at the end of winter. Italian restaurant and wine room Delmonte will be centred around a wood oven and grill, with a focus on Italian wines, especially those from Piedmont. Chef Diana Desensi, who most recently led the kitchen at Daphne and previously worked with King & Godfree culinary director Karen Martini at Saint George in St Kilda, has been appointed as Delmonte’s head chef. She rounds out an impressive food and drink team that also includes executive chef Mark Glenn

(ex-Cumulus head chef, ex-Dinner by Heston). The menu will be rooted in the simple style of a classic Italian osteria, it won’t restrict itself to tradition – a contemporary, broader interpretation will define the style here. It’ll also pay tribute to the building’s history as one of Melbourne’s more storied delis. 293/297 Lygon Street, Carlton Dingo, Abbotsford In 2020, Texans Katy Simkins and Paul Walcutt began serving tacos from their food truck Dingo Ate My Taco. Melbourne chef Isaac Castellano joined the team shortly after,

and the truck quickly became one of the city’s favourite taco spots. Late last year, the trio opened Chinatown’s Taqueria Sin Nombre. While the Hot Listed Chinatown joint is still focused on tacos, it’s a more elevated offering than what the crew built its name on. This winter, the team will open Dingo, a new restaurant in the former Range Brewing space on Johnston Street in Abbotsford that returns to the brand’s casual roots. The restaurant will be open five days a week for breakfast,

lunch and dinner. There’ll be birria tacos, breakfast tacos and other Dingo Ate My Taco staples that aren’t on the menu at Taqueria Sin Nombre. 272 Johnston Street, Abbotsford Friendly Societies, Abbotsford The Carringbush Hotel on the corner of Langridge and Raphael streets in Abbotsford has been closed for just under two years. But next month, the pub, which first opened in 1889, will reawaken. Leo Weston and his parents Nathan and Clare Weston have taken over the leasehold. They plan to return the heritage-listed

venue to its former name, Friendly Societies Hotel, which it operated under from 1889 to 1984. The name still appears on the side of the building and is a better representation of the kind of local the family hopes to operate, Leo says. That is, a pub that feels like a community space. The father and son will run the floor, while the kitchen will be led by former Retreat Hotel head chef Chris O’Dwyer. There’ll be classic pub food with the occasional special from

Nathan such as a mixed grill sizzle plate, marking a distinct new era for the formerly meat-free venue. 226 Langridge Street, Abbotsford

Melbourne restaurants, winter openings, Cote Basque, Andrew McConnell, Sergio’s, Smith & Deli, Agnii, Cherry Tree Hotel, Delmonte, Dingo Ate My Taco, Friendly Societies Hotel