When Glen Iris wine bar Tom Pockett Cellars closed, a quartet of regulars rallied to buy it. Despite having no hospo experience, they turned it into Central Park Cellars.

Since the bar’s reboot late last year, the long-time local couples behind it – Michael and Paula Stephenson, and Fiona Doyle and Craig Buffham – have been working to incrementally zhoosh up the experience, while keeping it familiar for fellow regulars.

“We didn’t want to throw it on its head,” says Michael. “A lot of people loved it as it was.”

The industrial Burke Road space is now brighter, with more comfy seating inside and out. And bringing on Sardinian-born chef Andrea Serreli (ex-Tipico) gave the menu an Italian edge: think charred octopus with ’nduja romesco and handmade gnocchi with slow-cooked duck ragu. Plus, $20 pasta or risotto deals on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Quality, reasonably priced wines are aplenty, but they’re shaking more cocktails than expected.

“People loved the chicken salt on our chips so much we added it to the rim of a cocktail,” says Fiona. The Salted Hen is a spicy marg with house-made jalapeno syrup.

Open Wed 3pm-late; Thu-Sat noon-late; Sun noon-9pm

155 Burke Road, Glen Iris, centralparkcellars.com.au

—Tomas Telegramma

A southside milk bar is reimagined, complete with speedy coffee that’s a rarity in these parts

An old Elwood milk bar has been reborn as Dickens Street Grocer, a smart food store with outdoor seating for pastries, coffee and sandwiches.

“It’s a perfect location, a thoroughfare between St Kilda Botanical Gardens and the beach,” says owner Nicholas Totos.

Fresh produce, dry goods and a well-stocked fridge mean locals can swing by for gourmet basics, upmarket treats, bunches of flowers and ready meals. There was instant interest from residents, who are already coming by in droves, often with their dogs.

“Oat lattes seem to be the brew of choice around here,” says Totos. “And the first change we made was to install hooks for dogs - everyone seems to have one or two.”

The liquor licence process is underway; as the weather warms up, one window may become a panini and smoothie hatch; and there are plans to go all-out with window decorations for Halloween and Christmas.

Totos’ family owns Ambient Food Group, which includes a wholesale bakery (its bread stocks the shelves here), South Melbourne Market’s Emerald Deli and a number of cafes in city buildings. The team is used to serving office workers who want a speedy flat white.

“I noticed when we were looking around [this] area that I sometimes waited a long time for a coffee. We could be doing the quickest coffee in Elwood,” says Totos.

Open daily 7am-4pm

48 Dickens Street, Elwood, instagram.com/dickensstreetgrocer

—Dani Valent

Miznon’s cult cauliflower is now available at a second location

Hardware Lane pita palace Miznon is bringing its Israeli street food to a sun-drenched corner on Derby Street, Collingwood.

It’s the second Melbourne location for the brand, started by Israeli chef Eyal Shani. Born in Tel Aviv in 2011, Miznon then expanded to Paris, Vienna, New York City and, in 2017, to Melbourne.

With more of a neighbourhood feel than its CBD counterpart, Miznon Collingwood has a red-brick facade and huge windows all around that open up to the street.

The menu is mostly familiar because it wouldn’t be Miznon without the golden-crusted baby cauliflower, roasted whole, and the abu kamal (“like a lamb kebab in a pita,” says venue manager Nicole Guzman), a long-time bestseller among meat-eaters.

But there are a few new dishes you’ll only find here. “Collingwood’s reputation precedes it,” says head chef Afik Gal, “so we’ve added some more vegetarian and vegan options.” One is a sabich featuring oven-baked eggplant, either in a pita or on a plate alongside potato, hard-boiled egg and more.

And if you like it hot, there’s a mezze plate with three fiery sauces – including house-made harissa – topped with a grilled chilli and pita off-cuts for dipping.

Open Tue-Sat noon-3pm, 5.30pm-9pm

54 Derby Street, Collingwood, miznonaustralia.com

—Tomas Telegramma

Malvern strip strengthens its dining cred with cosy Italian local Lulu

When Angus Brettingham-Moore opened Essie in an old Malvern music school in 2019, he hadn’t planned for the wine bar to double as a restaurant. But he always thought the Station Street strip could do with more dining options.

Five years later, he has taken matters into his own hands, opening warmly lit 45-seat Italian diner Lulu less than 100 metres down the road, so it and Essie can “feed off each other”.

“There’s already been a large contingent of diners I know from Essie,” says Brettingham-Moore. “It’s lovely to see those guys and their continued support.”

The lure? Crowd-pleasing Italian dishes by chef Rob Bramante (ex-Tiamo).

Start with fluffy focaccia and freshly shucked Sydney rock oysters with Campari vinaigrette. Then move on to leopard-crusted, stone-baked pizzas made with a 72-hour-fermented dough (“the mortadella, pistachio and buffalo mozzarella is a clear-cut favourite,” says Brettingham-Moore) and spanner-crab linguine with prawn bisque and brandy sauce.

If you’re partial to a post-meal coffee hit, you can get it in a few different forms: in a big slab of tiramisu, in a caffeinated riff on the negroni, and in a classic espresso martini.

The cosy space, curated by local interior designer Alexandra Cerny, has been kitted out in earthy tones, including a curved burnt-orange banquette, sand-coloured tiles and textured walls. A statement steel-topped bar was made for casual drop-in wines.

Open Wed-Thu 5pm-late; Fri-Sun noon-late

11 Station Street, Malvern, lulumalvern.com

—Tomas Telegramma