Hectic fish burgers and ‘Happy Meals’: Don’s team opens seafood diner on the north side
Prahran hotspot Don’s has a new sibling, Cordelia. It’s more grown-up but just as easygoing, with plenty to love even if you don’t like fish.
If you’re looking for a good time on the south side, Prahran wine bar Don’s all but guarantees it with pasta by the spoon, lo-fi vinos that pack a punch, and a regular crowd of cool kids.
The team’s sophomore venue, Cordelia, is a little less rowdy and a little more refined. “But I want it to have the same relaxed energy [as Don’s],” says owner Alex Gavioli.
He has ventured north to Carlton to open on the same Rathdowne Street block as hatted Bar Bellamy (and its sibling bar Melitta, coming soon to the space next door). Cordelia is more restaurant than bar, homing in on sustainably sourced seafood.
“The initial idea was a really good fish’n’chip shop, but we’ve come so far from that,” says Gavioli, who connected with Good Fish, a sustainability initiative by the Australian Marine Conservation Society, helping its community understand seafood more deeply.
“I couldn’t believe some of the stats: how many different species of prawns we’re not eating, all these fish that are [trendy] that we shouldn’t be eating as much of,” he says.
Seafood comes via Sydney-based supplier Andrew Joseph, also known as The Afishonado. “He has a little black book of fishers that he knows do it right,” says Cordelia chef Josh Norris, also of Don’s. “There’s a list of 10 to 15 [fish on offer] he sends out each week.”
Driven by what’s available, the menu shapeshifts day to day – and isn’t posted online. There are some constants, though. Always expect pasta, like a bouillabaisse-inspired Moreton Bay bug casarecce; a “hectic, KFC-looking” fish burger (only served at lunch Wednesday and Thursday) akin to the fried-chicken sandwich at Don’s; and a hibachi-grilled whole fish.
Beyond that, Norris keeps it “playful”. You might find octopus and merguez sausage skewers or coral trout with apricot beurre blanc. Cordelia’s “Happy Meal” is either an oyster, scallop or frites with a mini cocktail for $20; another Wednesday and Thursday special, it’s on from 3pm to 5pm.
But it’s not all seafood. Norris says Cordelia is the “only restaurant ever” to serve beef from Myall Springs, his family’s certified-organic farm in north-west NSW, which usually sells exclusively to butchers. Lean cuts become tartare, prime cuts become steaks.
With nearby Bar Bellamy nailing the cocktail game, Cordelia focuses on wines you can pair with seafood. Fun categories such as “Tang Town”, “Juiced Up” and “Volcanic Origins” make the two-page list even more digestible.
Meanwhile, design business Studio Kae, run by Gavioli’s wife, Sarah Freudendal, has revived a prime corner site – once a steak and oyster bar – into a picture of austere elegance, all tanned timbers, an apple-green marble bar and huge windows letting natural light stream in.
Cordelia is walk-ins only, save for groups of six or more, but there’s a dedicated space for pre- and post-dinner drinks. A bunker-like basement bar, clad in blackbutt timber, is beneath the dining room and accessible by a spiral staircase. There’s also plenty of outdoor seating.
Lunch and dinner Wed-Sat
180 Rathdowne Street, Carlton, cordelia.place
