Bar Carolina from Sarti and Il Bacaro team brings modern Italian to South Yarra
NODDING to the homeland while stamping its feet here in Melbourne, Bar Carolina proves Melburnians can’t get enough of Italian — especially when it’s done so well, writes Dan Stock.
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If only he could bottle it. Of course if he could, he wouldn’t still be running a restaurant. He would, rather, be sunning himself and sipping spritz with other squillionaires on his yacht in Capri, because Joe Mammone’s Bar Carolina, from the moment it opened, has been filled with the type of pan-generational buzz that other restaurateurs would, if not kill, then pay very handsomely for.
It’s more than just the many decades of experience Joe brings with him from the floors of some of Melbourne’s most famous Italians, including the CBD’s Il Bacaro and Sarti (both of which he co-owns).
More than simply the fastidious perfection of designer Chris Connell, who has created a room that’s understatedly sleek and modern yet utterly timeless.
And it’s more than handsome staff with brio born of the motherland delivering along with drinks and menus twinkling-eyed compliments to all the signorinas in the room.
But all this doesn’t completely answer why Bar Carolina has captured South Yarra’s pastel polo’d and permatanned heart so completely, so instantly.
Whatever it is, Carolina is heralding a dining renaissance of the top end of Toorak Rd.
Chef Paolo Masciopinto, who has come across from Sarti, is doing a fine job of feeding the expensively, expansively coiffured who come every night for Italian varietals in the glass and modern interpretations of Italian classics on the plate.
At this time of year there is nothing that says classic summer more than zucchini flowers, and the version here is simply outstanding. Filled with the salty creaminess of a brilliant baccala and covered in a fine, perfectly crisp batter, these $6-a-pop specials are not to be missed. Exceptional.
Also good: a pumpkin croquette that’s a fat finger of pillowy Amalfi-tanned crunch, but it’s the almost Vegemite-y depth to the black garlic aioli it’s served with that elevates it to must-order status ($4 each). Ice cold Peroni red alongside? Now you’re talking.
I wouldn’t bother with the fritto misto that’s served with a lurid hot-pink beetroot mayo that adds little other than colour to the heavy-handedly battered cuttlefish curls, tender though they are, along with good little crunchy school prawns ($24).
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But I would order again the plate of maple syrup-roasted carrots snuggling on a swipe of fresh curd, a scattering of nuts cutting through the sweetness ($16).
It’s brave to mess with such a classic as vitello tonnato. Here, cubes of poached veal and raw tuna — both excellent — are teamed with tiny pickled mushrooms, a few caper leaves and tiny onion flowers, with dots of anchovy mayo tying the lot together.
Purists will have none of it, but I’m a fan ($22).
A tight offering of four pastas segue from those stuzzichini to secondi, with supple ribbons of tagliolino twirling around Moreton Bay bugs and rich porcini mushrooms delivering a fine balance of earthy depth and sweet sea ($34).
Balance is also found throughout the wine list that sticks almost exclusively to Italian, a few grapes grown here joining bottles from all regions, with wines by the glass notable for their considered breadth. That there are $11 glasses of perfectly drinkable house wine (a pecorino bianco and a montepulciano rosso) offered alongside bottles of hero labels — Gaja, Ornellaia, Tignanello — is but one example of the smarts that shine through the package, which then only highlights how out of place the plastic-sheathed list is.
The Josper oven, however, is right at home, and the charcoal-fired oven/grill delivers a deep smokiness to a whole flathead ($44), as dramatically presented as they come.
Curled around the plate surrounding a summer-sharp lemon sauce, its only-a-mother-could-love face peeks out from under fresh-picked sorrel. With a side of rosemary-scented crunchy potato chunks ($10), the perfectly cooked fish delivers a warm night delight.
The braised goat is more comfortingly homely, and while the meat was a touch dry, it’s saved by vibrant fresh broad beans and a grating of ricotta salata binding it all together ($35).
And to end, the city’s most Instagram Story-able dessert for this refreshingly non-Instagramming crowd: a “tiramisu” that’s a smoking, smashable white chocolate orb within which coffee jelly hides. It’s a little bit of delicious show to finish ($18).
Like all Joe’s venues, Bar Carolina does Italian with a modern twist, nodding to the homeland while stamping its feet here in Melbourne. No wonder the locals love it so.
SCORE: 14.5/20
Bar Carolina
44 Toorak Rd, South Yarra
Open Wed-Sat lunch; Mon-Sat dinner
Go to dish: Rock flathead
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