Cucina Povera Vino Vero Melbourne: Restaurateur Maurice Terzini, chef Joey Vargetto open new Italian eatery in CBD
Sydney identity Maurice Terzini of Icebergs fame is back in town, opening his first Melbourne restaurant in one decade.
Food
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What started as a lockdown garage project between old mates, Italian prodigy Maurice Terzini and Sicilian prince Joey Vargetto, will open as a new-age city eatery.
Cucina Povera Vino Vero has moved into Vargetto’s former Massi site on Little Collins St and will open its dining room this week, slinging cocktails and lo-fi wines.
It’s Terzini’s first Melbourne restaurant in a decade, after leaving to open Bondi’s hugely popular Icebergs, off the success of South Yarra icon Caffe e Cucina and St Kilda’s Melbourne Wine Room.
“We’re confident in the narrative and product — we’re not trying to change the world, just serving simple food with wine,” he said.
Terzini hasn’t lived or worked in Melbourne for 22 years, but says the city will always be close to his heart.
“I’ve missed the urban spirit of Melbourne and that’s what drawn me back. I’ve been coming back for quite a while but haven’t been back for work in quite a while.”
“Sydney has a different vibe to Melbourne. In Sydney, I’m more on the beach and that seaside lifestyle, but Cucina Povera is in the middle of the city and has that urban energy.”
Vargetto said the concept of Cucina Povera was simple.
“We want to share food … that we made in the garage with our families,” he said.
He wants Cucina Povera to be a “restaurant that Melbourne hasn’t seen before”, introducing nights with no menus where customers tell the chefs what to cook.
“If we have veal in the fridge, we’ll prepare something like veal scaloppine with spinach. There was one restaurant in Melbourne a longtime ago that didn’t have a menu. I think we’ll do that once a month,” Vargetto said.
Joe Jones, of Romeo Lane fame, will lead the cocktail list with Terzini overseeing the wine, which will be packed with lesser-known producers from here and abroad.
Cucina Povera Vino Vero, 445 Little Collins St, Melbourne
Health food shake-up
IT’S not easy being green, unless you’re Ray Capaldi going on a health kick.
“I’m trying to eat healthy at the minute and I’ve never been able to find a great place for a salad, shake or healthy food,” Capaldi said.
The esteemed Melbourne chef behind lockdown saviour Wonderpies and Baketico has spent the past month trialling a new health food kiosk, Tinytico, in Heidelberg Heights.
Think fun salads, poke bowls, bagels, rice paper rolls, vegan and gluten-free desserts and even cheeky booze-inspired smoothieflavours packed with antioxidants.
“We do a Bloody Mary which is made from pressed tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and celery salt and our take on a Negroni that’s freshly flavoured orange juice over muddled bay leaf, mint, coriander and celery,” he said.
Capaldi is working closely with in-house chef and health guru Ana Clemente to develop some of the menu items.
“She’s been involved with the Wonderpies family for quite some time and we want to help bring on staff and help build their dreams,” he said.
Some of Tinytico’s spread includes a smoked salmon bagel with red onions and sour cream and poke bowls decked out with steamed rice, poached Vietnamese-style chicken, veg and nuoc
nam, plus a clean Biscoff cheesecake for the sweet tooths.
Tinytico, 1/1 Orr St, Heidelberg Heights
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