New restaurant openings in Melbourne June 2023: Louey’s at The Espy St Kilda
Ever dreamed of eating pizza in an American-Italo dining room where disco balls descend from the ceiling and the DJ booth is front and centre? This St Kilda icon is trying this on for size.
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One of The Espy’s restaurants is getting an American-Italo rebrand.
Louey’s will replace Espy Kitchen and Bar inside the St Kilda mega-venue from Wednesday, joining mod-Asian Mya Tiger and the downstairs pub.
Executive chef Tony Moss leans into the theme, with mini-fried lasagnes, meatball sliders, lobster pizza, ‘two sip’ mini martinis and spiked ‘adult’ spiders bound to get the party started.
A disco ball, which descends from the ceiling on weekends, and a DJ booth in the centre of the room also help its cause.
The space will be home to band nights, DJ sets and brunch sessions.
Venue manager Chad Kaya said Louey’s complemented The Espy’s fellow venues.
“It’s the ideal space for those wanting a good time and good food, and is the perfect balance between what’s upstairs at MyaTiger and the casual pub in the main entrance of the building”.
Louey’s Bar and Kitchen, 11 The Esplanade, St Kilda.
Aussie nostalgia on the menu at Bali restaurant
Adam McAsey’s very Aussie upbringing has inspired his next big Bali restaurant.
The Rowville entrepreneur, 36, is behind some of the holiday island’s biggest eateries and will next week open retro-inspired all-day eatery Electric Eel in Canggu.
“We grew up on jelly and Sunday roasts,” McAsey said.
“My grandmother used to bake a lot, she was always making sponge cakes. That’s what we wanted for this concept – we even refer to our cakes as ‘grandma style’.”
The two-storey space overlooks one of the region’s most popular surf beaches, Echo Beach, with a retro fit-out and nostalgic food offering putting the Australian Women’s Weekly cookbooks to shame.
“We have everything from raspberry muffins, scones, apple and mulberry pies, plum crumble, fruit and spice sourdough and upside down pineapple cakes,” he said.
After lockdown, which permanently closed three of his Bali businesses, McAsey has joined fellow Aussie and local surfing legend Tai “Buddha” Graham to start their own hospitality-lifestyle brand: Project Black.
Graham also has a lion’s share of Bali’s big-name clubs, such as The Lawn in Canggu and Uluwatu’s Single Fin, and last yearthe duo launched fire-powered eatery Skool Kitchen.
McAsey, who has lived abroad for 10 years, said it felt wholesome to create something that reminded him of home.
“It’s not often (in business) we get to focus on who we are and what we have grown up with,” he said.
Given the restaurant is in a tourist hotspot, he’s also conscious some of the Aussie treats may not resonate with the international crowds.
“We know we will get people from Europe and America, so we really just want the whole experience to be wholesome. We want people to come in and say, oh this reminds me of X, Y, Z from home.”
Electric Eel, electriceelechobeach.com
‘Big demand’ for tiny Glen Iris Italian eatery
You won’t find limp pizzas at veteran chef Joe Di Cintio’s new restaurant, Grazia.
“I love Neapolitan pizzas, but I don’t like it when the bases are soft and floppy,” he said.
“My main aim was to create a pizza with structure, so I went for a Roman style.”
Di Cintio and Italian pizza chef Sebastiano Condo pulled out all stops to nail the recipe.
The dough is fermented for three days before it’s spun, topped and cooked in a custom Castelli electric oven from Rome.
“It’s such an amazing oven as it controls the heat from all angles and doesn’t lose heat when you open the door,” he said.
And the locals have responded accordingly, with Grazia’s weekend dinners and lunches booked up for the next six weeks.
The executive chef and co-owner follows the food ethos of his most recent Glen Waverley venue, Sette Bello, which championed Italian classics with a twist.
The cuisine is broadbrush Italian with Sicilian nods, which is why you’ll find golden fried calamari fritti, vitello tonnato, crumbed veal and a heaping of fresh pastas.
The pappardelle prawn and lobster is a crowd favourite, made with Robe-sourced lobster.
Grazia is among the few Italian restaurants to open in the inner east, with Enoteca Boccaccio recently pulling up stumps on Burke Rd.
Di Cintio said locals had been starved of a decent Italian restaurant for some time.
“There’s a big demand for city-style restaurants in the suburbs,” he said.
159 Burke Rd, Glen Iris
Cult Balwyn grocer opens Italian wine bar
The family behind Balwyn’s Boccaccio empire has opened its long-awaited wine bar.
Enoteca Boccaccio, first reported by the Herald Sun in 2021, poured its first nebbiolo last week after two years in the making.
The tiny eatery lives above owner Anthony D’Anna and his family’s cult-Italian deli and grocer, Boccaccio Cellars, which has been a local fave since 1973.
Andrew Beddoes, of Richmond’s Tartine and Albert Park Hotel, leads the kitchen with a snack-heavy offering alongside homemade pastas and larger shares such as 1kg dry-aged T-bone steak and sea bream.
D’Anna said Enoteca was inspired by his favourite Italian venues, including popular Florence wine bar Il Santino.
“Over the years, Boccaccio has become a great community. We want our customers to come to a place, relax, and eat some delicious food with family and friends,” he told the Herald Sun previously.
Hibachi-grilled wagyu ox tongue, Jerusalem artichokes with stracciatella and black truffle and grilled calamari with anchovies, lemon and capers are among the smaller plates.
Enoteca’s boastful wine list is another drawcard, which includes back-vintage pours from the D’Anna family cellars in Tuscany and Barolo. BYO is available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Most smallgoods are also imported from Italy.
Enoteca Boccaccio is open from Tuesday to Saturday, for lunch and dinner, and Sundays for lunch only.
1/1046 Burke Rd, Balwyn, enoteca.boccaccio.com.au
Iconic CBD pub’s bold ‘no parma’ rule
A historic CBD pub has been given a modern glow-up, with a Rone mural and luxe food offering adding to the allure.
The Metropolitan Hotel reopens next Monday, bringing a new look and feel to the city’s legal district – just don’t expect to see parmas on the menu.
“Don’t worry, we have a schnitzel,” partner Roger Okalyi said.
“We will be testing the market, there’ll be bangers and mash and a 500gm rib-eye steak … it’s above pub grub.”
Okalyi and DeGroup’s Colin and Ben Delutis have revamped the 170-year-old corner pub into a three-level “one-stop shop”, restoring its original heritage facade and adding a ground-floor wine bar, mid-floor cocktail bar and rooftop restaurant.
A new 17-storey commercial tower built above the site was also part of the development.
“We still didn’t want to lose the identity of the hotel. You can still watch the footy downstairs, maybe with no sound, but we’re open to suggestions and will be led by our customers. We want to get a feel for the market,” Okalyi said.
South American-born head chef Andre Raulino will look to Brazil and Peru to inspire the hotel’s snacks, share plates and classic dishes.
Okalyi has been in the biz for 35 years and is behind iconic Melbourne venues such as Motel nightclub, Middle Park Hotel and Cafe Clicquot.
He expected the city to return to its pre-pandemic self in time.
“I think the city is wounded, but I do think it will come back. If you give a good product and experience, people will come.”
The Metropolitan, 263 William St, Melbourne
Aru chef’s new pastry project
Chef Khanh Nguyen’s pastry fixation has been realised in the form of a Euro-style bakery.
ANTARA 128 will be Nguyen’s first flour-powered venture, celebrating delicious dough creations such as bread, pastries, pizzas and pastas with an Asian twist.
The Hotel Windsor project, also behind Nguyen’s other venues Aru and Sunda, will strike a divide between day and night and bakery-meets-restaurant.
Windsor Hotel proprietor Adi Halim said the space looks to Europe while honouring Nguyen’s southeast Asian cooking style.
“With this space, we wanted to look to the dining scene of Europe, but done in a Melbourne way,” he said.
“I’ve always liked the feel of European brasseries, places that open from early to late which you can drop in at throughout the day.”
“We will be bringing the sensibility of that to this venture and depart from our norm, with the food having a European focus with an Asian touch.”
ANTARA means between — between places, spaces, dawn and dusk, east and west, and bakery and restaurant.
ANTARA, 128 Exhibition St, Melbourne, opening late 2023
Gimlet’s new spin-off bar
Surprise snacks, fresh seafood, up-late desserts and tailored cocktails will be the drawcard of Melbourne chef Andrew McConnell’s new bar.
Apollo Inn, run by the team behind the city’s best restaurant Gimlet at Cavendish House, will open on Tuesday.
McConnell and his wife, Jo McGann, spent 18 months creating the cocktail bar, which is just a few doors down from their award-winning Russel St restaurant.
“A great bar is a good place to go with friends, but even better bar allows you to make new ones,” McConnell told the Herald Sun.
The intimate 28-seater will have a small kitchen — serving snacks alongside Trader House’s world-class drinks.
Think prawn and spanner crab club sandwiches, beef carpaccio, shellfish over ice and cured meats lead the charge. There’s also nuts, oysters and cheese.
The tight menu will change daily, depending on what’s fresh and best, with off-menu items also on the cards.
Gimlet bar boss Cameron Parish, venue manager Shane Lazzo, head chef Colin Mainds and the group’s wine guru Leanne Altmann and Chloe Penn will lead an all-star team, with new face Katya Owens coming on as service manager.
Old-world classics with new-world sensibility is the brief for the cocktail list.
There will be eight signatures, including negroni spin-off, a crisp beer creation made with a blend of house-made amaro and crisp French lager.
Classics include four types of martinis.
The name is a historical nod to the public house which opened on the now-Gimlet site in 1884.
Gimlet at Cavendish House was named Victoria’s best restaurant in the annual delicious. 100 rankings, reviewed by a panel of expert food critics, last year.
The CBD venue also made its surprise debut in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants extended 100-51 rankings in 2022 — earning McConnell his first nod in the prestigious list in his 20-year career as a chef.
Reservations are now open.
Apollo Inn, 165 Flinders Ln, Melbourne, open daily from 5pm to 1am.
Tiny Japanese eatery in hot demand
A tiny Japanese restaurant has cropped up in the city’s west.
Matsu has been serving four diners at a time above a Footscray shop front since late March.
Demand is so high, tables usually book out within 10 minutes of reservations opening.
The Barkly St restaurant is fully booked until July.
Owner and chef Hansol Lee and life partner Elly Hong wanted to provide an elevated dining experience in the suburbs after living and working in the city.
“We wanted a small and cosy place that only seated about four or six people,” he said.
“With four people, we found we can give them a comfortable experience.
“When you have more than eight, 10 or 12 people, you can’t care for each customer in the same way.”
While Melbourne has many omakase (chef’s choice) style Japanese restaurants, such as Kew’s Sushi On, Matsu is one of the few to honour a traditional kaiseki experience.
Kaiseki offers multiple seasonal courses which extend beyond sushi and sashimi.
You may start with a caviar-topped oyster with chive and ponzu dressing before a clear broth of scallop and white fish and vegetables, with larger plates such as crayfish rice or a red miso soup.
Lee spent more than a decade learning the craft of Japanese cooking at Kenzen.
Matsu follows the lead of several small Melbourne restaurants, such as Korean eatery Chase and Alex Cheah’s two-seater Teishoku Tuesdays.
Matsu is open for dinner, for two sittings, Wednesday to Saturday.
157A Barkly St, Footscray
Historic pub gets new owners
The duo responsible for the Orrong Hotel’s glow-up has taken over another historic pub.
Matt Vero and Scott Connolly will restore the 130-year-old Healesville Hotel, with plans to re-open the venue in late July.
The public bar, bistro and beer garden will stay, as well as the traditional pub fare.
256 Maroondah Hwy, Healesville
Sweet new way to score famed bakes
Didn’t make the sweet escape to Attica Summer Camp?
Now you can try Rosemary Andrews cult lockdown bakes — and that valrhona chocolate cake — at a grand scale.
For one day, the talented pastry chef’s marvelled creations will be sold at Richmond’s new co-baking kitchen, Co. Bake Space, on Saturday June 17.
Slices of her famed seven-layered “honey misu”, signature lemon tart, dulcey basque cheesecake, twice-baked chocolate cakes, strawberry lamingtons and cookies will be sold on the day.
Fans of her pillowy focaccia won’t be disappointed either, with the Attica’s Bake Shop and Summer Camp favourite also making an appearance.
Andrews always dreamt of having her own cake shop, and said the pop-up opportunity allowed her to test the waters.
“Doing this pop-up is a test to see if I have an audience for a shopfront,” she said.
“It’s easy to be online and have an audience, but to have them come into your shop — this’ll be the real test.”
The former Hazel pastry chef caught the industry’s attention back in 2021 while moonlighting at Attica’s Bake Shop in lockdown.
After impressing chef Ben Shewry, she led the charge for all things sweet at his Yarra Valley summer stint and was behind the pop-up’s colourful dessert trolley.
Co. Bake Space was coined by pastry chefs Alice Bennett (Miss Trixie) and Alisha Henderson (Sweet Bakes).
Andrews will be the first of many pastry chefs popping up in the space.
Co. Bake Space, 239 Swan St, Richmond, cobake.com.au
Sad salads to bargain bowls: How SilkSpoon saved lunch in the city
This cheery Chinese kiosk has gone from zero to lunch time hero in a matter of months, with under $20 meals bound to keep city workers happy.
Six hotly anticipated restaurant openings to watch out for in 2025
After a dire 2024, the city’s dining landscape is showing signs of new life — with a swag of top-tier chefs opening new restaurants this year.