New restaurant openings in Melbourne: March, April 2023
This Fitzroy St watering hole has worn many hats over the years — and in its latest iteration, it’ll house five venues under the one roof.
Food
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Melbourne is already bustling with food and wine options and this month, our city has welcomed even more bakeries, cafes, restaurants and bars to the fold.
Add these new venues to your monthly hit-list.
Saint
After many iterations, St Kilda stalwart Saint Hotel has been given another reboot.
New partners James D Field and dad James M Field, of family construction business Field Group, with the help of general manager Mrinal Beekarry, have turned the former nightclub into a thriving mulit-level food and drink mecca.
The menu has been orchestrated by executive chef Gary Lai (of The Atlantic, Amber Hong Kong), who uses the Josper grill to inspire his Aussie produce led menu.
The multi-level space will be home to restaurant Saint Dining, front bar Saint Bar, sun-drenched terrace bar, Bar 54 and soon to open wine bar, The Vault and cocktail bar, Stellas.
54 Fitzroy St, St Kilda
Odd Culture
Sydneysiders Odd Culture Group will open their first Melbourne venue in Fitzroy this May — and in true hipster north fashion, there’ll be plenty of natural wine and wild ale to go around.
Melbourne hotelier Gerry Nass (Robert Burns Hotel) will oversee the operations of the Brunswick St outpost, which draws inspiration from Newtown’s super-hip hybrid bar and bottle shop.
Chief executive James Thorpe said the Melbourne bar, in the old Fitzroy post office, was a natural progression in the group’s evolution.
“We’re excited to meet our neighbours and those we’ll be working alongside to hopefully
add our little take on creating great experiences with food and beverage; something Melbourne is already known to do so well,” he said.
“I think there’s a place for our perspective — a bit of strangeness is usually welcomed — and diverse perspectives are what allow our industry to be so central to the lives of people.”
Unlike its Newtown sibling, it’ll have less of a restaurant focus and triumph its snack game, designed by ex-Meatsmith butcher James MacDonald.
1/296 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Carrajung Estate
Gippsland will welcome new-look winery Carrajung Estate later this month.
Formerly the old Tom’s Cap Winery, owned by The Bachelor star Jarrod Woodgate until last year, Carrajung Estate will host new on-site restaurant The Nest, helmed by US-born chef Patrick Haney. The Nest will have a hyper-local focus on produce and will take bookings from April 7. Carrajuang Estate’s opening also coincides with the winery’s first vintage release, which includes shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, riesling and sauvignon blanc.
The wine program was overseen by Carrajung Estate co-founder Adrian Critchlow, Toms Cap founder Graham Morris and Marcus Satchell (of Inverloch’s Dirty Three Wines).
322 Lays Rd, Willung South
Penny for a Pound
A cult bakery has opened a larger than life venue metres from its original Richmond base.
Penny for Pound has been churning through coffee, baking croissants since early March.
Matilda Smith and Ben Wilson’s humble bakery business has been booming since opening in 2016 — expanding to three cafes, located in Richmond, Camberwell and flagship Moorabbin.
Expect a roll call of usual suspects — croissants, danishes, hot pies, sandwiches, sausage rolls, cruffins and salted choc chip cookies.
418 Bridge Rd, Richmond
By The Glass
Armadale has welcomed a new wine bar to Kings Arcade. By The Glass has been two years in the making for owners Ron Dhali and Gareth Yan. They’ve installed Myles Davis-Schiele as head chef and venue manager, also responsible for curating the wine and food offering. He’ll refresh the wine list every six weeks to keep things fresh. Expect a mix of local and international pours, as well as snacks such as duck and lamb pate, oysters, marinated beef hearts and burnt butter cauliflower and lamb carpaccio.
Kings Arcade, 976 High St, Armadale
Young Hearts
Windsor’s local watering hole, Galah, may have flown the coop — but there’s a new bird in town.
Neptune Food and Wine founder Nic Coulter has taken over the vacant space a few doors from his High St Italian restaurant to open new bar, Young Hearts, in April.
“The closure of Galah left a hole in High St, which we all felt. I saw an opportunity to reinject some new energy into the street through a multifaceted and always-evolving venue that lives at the cross-section of great drinks, music, food and culture,” he said.
Expect the usual suspects — beer, spirits, classic cocktails, as well as six signatures and a focus on natural and local wines.
Young Hearts will host biannual kitchen residencies for new local talent and interstate chefs.
216 High St, Windsor
Blitz Bar
A group of mates in their early 20s are behind Malvern’s TikTok famous self-serve acai shop, Blitz Bar.
Co-founded by Brandon Efron, Jordan Glick, and Samuel Vilshansky, Blitz Bar is health-focused.
Think DIY acai bowls, with all the toppings including fresh cut fruits, cacao nibs, goji berries and granola. There are also customisable smoothies, salad bowls and on-the-go snacks.
Take your creations away or make the most of the sunshine (while it lasts) in the sunny courtyard out back.
183 Glenferrie Road, Malvern
Molly Rose Brewing
Food and wine are a match in culinary heaven, so what about food and beer?
It’s a thought that’s been brewing in the mind of Molly Rose founder Nic Sanderyfor many years.
This month the Collingwood brewpub, which opened in 2019, is moving into a larger warehouse space next door — with a kitchen serving more substantial eats by chef Ittichai ‘Biggie’ Ngamtrairai.
“I’ve always wanted to do more food and I was searching for a set up venue like a bar or a cafe, but when we were offered first dibs on the space next door we thought it’d be crazy not to lease off the new owner and expand the Molly Rose Collingwood precinct,” Sandery said.
Biggie, who moved into the head chef gig after a stint at NOMAD Melbourne, has crafted a casual menu inspired by Sandery’s love of southeast Asian street food.
“I’m focusing on cooking food that’ll go with beer,” Biggie said.
“Nic wanted to share a mix of Malaysian, Chinese and southeast Asian flavours. I love my background (Thai) as well, so I’ll recreate the street food in a modern way to make it different and more interesting.”
The 16-item menu includes scallops with a housemade chilli jam, stuffed chicken wings, fried noodle and rice dishes, kangaroo tartare as well as a few desserts.
Sandery said the second phase of the Molly Rose move would include a Chef’s Table set-menu, made up of seven elevated courses each paired with beer.
The Chef’s Table is still a work in progress and is expected to launch later in 2023.
“We want to highlight the amazing adaptability for beer to pair with food,” Sandery said.
“For now, we’ll have casual street food to ease into the kitchen and allow us build our set-menu over the next month or two.”
Molly Rose, 279- 285 Wellington St, Collingwood, mollyrosebrewing.com
Alta Trattoria
A trip to Fitzroy’s new eatery Alta Trattoria is cheaper than jetsetting to northern Italy.
The passion project by Carlo Grossi (Grossi Florentino) and sommelier James Tait (King and Godfree) opened on the corner of Brunswick and Victoria streets last week.
Chef McKay Wilday is on the kitchen tools, while ex-Carlton Wine Room player Luke Drum will work the floor while he’s not calling the shots as restaurant manager.
Expect a cellar chiming with northern Italian wines, as well as choice French and Aussie pours, antipasto, and regional classics such as vitello tonnato and several types of pasta.
274 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, altatrattoria.com
Rumi relocates
Brunswick’s Middle Eastern stalwart Rumi is moving after 16 years. Founders Joseph and Nat Abboud won’t stray too far from their original Lygon St digs — moving 1km away to East Brunswick Village. Fearing an expired lease would determine Rumi’s fate, the Abbouds teamed up with developers Banco Group to take the beloved restaurant into a new era. The new 80-seater will join Bridge Road Brewery and a boutique cinema in the entertainment hub from August. Expect a roll-call of Rumi hits such as almond tarator, Sigara BöreğI (cheese spring rolls) Persian meatballs and spiced lamb. An all-day bar and events space are also in the works.
Set to open August 2023.
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