More than 700 diners will descend on the first Victorian restaurant of hospitality megagroup Merivale this weekend, Totti's, in the coastal town of Lorne. The relaxed Italian venue, already at four locations in Sydney, opens today in the Lorne Hotel after a frantic week of late nights and finishing touches personally overseen by CEO Justin Hemmes.

"We'll swap hammers for knives," joked executive chef Mike Eggert on Wednesday.

He and his team have been training in a mock restaurant on the pub's top floor (previously home to Coda) while the build is finished. Approximately 4000 reservations have been made since Wednesday, when bookings opened.

Opening on a long weekend in a popular holiday town was a brave decision by Merivale, operator of 80-plus restaurants, pubs and bars across New South Wales. But it matches the bold strides it made into Victoria in 2021, when Hemmes purchased the Lorne Hotel for $38 million in May following a successful bid one month prior on a seven-storey Flinders Lane building, where its second Victorian venue will open sometime next year.

Why did Hemmes choose Lorne, a town of 1300 that hibernates during winter, as the testing ground for Merivale's immaculately styled, high concept and, at times, hedonistic brand of hospitality? For Hemmes, it came down to beauty: the picturesque Great Ocean Road snakes right past the front door.

"When the opportunity came up to buy the legendary Lorne Hotel, it was something that I just couldn't pass up," says Hemmes.

"When we were looking at the next phase of The Lorne Hotel, we wanted to provide locals and visitors to Lorne with a casual eatery with great food and service, where you can roll in off the beach for antipasti and a spritz, settle in for a long family lunch or celebrate with friends."

The area's natural assets drew close to one million visitors a year pre-COVID, with a small pool of restaurants servicing them.

"I think this is something that Lorne needs: a high-class sort of restaurant," says Jacki Middleton of the Lorne Foreshore Caravan Park. "That might not be the sentiment everywhere. If you're Lorne born and bred, sometimes they can be a little bit protective."

The town's shortage of affordable long-term rental properties, a struggle when attracting permanent staff, may not be improved. Merivale rents rooms in the former Grand Pacific Hotel for staff.

"It makes it hard to welcome head chefs down, for example," says Leon Walker of Lorne Business And Tourism Association.

But Walker is upbeat about Totti's arrival, and believes its timing will reinvigorate the town ahead of the off-season.

Despite repurposing the Bondi-born Totti's identity for Merivale's Victorian debut, Hemmes made a smart hire in Matt Germanchis as executive chef across both Totti's and the Lorne Hotel's bistro.

Running seafood-focused venues in Anglesea for five years has bestowed Germanchis with a sparkling contact book of local fishers and farmers, who he'll be spotlighting on a large menu which mixes Totti's favourites with a few Victorian-only dishes.

"We want our guests to feel like it's not just a replicated menu," says Germanchis.

Warrnambool rock lobster, yabbies cooked over coals and Birregurra lamb chops lead the specials board this weekend, joined by half a dozen gelato flavours: liquorice, strawberry or pistachio, perhaps.

But it's a dome-shaped flatbread, puffed up by a scorching wood-fired oven, that will be landing on most tables: it's Totti's signature dish.

Some things, like pasta, Instagrammable bread and tiramisu, translate easily across state lines and climates. Others – Totti's sunny coastal trattoria identity – may be challenged by Victoria's long winters.

Hemmes and his team say they're confident they've tweaked the decor in all the right places, installing two handmade brass fireplaces and a bar at the rear with ski chalet ambience for blustery days by the sea.

"It will be interesting to see if they stay open seven days [during winter]," says Middleton.

Many of Lorne's hospitality venues close in winter, according to Middleton, who adds that Totti's could be a drawcard for tourists visiting then.