It’s been too long between long lunches at city Italian stalwart Caterina’s Cucina e Bar. In late May, Caterina Borsato was “heartbroken” to find that a burst water main had flooded her eponymous basement restaurant, a business lunch destination on Melbourne’s Queen Street for 29 years.

“The road was covered in water,” says Borsato. “When I walked down the two sets of stairs and unlocked the door, all I heard was sludge ... I was in shock.”

While most of the floodwater had receded through the drains, the damage had been done. She was forced to close immediately. “I just broke down crying,” she says.

A less tenacious restaurateur might have seen it as a sign to throw in the towel, particularly after COVID and its aftershocks on daytime dining trade in the CBD. Not Borsato.

“I’m not saying I’m not scarred, but I’m past the tears,” she says. “My husband asked me if it was time to give up. No. I’ve got a little bit more to give.”

Seven months on, Caterina’s will reopen on November 25 for its classic lunch-only services – gutted, rebuilt and ready to enter its 30th year in style.

While most of the restaurant’s antique showpieces have been salvaged, including a pair of baroque mirrors adorned in gold leaf, it will look a little different. The Baltic pine floorboards were unable to be saved, but the pain of pulling them up was tempered by the discovery of beautiful old terrazzo beneath.

Everything else that has made Caterina’s a beacon for old-school power-lunching in Melbourne’s legal district remains, including menu fixtures such as vitello tonnato, roasted baby goat and braised octopus with polenta.

“One judge called me to say, ‘Is my corner still there?’,” says Borsato.

She’s been able to retain nine workers throughout the closure, which is lucky given that exceptional hospitality is a hallmark of the restaurant.

And, after a prolonged break, Borsato is itching to get back to business. “Finally, it’s starting to feel like a restaurant again ... I’ve really missed it.”

Open Mon-Fri noon-4pm from Monday, November 25

221 Queen Street, Melbourne, caterinas.com.au