Kim Coronica and Greg Feck from Hawthorn's Crabapple Kitchen fell so hard for Venice that they've recreated a corner of the Floating City in Hawthorn's freshly revamped Lido cinema complex.

Teaming up with former colleagues Stephanie Edgerton (Richmond Hill Cafe & Larder) and David Wickwar​ (Sapore), they've opened Vaporetto Bar & Eatery, named after Venice's public ferry service.

It's a two-stage project. The 30-seat bar, designed around the facade of a 100-year-old tobacconist shop, spangly Murano glass chandeliers and a long slab of white Carrara marble, is already pulling a crowd with snackish cicchetti such as posh Harry's Bar-style toasties​ filled with prosciutto, emmental, cayenne and mustard, spanner crab and saffron arancini​, and salumi​.

The cloth-bound drinks list includes a twist on Aperol spritz, with prosecco, Aperol and mandarin liqueur, three styles of negroni​, and Italian-made wines by the glass, carafe or litre.

Stage two is evolving behind a temporary wall. The 70-seat eatery will have a mezzanine overlooking an open kitchen, which will rustle up classic Venetian dishes (baccala mantecato​, or whipped salt cod), steaks and bowls of pre-theatre pasta, and desserts for the post-film debrief.

Bar open Sun-Thu 5pm-10pm and Fri-Sat 5pm-midnight. The eatery is expected to open by April for lunch and dinner daily.

Rear 681 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn 03 9078 5492, vaporetto.com.au