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‘Inviting and warm’ Sunhands might be your new favourite Carlton cafe and wine bar

Emma Breheny
Emma Breheny

Popular Carlton hangout Heartattack and Vine is putting its stamp on another slice of the suburb, opening a second venue on the sunny corner that was home, until recently, to Ima Project Cafe.

Sunhands, opening March 21, is the daytime yin to Heartattack’s more moody yang, says co-owner Ishella Butler.

The Sunhands team (from left) head chef Pat Drapac and co-owners Matt Roberts, Nathen Doyle and Ishella Butler.
The Sunhands team (from left) head chef Pat Drapac and co-owners Matt Roberts, Nathen Doyle and Ishella Butler.Nicholas Wilkins

“I want someone to stand across the road and look in and think: that looks inviting and warm,” she says.

Sunhands, which Butler has opened with Matt Roberts and Nathen Doyle, features a couple of nods to the design of its sister venue, such as a high bar and an archway, but the palette is much lighter, with yellow tiles, white walls and blond timber.

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Open for wholesome breakfast plates that are heavy on the ferments, the venue will trade until 9pm, catering to people popping in for a pre-dinner aperitivo or a quick drink after a film at the nearby Nova cinema.

Wholesome breakfasts, sandwiches and salads showcase vegetables grown nearby.
Wholesome breakfasts, sandwiches and salads showcase vegetables grown nearby.Nicholas Wilkins

Chef Pat Drapac (ex-Old Palm Liquor) is sourcing vegetables from Days Walk Farm in Keilor, seafood from Two Hands, and cheese from Long Paddock in Castlemaine, deploying the ingredients across flexible all-day menus and an approachable lunch cabinet of salads and sandwiches. Expect curried egg on Akimbo sourdough, or roasted broccoli, kale and tahini salad with the option of roasted lamb on the side.

A small retail section will sell wine, Drapac’s ferments, City Larder charcuterie and more.

Ima, a firm favourite for its Japanese-Australian take on cafe food, is building a new venue in Brunswick, and is about to open a store selling takeaway meals, coffee, pastries and artisan Japanese groceries.

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Sunhands will trade on restricted daytime hours until its liquor licence is approved.

Open Tue-Sun 10am-3pm (night trading to follow).

169 Elgin Street, Carlton, sunhands.com.au

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Emma BrehenyEmma BrehenyEmma is Good Food's Melbourne-based reporter and co-editor of The Age Good Food Guide 2024.

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Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/goodfood/melbourne-eating-out/inviting-and-warm-sunhands-might-be-your-new-favourite-carlton-cafe-and-wine-bar-20230317-p5csy2.html