PARTY POPPER
THE LATEST FROM CHEFS AND RESTAURANTS AROUND AUSTRALIA RESTAURANT NEWS
MELBOURNE
As Victoria slowly reopens, with it comes some new offerings from bold and brave hospitality folk. Tiny pop-up pasticceria Monforte Viennoiserie has cropped up in Carlton North. You’ll find a changing rotation of short-run pastries: one week you may get a leatherwood honey and sea salt croissant, the next, one topped with asparagus, goat’s curd and hazelnut. Owner Giorgia McAllister Forte spent the past four years learning tricks of the trade from Boris Portnoy at All Are Welcome.
As Marion reverts back to its original wine bar format, just a few doors down you’ll be able to enjoy the community grocery vibes of this pivot permanently. Morning Market will take cues from the Marion Grocer, offering sandwiches, salads and coffee, alongside fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers, and bread by Baker Bleu.
SYDNEY
After the upheaval of this year, chefs are now on the move to bring new life to Sydney mainstays. Nik Hill has taken to La Rosa at The Strand for a pop-up dubbed . It’s pitched as a British-Italian steakhouse, but there’s not a squiggle of pasta in sight. “The food is far more British than Italian,” says Hill. Similarly, Nigel Ward (formerly of Sagra). He’ll make the most of the existing wood-fired oven, serving up Ulladulla ruby snapper with salsa verde and Melanda Park suckling pig. Mitch Orr is also on the move, heading up the kitchen at Freshwater’s .
