It’s not even entirely open yet and I’m already in love with @roma.melbourne . Just about anything @constantinechristopoulos opens is going to be interesting, I always want to see what @mrwilkinsons is cooking, and I love the food of Rome, so I’m very much looking forward to the real deal.
Here’s a great Amatriciana with pasta so al dente it rivals even Di Stasio on Spring Street. There’s a breakfast menu I can’t wait to try, plenty of good stuff to take away at lunch and Giovanni Patané, late of Supermaxi, on the floor. I’ll be back.
MELBOURNE FEEDS PHIL. While we wait for an official deep dive into Melbourne by @phil.rosenthal for the show (“soon! I promise!”) we’ve taken matters into our own hands. In this case, with a potato cake. And not just any potato cake: the really fancy, completely delicious one made by @jasoncstaudt and the stopless team at @stokehouserestaurant , topped with salt and vinegar saltbush.
If we get the chance; what should Melbourne feed Phil next – and where?
HELL YEAH THAT’S A VOL-AU-VENT. A peppery, green oniony sauté of oyster mushrooms and Pacific oysters, with pastry made by the puff daddy himself, @johndemetrios at @alwaysbutterdays . If you were looking to get a handle on what @rosheen_ Kaul’s new spot @littlerosefitzroy is all about, this is a damned fine place to start. It’s in the old Alta space, just off Brunswick Street (latterly home to the Pipis and Ragazzi pop-ups), and @joeyromeolane is on board stirring and shaking with the best of them.
The opening night menu was rich in promise: clams marinated Chaozhou-style with vin jaune, coriander and garlic; a heritage-beetroot terrine with cucumber-horseradish mayonnaise and soft-boiled egg; quenelles of white fish and prawn in crayfish bisque with Sichuan chilli oil (spicy – a must); The Little Rose Martini, a vodka-driven number accented with coconut, chrysanthemum vermouth and fino; a rustic pork sausage with liver, shoulder and slow-cooked skin inspired by andouillette, made in collaboration with @meatsmith_melb and served with a rich mustard sauce; VERY GOOD FRIES; an excellent potato purée with Suzhou-style crab roe sauce, and to close, madeleines, hot from the oven, served with prunes soaked in Armagnac and oolong tea with fresh cream.
Like I said, hell yeah.
EXCELLENT MEXICAN FOOD IN MELBOURNE RED ALERT. Not a drill. @chabelathornbury is where the tasty tacos are at. And the huaraches. And these killer enchiladas de pipián. And daaaaaamn if that chocoflan isn’t a banger too. GET SOME.
So it’s about a month since we wrapped MFWF 2026, and I’ve been thinking about the things that left the biggest impression on me from this year’s festival, and one thing that really jumped out at me was how much I enjoyed meeting @henryonesemo , and how dazzled I was by his cooking at @stokehouserestaurant , but also just how thoughtful he was across the board about hospitality, right down to the note he gave each guest at the end of the meal:
“Growing up in Samoa, we are taught that three things are important: respect (fa’aaloalo), servitude (tautua), and gratitude (agaga fa’afetai). We learn to be grateful to be of service to someone else.
“It has been our pleasure to spend this time with you. Sharing food that tells the stories of my homeland and heritage is truly special and at the heart of all we do at Tala.
“Fa’afetai tele lava.”
Thank you, Henry. If this year’s festival brought you some pleasure, whoever you are, whatever you went to, I’m grateful we could have been of service. We definitely had a blast doing it.
Special shouts out to a few personal highlights (among a great many):
- Tom, Raph and Ricardo’s everything at the incredible Tacos y Toum III
- Sam’s Comté tart with tomatoes, savory and elderberries at Bridges x Cutler
- Meeting the one and only JP Anglo
- Henry’s palolo at Stokehouse with.Jason Staudt
- Andy’s jin som mok khai – grilled sour rice-cured pork and egg – with Dan Sawansak at Dessous
- James and Dan’s Brae farm crudités at Le Doyenné x Brae
- Any and all hangs with my queen, Helen Goh (we did it! It only took us seven years!)
- James Lowe’s raw Hereford rib and grilled oyster vinaigrette at Harriot
- Pasi’s potato blini with anchovy, parsley, sour cream at Cafe Paci x Embla (kiitos, se oli herkullista)
- Sam’s cured tuna with bullhorn pepper and anchovy at Gerald’s
“ …and the winner of the 2026 Sandwich of the Year award goes to … envelope please … well this is highly irregular but I can’t argue the point. It appears the winner is … me*.”
but you too can be a winner. All it takes to win this particular sandwich is to buy a salad sandwich from @morningmarket.melbourne , and then add thick slices of leftover Donati’s corned girello to it. Hell. Yeah.
FLORENTINO 2026 In the nearly hundred years that the @florentinomelbourne , has been with us Melbourne has used it in all sorts of ways: society hangout, sneaky speakeasy, you name it. Sometimes it’s less Italian sometimes it’s more.
Under its newest stewards, Edition hospitality running the show (the team behind @reine.larue and @nomad.melbourne , with @chefmichaelgreenlaw leading the food) its vision of Italy is laser cut and crisply napped, more Kiton sleek and Ducati sharp than nonna cuddly and village rustic.
you could just treat it like Bourke Street Musso and Frank: come for the tiny excellent Martinis, stay for the lobster salad s served on a leaf and the gigantic bistecca Fiorentina.
You got the glamour of Upstairs, the Cellar, Bar plus the Cafe (FKA The Grill) so there’s lots to investigate; some highlights include the filled pastas (like the oxtail anolini and the two-tone ravioli doppio, with erbette and pistachio and fontina; the olives on a stick and the Fernet ice-cream that accompanies the soufflé upstairs.
it is m, as they say, a lot. But to stand on the top end of Bourke Street with one of those tiny Martinis in your hand and the city flowing around you is no bad thing at all. Start there and work your way in at your leisure
Golly. The new tasting-menu part of the new @geraldsbarmelbourne , The Parlour, has just opened, and it is soigné. Fully swanners. If you think something like everything you liked about Brooks crossed with everything you like about Gerald’s rolled into one thing with a dash of Lyle’s you’re heading in the right direction.
Here’s what @matthew.podbury and @joannakarlin are laying down right now:
* “Fish and chips”
* Pretzel grissini
* Raw milk cheddar tart
* Honey sourdough with @cultured butter
* Black Star tomato, flame cockles, vanilla and lovage
* Nannygai, zucchini and basil
* Wild-shot fallow deer loin, caillette, sweetcorn and juniper
* Cheese from the trolley (and some absolutely ripping accompaniments from Joanna and the pastry kitchen)
* Lemon verbena mousse, clingstone peach, and raspberry sorbet
All this plus the smooth stereo stylings of Mario Di Ienno and Gerald Diffey: I can’t think of another spot quite like it. Go Lygon Street.
And that, friends, is why you always wear a helmet. The broken right arm – proximal humerus fracture, in the trade – is deeply sucky, especially with regard to the coming 10 weeks of parenting a lil baby, but it’s still a whole lot better than a head injury. Shout out to my people at emergency at @stvincentsmelbourne for the care, the cuppa and the sandwich.
Suggestions on how I can cook for the fam without the use of my right arm (yep, broke the dominant arm, naturally) very welcome. Can make a coffee; can confirm slicing bread and grating cheese currently very difficult.
