Valerio Violetti’s pizza-making and behind-the-scenes kitchen videos have earnt him more than 46,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 110,000 on Tiktok. His online status has opened doors for him, presenting opportunities to consult overseas restaurants and host pizza masterclasses in cities including Riyadh and Las Vegas. But Made in Casa, the restaurant Violetti and his wife Annapaola D’Alessio run together, provides an opportunity for the pair to consistently connect with people in the real world.
The duo, who are originally from Italy and worked in kitchens there – she as a pasta-maker, he as a pizzaiolo – before moving to Australia just over a decade ago, served handmade pizza and pasta at the Malvern location for nearly three years before relocating to Toorak Village this past summer. D’Alessio and Violetti were also two of the opening vendors at the CBD’s Italian food hall Il Mercato Centrale.
Many dishes have carried over from the former venue. D’Alessio’s handmade pasta appears on the menu in several forms. A signature is the cappellacci, ricotta-filled parcels served alla norma with fried eggplant, tomato and salted ricotta. There’s no pizza here (the couple are saving that for a soon-to-open pizzeria) but there is house-made focaccia; salmon tartare with melon gazpacho and crisp panzanella bread; and smoked beef tartare dotted with dried tomato, fermented onion, mayo and black pepper tarallo (a savoury, twisted biscuit).
A new addition is the bistecca fritta, a one-kilogram T-bone, lightly crumbed then shallow-fried in clarified butter, sitting somewhere between the iconic Florentine T-bone, bistecca alla Fiorentina, and a cotoletta, or breaded veal cutlet. According to Violetti, Made in Casa is the only restaurant in Australia to serve it.
The dish’s appeal lies not just in its flavour, but in the theatrical way it’s served. The steak is served tableside, where it’s carefully cut from the bone to reveal butter-soft slices simply finished with a generous pinch of salt. “In Florence there is just one cook – rare. If you ask for well done, they say ‘there’s the door’.” (Violetti advises ordering the steak rare, but will accommodate other preferences.)
The couple completely redesigned the former Lotus & Fish Pond restaurant. It now has a custom-built wine cellar that stores mostly red wines – over 95 per cent are of Italian provenance. There’s also an emphasis on showcasing works from Italian artists alongside nostalgic nods to old-school Italy, such as “nonna-style” floral cups and saucers, as Violetti puts it, contrasted with Victorian-era touches.
Downstairs, custom fringe and silk lampshades hang above a bright white dining room that looks into the open kitchen. Upstairs is a more intimate dining area with ornate framed art lining the teal walls, along with a private bar that retains the venue’s vintage wood and marble counter.
Made in Casa
470 Toorak Road, Toorak
(03) 9500 0265
Hours:
Sun to Thu midday–10pm
Fri & Sat midday–11pm
madeincasa.com.au
Dining and Cooking