Of all Melbourne’s numerous restaurateurs, Mulberry Group’s Nathan Toleman might have the most interesting arc. From modest Alphington cafe Apte in 2006, he went on to found a string of fashionable destinations that basically invented the concept of lining up for breakfast in Melbourne. Then came act two, a shift to nighttime dining that brought us Hazel, Dessous, Lilac Wine and Bar Sala.
Next month they’ll be joined by Farinata, a classic Italian restaurant on Bourke Road, near Camberwell Junction. Like many Melburnians, Toleman has a soft spot for the cuisine but usually finds himself travelling further than he’d like to enjoy it.
“Farinata is a neighborhood Italian restaurant,” he says. “It’s quite special because it’s about 10 minutes’ walk from home. I’ve lived in the community for 10 years, with my kids growing up there. I’ve always loved Italian restaurants in other parts of Melbourne, but nothing really felt like it was in this part of the neighborhood.”
Chris Ross, former chef de partie at Osteria Ilaria, is stepping up to lead his first kitchen. He’ll oversee a classically structured menu of antipasti and primi that leads into Neapolitan pizzas, handmade pastas and substantial meat dishes such as osso buco. Comfort and familiarity are the keywords here, with staples like capricciosa and spaghetti bolognese favoured over re-invention.
In deliberate contrast with this down-to-earth menu, the 50-seat space will be defined by clothed tables, gold-rimmed glassware and staff kitted out in smart jackets. “It’s like the love your grandmother provides when she sets out the good crockery,” says Mulberry Group’s brand manager, Jacinta O’Sullivan. “It’s not an occasion menu, it’s a neighborhood menu, so we’re kind of marrying those two concepts.”
Playing further into that high-low contrast is the fact that alongside ordering theatrical Negronis mixed tableside, customers will be able to bring their own wine midweek. And at a dedicated standing bar, locals waiting for a takeaway pizza will be offered little glasses of beer, prosecco and limoncello on the house. Toleman wants to encourage people to submit their order via phone, the old-fashioned way, and sees the drink as a little thank you.
“You won’t be hearing an Uber ding, that’s for sure,” he says.
As for the restaurant’s name, it’s taken from farinata, both a word for chickpea flour and the unleavened Ligurian bread made from it. Though a recipe for farinata appeared in The Broadsheet Italian Cookbook, it remains somewhat rare in Australia.
“Because we wanted to do house-made pizza and pasta, I started looking at the word flour, and then I looked at how flour is used in Italian restaurants,” Toleman says. “And when we owned La Cantina at Common Ground Project [Mulberry Group’s farm near Torquay] we did a farinata and I always loved it. It was with prosciutto and thyme or something, and it was just delicious.”
Farinata opens at 166 Victoria Road, Camberwell in mid-October.
farinata.com.au
@farinatarestaurant
Dining and Cooking