Di Stasio Città

Melbourne, Australia

Part art exhibition, part museum of food, Rinaldo Di Stasio’s Città stands out for all the right reasons. Sitting at the high-end end of Melbourne’s CBD, it’s a personal project that sees the chef navigate his own identity – as he describes it, ‘filtering Venice through a unique Australian expression.’ But it’s more than that, he’s been a leading light in the city’s hospitality scene for decades, with his big sister St Kilda restaurant renowned across town – and Città manages the ultimate pairing of cossetting food and a memorable guest experience. A brutalist space punctuated by modern art, brassy rouge leather seating and video projections playing on loop, it’s a scene incongruent to that we’ve come to expect from knockout Italian comfort food. But not from Stasio, and therein lies the charm. Indeed, the classic food of Italy is made modern within such framework: see tiny milk buns filled with mortadella, daintily presented in a boat-like silver vessel; silken, saffron soused risotto Milanese, crunchy tripe fritters et al. Order up a negroni and take it slow, Città’s made for long lunches.

Key Information

Location

45 Spring St, CBD , Melbourne, Victoria, VIC 3004