Featuring: Mister Sandrino, Capitano, Bellota…

OH Melbourne…what a time in our lives. Just when restaurants and cafes started opening their doors from June 1 – with restrictions in place – a second lockdown was announced. Delivery and takeaway offerings keep the city’s hospitality businesses going, granted in a much-reduced capacity, but as is the way with this industry, its members are strong, adaptable and the Melbourne hospitality community refuses to give up.
South Melbourne wine bar, Bellota – under the helm of chef Nicky Riemer – has created Bellota Comes to You 2.0. A delivery service that has the chef and her team cooking meals that are delivered within a three-kilometre radius of the Bank Street venue or pick up yourself to take-home. Her classic dishes feature on the menu. The much-loved baked sausage rolls with spicy hot relish or charcuterie selection with Nicky’s pickled vegetables and spiced almonds are there alongside main courses like crumbed pork rib eye (400g) with Brussels sprouts, pancetta and garlic butter, or her popular pasta dishes including orecchiette, oxtail ragu and Parmigiano Reggiano. The Prince Wine Store, who own Bellota also provide wine matches with the meals.
Bellota, 181 Bank Street, South Melbourne; visit bellota.com.au.
Guy Grossi and his team at Grossi Florentino in the CBD have developed Grossi A Casa, with the intention of extending their Italian hospitality – as much as they can – into your home. If you’re a Grossi fan, you can enjoy their lasagne that would usually comfort you in the Cellar Bar in a pre-COVID world next to other pasta dishes like pumpkin tortellini with sage and burnt butter or their Midnight Spaghetti sauce, made famous at their late-night bar, Arlechin.
Their main courses for delivery include, Pollo Alla Diavola, chilli-roasted and brined chicken and their signature Abbacchio Alla Romana, Guy’s father’s favourite recipe of lamb shoulder slowly cooked with onions, olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, chilli and white wine. They’ve even made their family version of Tiramisu available. Grossi A Casa, 80 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000; visit www.grossiacasa.com.
Hawthorn wine bar and bottle shop, Mister Sandrino packs a punch with a takeaway and delivery menu keeping much of south-east Melbourne sated. Chef and owner Daniel Schelbert and his partner, sommelier Pia Tatjana-Tukiainen have garnered a strong following since opening just over 12 months ago. The small dining room now gives way to Tatjana-Tukiainen’s quirky, savvy wine list of small producers while Schelbert’s menu is contemporary, familiar and suitable to travel for takeaway and delivery.
Chicken liver parfait, pickles and sesame salt, or house-cured salmon gravlax with capers, creme fraiche and pickled fennel lead on to main courses of beef cheeks with vegetables, red wine, gremolata and mash or duck leg confit and braised white beans. They’re open for coffee Tuesday to Sundays, too. Mister Sandrino, 219-221 Riversdale Rd Hawthorn 3122; visit www.mistersandrino.com.au.

The team behind Capitano – an ‘American-Italian’ venue in Carlton, also own and operate Fitzroy’s Bar Liberty and Falco Bakery in Collingwood. This has stood them well throughout the gruelling times we find ourselves in here in Melbourne. Falco – which has become one of the more popular bakeries in the inner-north since opening nine months ago – has a home delivery service and pick up where you can buy their Country Loaf, popular Oat Porridge loaf and the famous (or infamous) Cheeseburger Pie a mashup of Beef, Cheese, Sesame Seeds wrapped in a buttery pastry.
Capitano is keeping pizza lovers happy with delivery three nights a week, takeaway on the others, as well as Capitano DIY where you can take home frozen pizzas as back up for hungry families. The Double ‘Roni – a mix of Pepperoni, scamorza, tomato and pecorino – is the most popular pizza alongside the Bastardo Grasso pizza, a mixed cultural nod of potato, creamed leek, Taleggio and preserved lemon. Pastas – a lusciously decadent macaroni cacio et pepe and rigatoni with a vodka sauce round out the menu. Visit www.capitano.com.au.
Bar Liberty is a different story, taking its cues from its smart menu by chef Casey Walls – there may be dishes of raw beef with bone marrow and baby turnips or Murray Cod with braised pepitas and pickled butternut, they have the occasional take-home menu with a number of courses but don’t offer a regular takeaway option.
What they do supply is their savvy wine list through Falco Bakery so you can go in there and pick up a 2019 Scintilla Dayspring Chardonnay from Fleurieu Peninsula and a 2017 Hochkirch Syrah from the Great Western region of Victoria with your bread. Visit www.falcobakery.com.
Melbourne is doing it tough, there’s no doubt about that, but resilience and creativity will hopefully see our beloved industry through to the other side of this pandemic.