By Matt Shea · Food / Eating out (Bris)
From a luscious Sri Lankan fish curry to some of the best fried chook in the city, here’s why you need to head to this inner-suburban classic. --- September 30, 2026 --- SaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items. --- Remove items from your saved list to add more. --- ShareAAA1 / 9Hello Please on Fish Lane in South Brisbane.Markus Ravik2 / 9Once an open-air affair, the restaurant these days boasts a quietly classy dining room.Markus Ravik3 / 9Fried chicken with chilli vinegar, pickled daikon and betel leaf.Markus Ravik4 / 9Barbecue snapper with Sri Lankan curry, crispy noodles and curry leaf.Markus Ravik5 / 9Prawn toastie with yuzu mayo and chives. Markus Ravik6 / 9Bay lobster dumplings with fermented chilli butter. Markus Ravik7 / 9Tiramisu with liqueur mascarpone.Markus Ravik8 / 9The restaurant’s dining room does a roaring pre-theatre trade.Markus Ravik9 / 9The restaurant next year will evolve to incorporate a larger outdoor dining area.Markus RavikPrevious SlideNext Slide14.5/20Critics' PickHow we scoreHello PleaseModern Asian$$$$ --- Forgive me Hello Please for I have sinned. It’s been five years since my last visit. --- Look, maybe I’m being hard on myself. There are so many eye-catching restaurants in Fish Lane – Julius, Southside, Marlowe, Clarence – let alone the rest of the city, that a gap between meals is understandable. --- Hello Please on Fish Lane in South Brisbane.Markus RavikAdvertisementBut then it’s not. Part of the reason you don’t return to a restaurant like this as often as you should is because, perhaps perversely, you know it’s good. --- But, how good? Because I think I’d forgotten Hello Please is this good. --- Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. --- My dining partner and I rolled up on a Wednesday night and ordered six dishes. All were tasty, interesting and, taken together, exhibited stacks of technique. Some were evolutions or flips of dishes chef Jesse Stevens has been cooking for a decade now (the restaurant just celebrated its 10th birthday), others were newer creations. --- This classy French steak sanga comes with a luscious dipping brothTake the fried chicken. The dish once used the rib of the bird, which, when cooked properly, is a brilliant way to eat chook – perhaps my favourite. These days, it’s thigh, but Stevens refuses to miss – his crumb is that good, the chicken, brined overnight, that tender. A tangy flourish of pickled daikon and the extra umami of dried betel leaf pushes the whole thing to that specific kind of affection we reserve for the most elevated dude foods. I used to rate this the best fried bird in town. Ten years on, it’s still right up there. --- It’s a similar story with snapper served with a yellow curry, curry leaf and crispy noodles. This is a flip on a barramundi Thai red curry the restaurant did in its early days. Back then, the fish was steamed; currently, it’s finished on the barbecue, skin on, then added to the curry before hitting the table. Stevens says the dish changes as he rotates proteins around the different sections of the kitchen, but I like this take — it works well with Hello Please’s street-food DNA, the char of the fish a lovely offset to the fragrant curry and the neat textural touch of the noodles and curry leaf. --- Once an open-air affair, the restaurant now boasts a quietly classy dining room.Markus RavikPrawn toast is a little overplayed around town these days, but at Hello Please Stevens has cleverly evolved their early version into a toastie, which keeps the mousse thick and juicy while giving the outside a crisp, golden crunch. Served with a sprinkle of chives and a yuzu mayo, it’s an unctuous, textural delight. --- The remainder of the dishes are new to me but, for the most part, they’re just as impressive and slot nicely into Stevens’ general approach of filtering East Asian and Southeast Asian dishes through an Australian lens. --- Fried chicken with chilli vinegar, pickled daikon and betel leaf.Markus RavikAdvertisementSteamed bay lobster dumplings with fermented chilli butter add the same prawn mousse into their wrappers. This mix, typically made for frying, is instead steamed, lending the final result a plumpness of your favourite har gow. They burst as we bite into them, Stevens leaning on the quality of his protein by simply accompanying it with what basically amounts to a beurre blanc spiked with Hello Please’s in-house VHS (very hot sauce). They barely last a minute on the plate. --- The only slight bummer during the initial dishes is a wok-fried green-bean side, which is a little ho-hum, but not enough to derail our meal. --- Barbecue snapper with Sri Lankan curry, crispy noodles and curry leaf.Markus RavikThroughout, we pick over co-owner Maris Cook’s Euro-leaning wine list, with its thoughtful by-the-glass selections. We go for an energetic, racy picpoul blanc from Benjamin Darnault, and a crisp Max Mediterranee rose. Later, I drink a beautifully candied, textural Coteau de la Biche vouvray from Domaine Pichot. These are all killer wines and there’s a real sense of structured playfulness to the list – even if I’d ultimately prefer the vino poured at the table. --- I laugh at the dessert menu, not because it seems disarmingly simple – a mille-feuille, a Basque cheesecake and a tiramisu – but because it’s Hello Please. It won’t be that simple. --- Prawn toastie with yuzu mayo and chives. Markus RavikWe share the tiramisu and, sure enough, Stevens has filtered his take through the idea of a Vietnamese coffee, sweetening his mascarpone with condensed milk. There’s also a decent slug of rum in there, which purists might scoff about, given it perhaps overpowers the espresso. But we fight over it, the dessert luscious and luxuriant without being overpoweringly sweet. --- Talking about service at Fish Lane restaurants is tricky. These places absolutely murder pre-theatre (one restaurateur who used to work at Julius says it could easily do five turns of the dining room on a busy night), and the floor staff need to stick the landing when those initial diners have cleared out. On our visit, some of the senior staff have been called away to a function, and while the team who look after us are friendly, the seams definitely show a couple of times. --- Bay lobster dumplings with fermented chilli butter. Markus RavikIt was enough for me to take a second look a few days later very early in a Saturday service, without a booking. I’m glad I did because the restaurant was nothing short of accommodating before what would have been a fully loaded evening. It also gave me a chance to try a few extra dishes: all were winners – particularly beef brisket with rolled rice noodles, which arrived at the table in a cloud of wok hei. --- The digs themselves are completely different to the car-park-and-picnic-table setup that was the original Hello Please, before the space across Fish Lane was turned into the Town Square and Bar Brutus. But it’s no less charming, with that very redevelopment making for a neat outlook from the dining room – and it will soon evolve further, with the restaurant to migrate some of its tables to a new outside area next year. --- Tiramisu with liqueur mascarpone.Markus RavikI know plenty of locals who haven’t returned to Hello Please since those early days. And perhaps this review is for them as much as anyone who hasn’t experienced it at all. --- Because you need to go back – we’re lucky to have such a well-realised slice of genuine hospitality in this city. --- Atmosphere: Fast-paced Australian-inflected East and Southeast Asian street food in a moody laneway space. --- Go-to dishes: Fried chicken with pickled daikon, barbecue snapper with Sri Lankan curry. --- Drinks: A precisely curated Euro-leaning wine list, plus classic and signature cocktails. --- Cost: About $210 for two, plus drinks. --- Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide. --- SaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items. --- Remove items from your saved list to add more. --- ShareLicense this articleMore: ---
By Andy Cooks · Food / Recipes
RecipesQuick & easyAndy Hearnden’s egg and tomato frittataAndy CooksSeptember 30, 2026 --- SaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items. --- Remove items from your saved list to add more. --- PrintShareAdvertisementTomato frittata.easyTime:< 30 minsMakes:2-3 portionsQuick & easyEggsTomatoBacon, ham & prosciuttoContemporaryHealthyLunch boxOne-potSavoury pies & tartsSliceMain courseBudgetFamily mealsAndy Cooks shares an easy fuss-free frittata you can make in a rice cooker. --- 3 slices of streaky bacon --- 1 tomato --- 1 spring onion --- 6 eggs --- 80ml (⅓ cup) whole milk --- salt and pepper to taste --- Turn your rice cooker on. Slice your streaky bacon into pieces about 2.5cm in length. Lay the bacon across the bottom of the rice cooker and close the lid. Let it fry for about 4-5 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. --- Slice the tomato into quarters and discard the seeds. Lay the tomato on your board and finely dice. Finely slice the spring onion. --- In a bowl, add the diced tomatoes, spring onions, 6 eggs, milk, salt and pepper, then whisk until it’s well combined. Pour over the fried bacon, close the lid and continue to cook for another 20 minutes or until the frittata is cooked through. --- Carefully remove from the rice cooker, turn out onto a plate and enjoy. --- Notes: --- Equipment: --- The best recipes from Australia's leading chefs straight to your inbox. --- SaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items. --- Remove items from your saved list to add more. --- PrintShareLicense this articleMore: ---
By Tomas Telegramma · Food / Eating out (Mel)
There are more surprises in store too. From lamb shoulder to dolmades, the menu reads familiar but follows its own rules. This is your first look. --- September 30, 2026 --- SaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items. --- Remove items from your saved list to add more. --- ShareAAADespite its name, Malvern’s new three-storey Helios Hotel isn’t a pub. It’s a modern Greek restaurant by an Athenian chef with ambitions to match its 300-person capacity. --- “We didn’t call it a ‘hotel’ because we want it to be casual, but because we want people to feel that this is a gathering place,” says chef Ioannis Kasidokostas, who – alongside his wife and business partner Maria Tsilfoglou – is behind the Glenferrie Road newcomer. --- Helios Hotel, with capacity for 300, is meant to be a “gathering place”.Since opening Aegli in South Melbourne last winter, the couple has been working to provide a counterpoint to the Greek comfort food having a moment in Melbourne. Leaning into his experience at Michelin-starred fine diners in Athens, Kasidokostas serves more cheffy, more conceptual versions of traditional and regional Greek dishes. --- “There’s obviously been a massive renaissance in Greek restaurants [in Melbourne],” Kasidokostas says. “We don’t present ourselves as being better than anyone else ... we just want to shine a light on Greek cuisine from a different angle, from the chef’s angle.” (It’s partly why the venue is named after the ancient Greek god of the sun.) --- Helios Hotel will have the same style of food and service as Aegli, but on a larger scale. In fact, Kasidokostas says, it’s six times the size of Sowl, the broadly Mediterranean restaurant he and Tsilfoglou closed in Carnegie in July to focus their attention on Helios. --- Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. --- “I was eyeing this place off eight years ago,” says Kasidokostas of the 1200-square-metre site, formerly home to Sagra. Generously spaced tables span the ground-floor dining room and group-friendly mezzanine that overlooks it, with other spaces reserved for private dining and events – including the covered, light-filled rooftop. --- 1 / 11Horta, wild greens, are dressed with preserved tomatoes and spiced olive oil.Wayne Taylor2 / 11Pantzaria, a salad of beetroot, peas and orange with goat’s curd.Wayne Taylor3 / 11Chef Ioannis Kasidokostas with wife and business partner Maria Tsilfoglou.Supplied4 / 11Prawn dolmades with a basil smash cocktail made with the Greek spirit tsipouro.Wayne Taylor5 / 11The venue spans three levels.Supplied6 / 11Lamb shoulder is cooked in vine leaves with grape and carob molasses.Wayne Taylor7 / 11Helios Hotel’s cabbage salad features the vegetable grilled and finished with smoked graviera cheese and bechamel.Wayne Taylor8 / 11Owners Ioannis Kasidokostas and Maria Tsilfoglou want to show another side of Greek cuisine.Supplied9 / 11Helios Hotel.Supplied10 / 11Helios Hotel.Supplied11 / 11The restaurant is a counterpoint to the more homely styles of Greek dining sweeping Melbourne.SuppliedPrevious SlideNext SlideDishes you might recognise by name on the menu come together a little differently on the plate. --- Dolmades swap the rudimentary minced meat for prawns, which are combined with rice, wrapped in silverbeet and charred in the josper oven. They’re dressed in “something like XO but more acidic” that’s made with prawn heads and oil left over from sizzling dry-aged loukaniko (sausage). “It’s got layers and layers of flavour,” says Kasidokostas. --- Lamb shoulder is swathed in vine leaves and slow-cooked until melt-in-your-mouth tenderness, its own juices combining with grape and carob molasses to form a rich, chocolatey sauce. --- Thoughtful vegetarian plates round out the offering, whether that’s horta – a medley of pot-cooked wild greens that Aegli sells 30 kilos of each week – or a wood-fired cabbage salad. --- Pantzaria, a salad of beetroot, peas and orange with goat’s curd.Wayne TaylorThere are some on-theme cocktails, like a gin basil smash that subs in the Greek spirit tsipouro, and a negroni enlivened with Greek bitters. But the wine list is where you’ll find most excitement. Kasidokostas and Tsilfoglou are passionate about making less common Greek varietals more accessible. --- If, for example, you enjoy the kidonitsa (a rare, ancient grape found in Greece’s Peloponnese region) you try at dinner, you can buy a bottle to take home – at 40 per cent off the wine list’s price. Helios Hotel might not be a pub, but its general liquor licence means it can also function as a bottle shop. --- Dinner Tue-Sun --- 256 Glenferrie Road, Malvern, helioshotel.melbourne --- SaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items. --- Remove items from your saved list to add more. --- ShareLicense this articleMore: ---
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SubscribeLoginSubscribeLoginSubscribeLogin{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/food-and-drink/article/stitch-coffee-rozelle-village-coming-soon"},"headline":"A New Cafe From a Top Sydney Roaster Is Opening in Rozelle","description":"Stitch Coffee is working on another outpost for its smooth brews and extravagant drinks. 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Having started in 2015, there’s now an outpost on Broadway, at Sydney Fish Markets and at the airport; two in the CBD; and a new cafe and roastery in Marrickville. Plus, two cafes in China. And when Rozelle Village opens, Rozelle too. The $820 million development is currently under construction on the site of the old Balmain Leagues Club. Stitch – with its house blends and single origins; matcha and hojicha; and funky drinks like the signature White Rabbit – is just one part of the first announcement on the incoming hospitality venues. Brooklyn Boy Bagels is opening a “New York-style diner” together with chef RJ Lines (One Penny Red), and Crows Nest breakfast favourite Double Cross Dining Room is opening its second location, with service extending into dinner. More dining spaces will round out the offering, joining an area (stretching into Balmain) that’s already adored for places like The Dry Dock, Winona Wine, Cicci and recent newcomer Phono Stage. Stitch Coffee, Brooklyn Boy Bagels’ new concept and Double Cross Dining Room are expected to open within Rozelle Village in early 2028. @stitch.coffee @brooklynboybagels @doublecrossdiningroom","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Broadsheet","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://broadsheet.com.au/assets/image/logo-full-white.png","width":520,"height":53}},"inLanguage":"en-AU"}(self.__next_s=self.__next_s||[]).push([0,{"children":"\n const fusetag = window.fusetag || (window.fusetag = { que: [] });\n window.__fuseInitPath = window.location.pathname;\n fusetag.que.push(function() {\n fusetag.pageInit({\n blockingFuseIds: [\"96225910\"],\n pageTargets: [{\"key\":\"sessionalcohol\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessionautomotive\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessionfinance\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessiontechnology\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessiontravel\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"pagetype\",\"value\":[\"article\"]},{\"key\":\"campaign\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"sponsor\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"sponsorcategory\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"sponsorname\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"tags\",\"value\":[]},{\"key\":\"suburb\",\"value\":\"rozelle\"},{\"key\":\"vertical\",\"value\":\"Food & Drink\"},{\"key\":\"city\",\"value\":\"sydney\"}]\n });\n });\n ","id":"load-publift"}]){"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"Thing","name":"Sydney","@id":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"Thing","name":"Food & Drink","@id":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/food-and-drink"}}]}SydneyFood & DrinkA New Cafe From a Top Sydney Roaster Is Opening in RozelleStitch Coffee, Marrickville·Photo: Courtesy Of Stitch CoffeeStitch Coffee is working on another outpost for its smooth brews and extravagant drinks. Plus, a New York-style diner and more are coming, too.Words by Grace Mackenzie · Published on 25 Sep 2026 --- Read laterStitch Coffee is the inner west roastery responsible for some of Sydney’s best specialty coffee. Having started in 2015, there’s now an outpost on Broadway, at Sydney Fish Markets and at the airport; two in the CBD; and a new cafe and roastery in Marrickville. Plus, two cafes in China. And when Rozelle Village opens, Rozelle too. --- The $820 million development is currently under construction on the site of the old Balmain Leagues Club. Stitch – with its house blends and single origins; matcha and hojicha; and funky drinks like the signature White Rabbit – is just one part of the first announcement on the incoming hospitality venues. --- Brooklyn Boy Bagels is opening a “New York-style diner” together with chef RJ Lines (One Penny Red), and Crows Nest breakfast favourite Double Cross Dining Room is opening its second location, with service extending into dinner. More dining spaces will round out the offering, joining an area (stretching into Balmain) that’s already adored for places like The Dry Dock, Winona Wine, Cicci and recent newcomer Phono Stage. --- Stitch Coffee, Brooklyn Boy Bagels’ new concept and Double Cross Dining Room are expected to open within Rozelle Village in early 2028. --- @stitch.coffee@brooklynboybagels@doublecrossdiningroom --- About the author --- Grace MacKenzie is Broadsheet Sydney’s food and drink editor. --- More like this --- MORE FROM BROADSHEET --- VIDEOS --- 04:33 --- 01:00 --- 02:18 --- More Guides --- RECIPES ---
SubscribeLoginSubscribeLoginSubscribeLogin{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/food-and-drink/article/nina-the-suze-team-s-new-northcote-pasta-restaurant"},"headline":"First Look: The Famous Focaccia Makes It to Nina, the Suze Team’s New Northcote Pasta Restaurant","description":"The pared-back room is weeknight-coded but goes just as hard for date night, with wine bar-type snacks and crowd-pleasing handmade pastas.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Nick Connellan"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/23/Nina_Michael Gardenia_24 of 57-beebb3fa53.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Nick Connellan"},"url":"https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/images/2026/09/23/Nina_Michael Gardenia_09 of 57-9e255b92d1.webp","caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":860,"height":600,"author":{"name":"Nick 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Dregs? Too derogatory. Sauce? Not quite. Dressing? Closer, but still doesn’t capture the essential leftover-ness. Whatever the answer, those little pools of flavour are what Nina is all about. You’re going to order a bunch of small plates – six, maybe. You’re going to eat the various contents, then spend roughly the same amount of time mopping up the glorious liquids with chunks of bronzed focaccia and making bass face. The focaccia was a must-order when Steve Harry was head chef at Napier Quarter. Then he took it to Suze, the Fitzroy North wine bar he founded last year with front-of-house gun Giulia Giorgetti. Now it’s at Nina, an informal pasta restaurant the duo opens in Northcote today. “For us, the whole entree and snack section is the focaccia and ‘What do you want with your focaccia?’” Harry confirms. “Almost none of these dishes make sense without it. You need it as a vehicle.” The steak tartare juxtaposes virile beef with dainty white allium flowers. Finish it and you’re left with an intense puddle of garum, sherry vinegar, olive oil and a trace of fermented chilli. Focaccia time. Take on the house-made ricotta with roasted red grapes, verjus (unripe grape juice) and vincotto (slow-cooked grape syrup) and you get a gothic mixture that’s simultaneously bright, fruity, dank and caramelised. Come back, focaccia. A droopy roasted red pepper yields a lurid green emulsion of spinach and curry leaf, while cruciferous stalks of rainbow chard slow-braised in white soy, sherry vinegar and kelp sit in an actual dip: tahini, lemon juice, water. More focaccia, please, and never mind that it comes with its own plate of olive oil and house-made agrodolce. With all this small plate action, it’s easy to forget Nina is a pasta restaurant with an extruder out the back. The kitchen is currently making the long ruffled ribbons known as mafaldine to pair with pistachio and spring veggies; casarecce for a white beef ragu; and maccheroni for a simple sugo. Buttoni (“buttons”) are filled with prawn and tarragon, and cacio e pepe agnolotti burst with manchego-infused bechamel. Parents will have spied the distinctly kid-friendly options here – a key way the weeknight-coded Nina differs from Suze. This is reflected in the room, which feels more communal and utilitarian now than it did as Vex Dining just three months ago. Families will probably get around it. Still, this is absolutely a place where you can have a grown-up drink or proper night out, courtesy of tap beers, classic cocktails and a single page listing cava, champagne and lambrusco alongside Clare Valley riesling, Yarra Valley pinot noir, Burgundy chardonnay and Piedmont nebbiolo. Shout-out, too, for the house’s burnt-citrus soda that drinks like a bitter aperitif. It’s one of the few non-alc liquids in the building that’s safe from marauding slices of focaccia. Nina 66–68 High Street, Northcote (03) 9820 3081 Hours Tue to Fri 5pm–late Sat 12pm–late @nina.pastabar","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Broadsheet","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://broadsheet.com.au/assets/image/logo-full-white.png","width":520,"height":53}},"inLanguage":"en-AU"}(self.__next_s=self.__next_s||[]).push([0,{"children":"\n const fusetag = window.fusetag || (window.fusetag = { que: [] });\n window.__fuseInitPath = window.location.pathname;\n fusetag.que.push(function() {\n fusetag.pageInit({\n blockingFuseIds: [\"96225910\"],\n pageTargets: [{\"key\":\"sessionalcohol\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessionautomotive\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessionfinance\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessiontechnology\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"sessiontravel\",\"value\":[\"any\"]},{\"key\":\"pagetype\",\"value\":[\"article\"]},{\"key\":\"campaign\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"sponsor\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"sponsorcategory\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"sponsorname\",\"value\":\"\"},{\"key\":\"tags\",\"value\":[]},{\"key\":\"suburb\",\"value\":\"northcote\"},{\"key\":\"vertical\",\"value\":\"Food & Drink\"},{\"key\":\"city\",\"value\":\"melbourne\"}]\n });\n });\n ","id":"load-publift"}]){"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"Thing","name":"Melbourne","@id":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"Thing","name":"Food & Drink","@id":"https://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/food-and-drink"}}]}MelbourneFood & DrinkFirst Look: The Famous Focaccia Makes It to Nina, the Suze Team’s New Northcote Pasta RestaurantNina, Northcote·Photo: Michael GardeniaThe pared-back room is weeknight-coded but goes just as hard for date night, with wine bar-type snacks and crowd-pleasing handmade pastas.Words by Nick Connellan · Published on 23 Sep 2026 --- Read laterWhat do you call the iridescent slick left on a plate after the substantial parts have been devoured? Dregs? Too derogatory. Sauce? Not quite. Dressing? Closer, but still doesn’t capture the essential leftover-ness. --- Whatever the answer, those little pools of flavour are what Nina is all about. You’re going to order a bunch of small plates – six, maybe. You’re going to eat the various contents, then spend roughly the same amount of time mopping up the glorious liquids with chunks of bronzed focaccia and making bass face. --- The focaccia was a must-order when Steve Harry was head chef at Napier Quarter. Then he took it to Suze, the Fitzroy North wine bar he founded last year with front-of-house gun Giulia Giorgetti. Now it’s at Nina, an informal pasta restaurant the duo opens in Northcote today. --- “For us, the whole entree and snack section is the focaccia and ‘What do you want with your focaccia?’” Harry confirms. “Almost none of these dishes make sense without it. You need it as a vehicle.” --- The steak tartare juxtaposes virile beef with dainty white allium flowers. Finish it and you’re left with an intense puddle of garum, sherry vinegar, olive oil and a trace of fermented chilli. Focaccia time. --- Take on the house-made ricotta with roasted red grapes, verjus (unripe grape juice) and vincotto (slow-cooked grape syrup) and you get a gothic mixture that’s simultaneously bright, fruity, dank and caramelised. Come back, focaccia. --- A droopy roasted red pepper yields a lurid green emulsion of spinach and curry leaf, while cruciferous stalks of rainbow chard slow-braised in white soy, sherry vinegar and kelp sit in an actual dip: tahini, lemon juice, water. More focaccia, please, and never mind that it comes with its own plate of olive oil and house-made agrodolce. --- With all this small plate action, it’s easy to forget Nina is a pasta restaurant with an extruder out the back. The kitchen is currently making the long ruffled ribbons known as mafaldine to pair with pistachio and spring veggies; casarecce for a white beef ragu; and maccheroni for a simple sugo. Buttoni (“buttons”) are filled with prawn and tarragon, and cacio e pepe agnolotti burst with manchego-infused bechamel. --- Parents will have spied the distinctly kid-friendly options here – a key way the weeknight-coded Nina differs from Suze. This is reflected in the room, which feels more communal and utilitarian now than it did as Vex Dining just three months ago. Families will probably get around it. --- Still, this is absolutely a place where you can have a grown-up drink or proper night out, courtesy of tap beers, classic cocktails and a single page listing cava, champagne and lambrusco alongside Clare Valley riesling, Yarra Valley pinot noir, Burgundy chardonnay and Piedmont nebbiolo. Shout-out, too, for the house’s burnt-citrus soda that drinks like a bitter aperitif. It’s one of the few non-alc liquids in the building that’s safe from marauding slices of focaccia. --- Nina66–68 High Street, Northcote(03) 9820 3081 --- HoursTue to Fri 5pm–lateSat 12pm–late --- @nina.pastabar --- About the author --- Nick Connellan is Broadsheet’s Australia editor and oversees all stories produced across the country. He’s been with the company since 2015. --- More like this --- MORE FROM BROADSHEET --- VIDEOS --- 01:35 --- 01:24 --- 01:00 --- More Guides --- RECIPES ---
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