SUMMER LOVIN’

THE LATEST FROM CHEFS AND RESTAURANTS AROUND AUSTRALIA RESTAURANT NEWS

MELBOURNE

It’s time for a hot summer in the city, with outdoor dining the new normal for Melburnians. Longrain will reopen after an eight-month hiatus, with outdoor seats lining Little Bourke street. Chef-restaurateur Scott Pickett will join forces with long-time head chef Arté Assavakavinvong to refresh the classic menu, which will still include signature dishes like betel leaf with seared scallops, and caramelised pork hock. Johnny’s Green Room in Carlton will come into its own as a rooftop sit-down restaurant over summer, slinging Sgroppino, charcoal-grilled lamb arrosticini and pizzas, against a backdrop of the city skyline.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Charlie and Natarsha Galbally (pictured above) are behind Pep’s, a wine bar in Peppermint Grove, the first of its kind in the suburb. “Pep’s is an 11-year dream of ours, realised,” says Charlie. With experience working in and owning cafés in Perth, the pair will now switch to wine and charcuterie-mode. The refreshed space, which was once home to a bank, a music shop and even a wine bar in the 1950s, is decorated with WA-mined green marble tables and bare-brick walls.

SYDNEY

Sydneysiders love a waterfront diner and good pizza, and is set to combine the two. Located on Woolloomooloo’s Cowper Wharf, the pizza- and Spritz-focused restaurant is headed up by chef Luigi Esposito, who also will bring tacos, tequila and mezcal to the old Grasshopper site on Temperance Lane in the CBD. The split-level laneway bar and restaurant comes from the team behind Paddington’s Tequila Mockingbird. You’ll find parrilla-grilled meats downstairs, and taco tasting plates in the bar and al fresco area upstairs (which are available after midnight). North of the bridge, the Harbord Hotel in Freshwater has received a makeover, with local chef Adam Rust (ex-12 Micron) at the helm of its new coastal-inspired restaurant, .