Now Open: Ross and Sunny Lusted Have Set Up Two Standout Hospo Venues in the New Melbourne Place Hotel — Marmelo and Mr Mills
International restaurateurs Ross and Sunny Lusted are behind the new restaurant and basement bar, which are both championing Portuguese cuisine.
The new Melbourne Place hotel has finally opened, and with it, its slew of top-notch hospo venues. The rooftop bar and restaurant Mid Air is already full of sunseekers, and now Marmelo and Mr Mills — the final two pieces of the drinking and dining puzzle — have officially opened.
Run by Ross and Sunny Lusted (Sydney's Woodcut and Aman Resorts), both venues are real standouts — with Marmelo serving up Portuguese eats in a fairly formal setting and Mr Mills leaning into the late-night basement bar vibes with an Iberian Coast-inspired menu.
But it isn't strictly traditional Portuguese food coming over the pass at Marmelo, as Ross is strongly inspired by the kind of Portuguese food he had when growing up in South Africa.
There's also an emphaisis on serving up dishes that were strongly influenced by colonisation, which introduced spices from as far as the South China Sea, India, Africa and the Americas into Portuguese cooking.
Known for cooking with wood and charcoal, Ross has also centred Marmelo's open kitchen around a custom-built charcoal grill and woodfired oven. All of this results in mains like wood-roasted cockerel with African spices, chilli and fried potatoes; bone-in pork loin with bitter greens, burnt orange and bay leaf; and arroz de marisco (similar to a paella) with grilled, poached, and cured seafood for two.
The menu also features snacks like silver-served anchovy fillets and two savoury takes on the much-loved pastel de nata. The first version comes with crab meat and custard, and the second is filled with sheep's cheese crisp and salted pork.
You can also head down a grand chartreuse-hued staircase to find the duo's Mr Mills basement bar. It's an altogether moodier and cosier space with intimate booths as well as the option to dine at the bar or open kitchen (a big win for solo diners).
Small plates of Iberian classics like swordfish in olive oil with ash-grilled peppers sit alongside more substantial dishes including mussels escabeche with pickled carrots, ananda capers and bitter leaves, and Mr. Mills fillet steak with whipped anchovy, potato crisps, fried egg.
Pair these bites with local and international wines, plus a selection of classic and signature sips — like the anchovy oil martini, bergamot and green apple margarita, and spring rhubarb and bay leaf americano.
Sunny Lusted shared, "Ross and I feel a real synergy with the vibrancy of Melbourne and all of its culinary offerings, so it is an honour to be welcomed so warmly into the local dining community.
"Ross and I can't wait to share our take on the food and hospitality of the Iberian peninsula, here in this beautiful city."
Marmelo and Mr Mills can both be found found within Melbourne Place at 130 Russell Street, Melbourne. For more information, visit the venues' website.
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