Overview
It's been some time in the making, but Delmonte, a new neighbourhood Italian wine room and restaurant, has finally opened on Lygon Street. And it's got big shoes to fill, occupying the historic site that formerly housed the beloved King & Godfree deli.
Hospitality entrepreneur Jamie Valmorbida has built Delmonte around the pleasure of eating and drinking at any pace, whether dropping in for a drink or settling in for a celebratory meal. He says, "We've built the sort of place we'd want to go ourselves. Delmonte is Carlton's new local. Somewhere you can come in for one drink and end up staying for dinner."
Delmonte, meaning 'from the mountains', pays homage to Valmorbida's grandfather, Carlo, who was born in Italy's mountainous Veneto region, and reflects the venue's connection to heritage. The new venue will pay respect to the foundations of the original deli and wine shop that stood in its place, building on traditions centred on cured meats, cheeses, bread and wine.
Head chef Diana Desensi leads the kitchen, presenting a menu — developed under the guidance of King & Godfree Culinary Director Karen Martini — that encourages sharing, convivial conversation and repeat visits. While pasta is a cornerstone of the menu, with dishes like gnocchetti alla fungi with portobello and porcini ragu and tagliatelle alla bolognese leading the selection, the expansive snack offering is set to be a highlight of the new venue.
With wine at the heart of the venue, the snack offering has been designed to complement the pace of leisurely drinking and working your way through the extensive selection of Italian wines. Sweep housemade focaccia through whipped roe, crunch on fritto misto, and savour fresh oysters with mignonette.
"There's a lot of flexibility built into this menu, on purpose. We wanted a menu people could come back to again and again and always find something new, while still feeling completely at home. It's produce-led and built on classical technique, but every dish still needs to feel unmistakably Italian. We're not chasing trends here; we're just trying to do the simple things really well," says Martini.
While a wood-fire oven and grill take up prime position in the kitchen, imbuing many dishes with a smoky depth of flavour, a dedicated dessert station adds an element of interactive theatre to the dining experience. There's freshly churned gelato and ice cream cakes from the neighbour, Pidapipo, alongside traditional tiramisu and crepes al forno with ricotta, mandarin and grappa.
"This menu is everything I love about Italian cooking. Italian food at its best is generous, unpretentious and produce-driven, and that's exactly what we're doing here. As a lifelong Carlton local myself, I couldn't be more excited to bring this style of cooking to this iconic neighbourhood — Delmonte is the kind of place the area has been missing," says Desensi.
George McCullough and Head Sommelier Michael Hegarty oversee the all-important wine program, which sits at the centre of the Delmonte experience. They've curated one of the strongest collections of wines from the Piedmont region in Melbourne, with the list complemented by select releases from the King & Godfree cellar — some dating back to the 1950s that are rarely found outside private collections.
"Wine is central to everything at Delmonte; it's not a list that sits alongside the food, it's part of the experience in equal measure. The list has a great balance of much-loved classics and some historically significant bottles that are in their peak drinking window and maturity. But beyond that, we've tried to build a list that reflects the way people actually want to drink and enjoy wine," says McCullough.
Images: Parker Blain.
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