“Welcome to Delmonte, the restaurant for every occasion,” our waiter enthused on a recent Tuesday evening.
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waiter → welcome → evening
We were seated in the middle of the large room that, for more than a century, was King & Godfree, though the memory of that overstuffed magical space is hard to conjure in this somewhat cavernous iteration.
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memory → seat → iteration
Delmonte is part of the second major overhaul of the King & Godfree corner, a process that began in 2013.
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that → begin → 2013
In 2015, the storied grocer and purveyor of Italian smallgoods closed and completed major renovations.
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grocer → close → renovations
Three years later, it reopened as a cafe and deli and sit-down restaurant, Agostino.
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it → reopen → cafe
In 2024, another closure and new renovations were announced.
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closure → announce → 2024
Over recent months, the latest iterations of the King & Godfree legacy were revealed: Garfield, a Tokyo-inspired pizzeria, and Delmonte, for which owner Jamie Valmorbida (of the Valmorbida family, which has operated the business since the 1950s) brought on Karen Martini as culinary director.
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which → reveal → director
The room is outfitted in creamy, sandy colours, lots of tiles and mid-century curves, along with caramel leather banquettes and wooden tables.
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room → outfit → banquettes
There’s plenty of seating at a long zinc bar, and the expansive menu lends itself to a variety of uses, including stopping in for some oily, pillowy focaccia with dips and charcuterie, alongside a glass of wine, but customers don’t seem to be using it that breezily yet.
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customers → ’ → it
The open kitchen is run by executive chef Mark Glenn and head chef Diana Desensi, who was most recently the opening chef at Daphne in Brunswick East (and who worked with Martini at Saint George in St Kilda).
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who → run → Kilda
There are so many ways to get your nibble on here and it’s hard to know where to start – it’s as if they took the infinite options of King & Godfree as a deli and turned that into a menu.
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they → be → menu
Antipasti include a wide variety of charcuterie, cheeses, dips.
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Antipasti → include → dips
Large, wild-caught prawns seem a bit pricey at $44 for two, but that’s my only complaint – the crustaceans are bouncy, creamy, fire-kissed and bathed in a perky salsa verde with a whisper of heat.
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crustaceans → seem → heat
The pasta selection is almost surprising in its brevity, listing only four options, all of them relatively by-the-book.
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all → list → book
Most interesting is the gnocchetti with mushroom ragu, which might more aptly be called a fricassee of mushrooms with gnocchetti – the medley of mushrooms is more accompanied by the dumplings than the other way around.
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medley → call → way
Big hunks of meat might be this kitchen’s specialty, best represented by a massive pork costoletta, all crisp breaded and fried exterior and juicy interior, and easily shareable between three people or more.
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hunks → represent → people
(I recommend the gem lettuce and cucumber salad on the side; its vinegary, cool crispness is a fantastic foil.)
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crispness → recommend → side
The (excellent) staff were adamant we should try the crepes al forno, which are traditionally savoury but served here as dessert with ricotta and mandarin.
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which → try → ricotta
They seemed more pancake than crepe to me, but I like my fried batter at any thickness.
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I → seem → thickness
Delmonte reminds me of the better American-Italian chain restaurants that cater to date nights and special occasions at the fancier malls dotting the US suburbs.
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that → remind → suburbs
The cooking here is better, but the function is similar: deliver a wide selection of crowd-pleasers, in a room that feels fancy but not too uptight, in order to cater to as many types of diners as possible.
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that → deliver → diners
There’s nothing wrong with that, and in many ways the venue is simply carrying on the honorable tradition of Lygon Street’s populism – this is a modernised version of the big, all-are-welcome eating houses that have lined the street for most of the last century.
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that → ’ → century
I’m not sure if it’s special enough, different enough, to warrant huge excitement and loyalty.
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it → ’m → excitement
But then again, maybe leaning into the thing this street does best – Italian for the people, for every occasion – is exactly the right move.
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street → lean → occasion
The low-down
Atmosphere: Friendly, stylish, for-everyone ease
Go-to dishes: Zucchini fritti ($22); grilled prawns ($44); pork costoletta ($66)
Drinks: Smart, spritz-heavy cocktail list; surprisingly deep wine list, lots of small Italian producers and a somewhat odd (but fun) focus on Burgundy
Cost: About $160 for two, excluding drinks
Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently.
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reviews → go → drinks
A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.
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restaurant → pay → Guide
The Aporia
