Locanda — Grange by the Glass

Locanda:

Cnr Little Bourke & Exhibition Streets, Melbourne
(03) 9635 1246 or www.locanda.com.au

How do you get the cultured ‘A List’ to rock up to a restaurant/bar debut? Your very own private ‘Grange Hermitage by the glass’ tasting session has to be about as compelling an inducement as it gets. Apparently Locanda Cucina Bar is the first Melbourne venue to use the Enomatic Wine System (which replaces air in bottles with inert argon gas to ensure freshness for weeks after opening), thus allowing for ooh-la-la wine to be enjoyed little by little. Lord Mayor John So and Carlton’s star recruit Mr. Chris Judd-Twigley had the look of happy campers who would be back for more.Locanda is a fresh concept. It’s a bar and Italian restaurant with a twist. Venue manager, and Melbourne gastro-royalty, Andrew DiMattina, puts it this way: “Locanda provides a complete Italian foodie experience, from the early morning espresso, quick or lingering lunch, dinner, eat-in or take-out from the deli, pre-show aperitivo, through to the last stumps night-cap at the bar.”Locanda is part of a major refurb by Sydney design team Burley Katon Halliday, within Rydges Melbourne. It features an alfresco section, a large open space, plenty of glass for people gazing, and an eye-catching pink backlit resin circular bar.