Melbourne’s first Fratelli Fresh restaurant and The Cut Steakhouse will open on Friday 15 July.
The venue, set over two floors of The Alfred, will feature a grand foyer, dry aging room and Fratelli Fresh on the ground floor, with a staircase that leads to The Cut’s classic New York steakhouse inspired space and adjoining bar.
The Fratelli menu will include more than 25 dishes for under $20 and a six course menu for $55. Seated at the horse shoe-shaped, marble-topped pizza counter guests can watch 48 hour, natural fermented, hand stretched, thin-crust pizzas be pulled from the wood-fire oven.
The produce-driven opening menu includes antipasti, pasta and risotto, and wood-grilled premium meats and fish, including T Bone Florentina dry-aged on-site and carved off the bone. Abbacchio alla Romana, Roman-style lamb on the bone with parmesan crust is available to share. Desserts include tiramisu, Venetian doughnuts, Sicilian cannoli and a selection of house-churned gelato.
The Fratelli Bar will offer aperitivo hour between 3pm–6pm, with $5 wine, beer and spirits, alongside $10 Spritzers and Negroni on tap.
A first-floor vestibule where guests can enjoy a casual drink is upstairs, alongside The Cut, which features parquetry, black and white marble tiled floors and deep-green leather-upholstered, custom-made banquettes and chairs.
There are 10 cuts of beef from five top-tier farms, including Victorian producer Seven Creeks Wagyu, which exclusively supplies The Cut with scotch fillet and flank steak. Hand-selected cuts from 36-month grass-fed cattle from Cape Grim in Tasmania, 270-day grain-fed Black Market Rangers beef, 150-day grain-fed John Dee scotch fillet, and full-blood wagyu from Robbins Island, Tasmania complete the portfolio.
The dry aging room, which is viewable from street-level windows and an all-glass internal wall, supplies the kitchen with beef that has been dry aged for up to 200 days.
Steaks can be paired with one of nine sauces and condiments and 10 different sides, including buttermilk onion rings, hand-cut chips, roasted mushrooms and slow-roasted leeks. The menu also features Dorper lamb, Great Ocean free range duck and oysters, including limited-release Hidden Cove oysters from Tasmania.
An adjoining bar called The Library offers a 300-strong wine list, which includes natural Victorian wines; a collection of more than 80 international whiskies, including those from Australia and Tasmania; and local and international craft and bottled beers.
Urban Purveyor Group chief executive Thomas Pash said the restaurants at The Alfred perfectly complemented each other.
“Having a premium casual restaurant like The Cut and a full-service casual restaurant like Fratelli operating cheek by jowl means there is something for every occasion and potential for diners to explore both options,” Pash said. “We hope our Sydney stalwarts will be every bit as successful in Melbourne as we strengthen our portfolio in the city.”
Urban Purveyor Group culinary director Martin Heierling said both menus are produce driven and provenance inspired.
“We’re working with best-in-class, boutique producers and the beef, especially, is the finest Australia has to offer,” Heierling said. “Aging premium beef in our own aging room is immensely satisfying, both for our culinary team and also our customers who will find our dry-aged collection difficult to beat.”
Aged yellowfin tuna with potato crisps and sour cream
Beef tartare with congit yolk and pickle
Images: James Thomas
