Michelangeli was once a banker, but has now turned his fast hands to making focaccia bread, like in the bars his family used to sit at in Italy. And just like those places, things are done simply, but well, at Fugazza. There are a handful of focaccias to choose from, including mushroom and talegio or housemade pork sausage and stracchino cheese. They come whole or half with a salad or soup, all washed down Italian Abbondio soft drinks. The difference here is this bread is real focaccia dough; it’s light and flavoursome, and like a true Italian, Michelangeli is making it himself.

“I’ve experimented with a range of sourdough options during developments,” he says. “The one that we are using for Fugazza was inherited about 20 years ago by the baker I am working with.”

They’re also roasting their own coffee, a blend made especially for Fugazza in Deepdene by their lead barista who also works in the cafe behind their vintage Gaggia machine.

Attention to detail is something that Michelangeli is keen to note. Everything is locally sourced and top quality, from the food and coffee, right down to the fit out (Megan Genat) and identity (Luke Brown and Lora Ward).

What’s more, Fugazza is not only in the city, they are also on wheels in a food truck. They’ll be driving their restored 1970s Millard to the Harvest Festival in November and, with any luck, some of the big music festivals over summer.

These guys are giving the focaccia a good name again, or as Michelangeli notes, “A delicious reminder that food should be savoured, not scoffed.”

Fugazza
31 Equitable Place, Melbourne

Hours
Mon to Fri 7am–3pm

fugazza.com.au