oe Vargetto and Silvio Sgarioto, co-owners of city restaurant Mezzo, have opened new venture Mister Bianco on High Street, Kew. The building, where Svago once sat, has been renovated by architects Mills Gorman, with a deck built out the back and dressed in lavender, olive trees and herbs for the kitchen, which should find its feet during the warmer months.

Vargetto, who is a local to the area, has created a space he believes suits the eastern suburbs. “The plan has been to create a place that’s comfortable, relaxing and slightly elegant. We opened two weeks ago but it already feels like we’ve been here forever.”

The menu at the 40-seater – which garnered its named from an Italian brand of washing powder the business partners remember from their childhoods – is an approachable mix of mostly Southern Italian flavours based around their heritage. “This is a mixture of food that I used to eat growing up,” says Vargetto. “There’s baccala, arancini, tried and tested recipes. We’re not pushing any culinary boundaries but it’s food you can warm to very quickly.”

The cosy environment of Mister Bianco juxtaposes Kew’s other new restaurant, St Katherine’s, in size and profile and creates more choice for diners looking for smaller, more intimate spaces.

Mister Bianco
285 High Street, Kew
(03) 9853 6929

Hours
Fri & Sun noon–3pm
Daily 6pm–10pm

misterbianco.com.au