Set to open in early October at the Melbourne Recital Centre, My Mexican Cousin is the result of a partnership between Salvatore Malatesta (St ALi) and the boys from (Ponyfish Island) – Jerome Borazio (Sister Bella), (1000 Pound Bend et al), Grant Smillie (360 Agency) and Andrew McKinnon (The Taboo Group) – not to mention chef and sustainable fish man Maurice Esposito (Esposito and Saint Peter’s).

The vision for the project is something of an all-day eatery and bar, a la institutions like The Continental and Mietta (back in the day), or in a more contemporary context, Hairy Canary. It’ll be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, from early morning until late at night.

St ALi will of course be in charge of the coffee, with Borazio on the grog and Esposito brought in to consult on the menu, which will be a pastiche of St ALi breakfasts and Saint Peter’s mains, “so that if you are a VCA student, you can come by for a pint and some tapas, or if you’re out for a meal and have $200 in your pocket, you can buy and bottle of Moet and more full-on dishes,” says Malatesta. “It’s a grown up version of what Jerome and St ALi are doing now.”

With such a solid crew behind this new venture, we’re confident they won’t have too much trouble filling the large, 220 seat venue with both passing day trade and those popping in pre or post-show at the Recital Centre and the MTC next door. If the group’s past projects are anything to go by, they shouldn’t have any trouble attracting the masses.

With Malatesta opening no less than six ventures already this year, both locally and abroad, we’re looking forward to seeing what this new group of collaborative saints rustles up for us next.