Delmonte, the Crown Jewel of King & Godfree’s Revival, Is Here

Walk past the King & Godfree building any night of the week, and you’ll see crowds of people enjoying Tokyo-style pies and rosemary fries from Hot Listed Garfield. When the zippy pizzeria opened in February, it marked the start of the historic building’s revival under Jamie Valmorbida. A basement-level cocktail and music bar is still to come. But today, the crown jewel of the revival officially opens: Delmonte, an Italian restaurant and wine room in the former deli space. 

The name Delmonte honours Jamie’s grandfather Carlo Valmorbida, who was born in northeastern Italy in the mountain village of Valli del Pasubio – del monte means “from the mountain” in Italian. Carlo took over the heritage-listed King & Godfree building in 1955, establishing it as one of the city’s iconic food institutions.

Jamie’s longtime collaborator, the designer Dion Hall, preserved much of the deli’s DNA. Stainless steel tubular lights mimic the original fittings, as do the cream tiles lining the kitchen counters and building facade. 

“The brief for Dion was to create a space that feels familiar, welcoming and that belongs to Carlton,” says Jamie. “It doesn't reference a particular place or period, but instead draws inspiration from the timeless dining rooms, wine bars and neighbourhood restaurants found throughout Europe.”

The menu spans northern Italy, with dishes that nod to Carlo’s home town in the mountainous Veneto region near Venice. Those dishes are “not something you can just walk into any restaurant and get”, says Karen Martini, King & Godfree’s culinary director. “Each dish has its own little nod to something a little bit contemporary, but the roots are very traditional Italian. It’s a nice space to play in.”

The celebrated chef is joined by executive chef Mark Glenn (ex-Cumulus, ex-Dinner by Heston) and Delmonte head chef Diana Desensi (formerly of Daphne) who worked with Martini at Saint George.

Martini says the structure of the menu – starters, pastas, secondi and dessert – throws back to Melbourne Wine Room, her breakthrough venue. “The relaxed nature of sharing Italian food, the conviviality of the way you can share in this space. Anyone who knows would get a sense of that feeling when they walk in the room.” 

Salumi is taken seriously, with house-made condiments to match. Culatta from Italy is served with sliced melon, mortadella is paired with house-made pickles, and bresaola with persimmon jam. 

Another starter, thin wood-fired focaccia, is paired with your choice of house-made tuna ‘nduja, a pea-forward version of a fava dip, or whipped cod roe. 

Desensi is a “queen when it comes to pasta”, says Martini, so that’s her domain. The menu features four familiar staples including tagliatelle bolognese and earthy portobello, and porcini ragu with gnocchi. The one Desensi’s most excited about is a simple pomodoro spaghetti that blends roasted Roma tomatoes with fresh San Marzano tomatoes, topped with basil and stracciatella. 

Meats are sourced from nearby Donati’s Fine Meats, which Jamie purchased earlier this year. Peppery extra-virgin olive oil, produced by the Valmorbida family’s Mornington vineyard Ghostgum, is exclusive to Delmonte and used as a finishing touch on many dishes. 

On a street with no shortage of chicken schnitzels, Delmonte is making a pork cotoletta. Golden crumbed pork cutlets ooze with fontina cheese, and ham from the Aosta Valley. A dish of king mushrooms glazed with a yeast reduction with shoyu, saké and sugar, served alongside eggplant agrodolce, is a veg-forward main.

Dessert spotlights scoops from neighbouring Pidapipo, co-owned by Jamie and his sister Lisa Valmorbida. There are two pozzetti, one for dark chocolate gelato, another for fior di latte gelato, and there’s talk of creating exclusive Delmonte flavours in future. Gelato sundaes are topped with Italian meringue and morello cherry, and a spiced panforte pudding is served with a scoop of fior di latte then doused in salted molasses toffee. 

A wine and cocktail program curated by George McCullough of Gum, and head sommelier Michael Hegarty (formerly Osteria Renata and Rockpool) features 11 cocktails and a 300-bottle Piedmont-focused wine list.

There are marsala-spiked Old Fashioneds and Amaretto Sours infused with Ghostgum extra-virgin olive oil, and a very special house wine: a remake of a shiraz Carlo once imported from the Dolomites under his now-discontinued label, also called Delmonte. A family heirloom of sorts, it’s now produced by the Valmorbida family-owned Tar & Roses.

“Delmonte didn’t begin with an idea for a restaurant,” says Jamie. “It began with the building, The ambition wasn’t to simply open another restaurant but to reimagine a much-loved space for a new generation.”

Delmonte
293 Lygon Street, Carlton
(03) 8583 5000

Hours:

Daily 5pm–late

@delmontecarlton

delmontewine.com