South Yarra’s Bar Carolina Reopens With Celeb Chef Karen Martini at the Helm

When Bar Carolina closed a few weeks ago, it left a little hole in South Yarra’s dining scene. Former owner Joe Mammone stepped away from the business after eight years, citing his sister’s health and the need to spend time with family. In a since-deleted Instagram post, he wrote, “This isn’t a farewell for Bar Carolina, it’s a handover to two people I deeply respect and trust: chef Karen Martini and her husband Michael [Sapountsis].”

“We’ve always loved the site and supported the restaurant,” Martini tells Broadsheet. “I mentioned in passing that if Joe ever wanted to sell that I’d be interested. One day he decided to. It was good timing for us – now here I am.”

The venue lay dormant while the duo workshopped the best ways to reimagine the menu and service. Months of planning ended in a one-week turnaround between receiving the keys and opening to the public. Chris Connell ’s original fit-out, meant “to last 50 years”, remains largely intact. Major upgrades were reserved for the kitchen, to give the team more scope to experiment. Martini likens the transition to rearranging your living room.

“It’s a beautiful space that’s really stood the test of time, so we didn’t want to do too much to it,” she says. “There’s new paintwork, a lot of plants and flowers to soften the space and we’ve rearranged tables to change the flow of the venue and make the entrance space really inviting – it’s become a little foyer where locals mingle before or after a meal.”

While the menu is entirely new, it hits many of the same notes as the original. There’s beautiful antipasti like eye-fillet carpaccio dressed in the style of famous Venice destination Harry’s Bar, and confit artichoke with minced prawn, parmesan and agrodolce grapes. Pastas include a hearty pork-and-lamb ragu on paccheri, a spanner crab tagliolini and a four-cheese cappelletti with brown butter and sage. Hearty mains might be Tuscan roast chicken, fried veal chop with capers and or a hulking rib-eye bistecca crusted with sea salt before firing on the Josper grill.

The drinks menu also got a shake-up. The 15-page wine list covers numerous Italian varietals and some boundary-pushing local drops, while the cocktail list nails the classics.

Martini and Sapountsis have worked together for decades, having collaborated at St Kilda’s Melbourne Wine Room for 16 years, then going on to open Mr Wolf pizzeria nearby. Martini says their experience together will shape the identity of Bar Carolina well into the future.

“Michael and I have worked with each other in restaurants dating back to the ’90s, so we obviously have a great understanding on that front,” Martini says. “We’re grateful to be planted in South Yarra now and we’re ready to be here for a long time. We know that means keeping the old soul of the venue, but continuing to add our own twists as we go.”

Bar Carolina
44 Toorak Rd, South Yarra
(03) 9820 9774

Hours
Tue to Sun 12pm–11pm

barcarolina.com.au