Menu Reveal: Four Dishes to Try at the Roma x Broadsheet Access Readers’ Preview

For Con Christopoulos, Rome’s dining scene is synonymous with trattorias rather than restaurants. “The food is as good as anywhere in Rome, but they don’t have any pomp and ceremony,” he says. “They are a lot more user-friendly.”

And while the Melbourne hospitality titan labels his newest venture, Roma, as a restaurant, “the bones and the soul are trattoria”. More energetic. Less serious. And more of a focus on the Eternal City’s famous Quinto Quarto cuisine.

The Roman tradition of turning offal and “poor” cuts into sophisticated delicacies goes back to historic times when local peasants could only access the “fifth quarter” of meat from slaughterhouses, after the other – more refined – quarters were offered to the pope, cardinals, politicians and nobility.

The creative cuisine, featuring dishes like pajata (calf intestines) and coratella (sauteed lamb offal), hasn’t had much play in Australian restaurants, Christopoulos explains. “It could be because there was no faith in the customer, or they’re not adventurous enough, or they have no passion for it.” But it will find a platform – finally – at Roma. Alongside other dishes inspired by regional and international cooking.

Christopoulos is no stranger to the hospitality game. His stable of venues includes Hot-Listed Kafeneion, Siglo, The European, Bossa Nova Sushi, French Saloon and Angel Music Bar. And he’s teamed up with some fellow hospo veterans on Roma: Matt Wilkinson (co-founder of Pope Joan) is onboard as chef and co-owner, and Giovanni Patane (co-founder of Supermaxi) will oversee the floor.

Together, they’re striving to “capture the romance and the energy of a Roman restaurant”, riffing on vintage touches from the 1940s to 1980s. “The vibe,” Christopoulos says, “is going to be bustling. It’s going to be fun.”

The Collins Street venue’s official opening is slated for May 21, but thanks to Broadsheet Access Readers’ Preview series, our members will be first through the door for an exclusive dinner event on Wednesday May 20. Guests can enjoy a complimentary drink with snacks on arrival, followed by a sneak peek three-course menu. Christopoulos and Wilkinson will host, alongside Broadsheet’s Australia editor Nick Connellan.

Tickets for the event are selling fast, so log in or join Broadsheet Access today to secure your seat. Meanwhile, here’s a sneak peek at some of the dishes on the Readers’ Preview menu, as described by Con Christopoulos and Matt Wilkinson.

Suppli al telefono

Con Christopoulos: “It’s a classic Roman street snack. When you bite it, the cheese stretches out like a telephone line – that’s why they call it ‘al telefono’. It’s Rome’s version of arancini, but cigar-shaped.”

Matt Wilkinson: “The crumbing is 50 per cent breadcrumb and 50 per cent semolina – it’s double crumbed, then fried. It’s a deceptively simple dish, but there is quite a lot going into it.”

Wild greens and ricotta ravioli

Wilkinson: “Nettle is the pasta – it’s a nettle puree that is pulled through to make the dough. The filling uses two wild greens: spigarello and rapini. The spigarello has been grown just for us in the area where Gippsland meets the Yarra Valley.”

Christopoulos: “The ‘house sugo’ is a san marzano [tomato] base that we’ve had shipped over from just outside of Naples. We designed the label ourselves – it’s called Noi, which means ‘us’ in Italian.”

Trippa alla Romana

Wilkinson: “It’s an all-day process. It takes four and a half hours just to get to the tender stage... You boil it in its own juices to take out the impurities, then cook it down in the tomato sauce.”

Christopoulos: “Out of all the offal Rome is famous for, this is probably the most known. We really want people to be a little bit adventurous with us.”

Fior di latte gelato

Christopoulos: “Fior di latte is the sign of a master. If you walk into a gelato shop in Italy and there is no fior di latte, you keep walking.”

Wilkinson: “We use a Cattabriga vertical machine – the best money can buy. It’s the only one in Victoria. It’s a very specific, artisan, bespoke way to make it.”