Gradi Crown

Johnny Di Francesco has already brought Melbourne the Italian institutions 400 Gradi in Brunswick East and 90 Secondi in Docklands. He is also responsible for the Margherita Verace, which won the international Italian Campionato Mondiale Della Pizza competition in 2014. This winner is on the menu at Gradi Crown among other traditional seafood and pasta dishes that show off the flavours of Napoli.

Di Francesco doesn’t buy into the idea that Crown is just a corporate giant and therefore somehow a lesser destination for a quality restaurant. Although not a fine-dining establishment, Gradi Crown does provide the level of service and quality that Melbourne has come to expect from his other venues.

The large space caters to 330 patrons and more than 70 staff at full capacity. Walking around, patrons can seamlessly transition through the different dining areas Di Francesco has created. Gradi has a bar, a traditional cicchetti bar, an area with communal tables, private function spaces, secluded nooks and a large, open kitchen which puts on display the Napolitano art of pizza-making.