When I, Gourmet Traveller digital editor Cordelia Williamson, found out that a new Melbourne restaurant will be my namesake, I immediately jumped on the phone to find out more from co-owner Alex Gavioli.
A husband-and-wife team, Gavioli and interior designer Sarah Freudendal aren’t exactly Melbourne hospo newcomers. The duo is also behind Prahran’s fun-loving wine bar Don’s, and they’re now set to open its grown-up sibling venue in Carlton next month. Cordelia, named after the Latin meaning ‘Daughter of the Sea’ (and not after this GT editor), is wholly centred around the concept of sustainable seafood.
“It’s a gorgeous name,” Gavioli tells me. “The idea of Cordelia came about when we first worked pretty closely with a sustainable seafood guide, the Good Fish Project,” he continues. “I was blown away by how much seafood Australia is not eating.”
The concept behind the restaurant is to help drive the conversation around sustainable seafood; where it’s sourced from as well as champion lesser-known fish species through its daily changing menu. “The name just worked, it completed the story,” says Gavioli.
While retaining the team’s relaxed, affable vibe, Cordelia is set to be “definitely more of a restaurant” with “a long lunch with your friends kind of energy”. The menu will follow a linear format of entrées, mains, sides and desserts, with seafood as the star.
But beyond the day’s freshest catch, there’ll always be pasta which will change regularly, along with other proteins such as organic beef and lamb from Myall Springs and Brooklands Free Range Farms pork. Gavioli also wants to “bring back the chicken breast” and is on a mission to see the poultry cut regain its popularity in restaurants. “I think a lot of places are scared to put chicken breast on their menus because it is so accessible. And it’s not as clickbaity, I guess.”
As for the team, leading the kitchen will be Don’s current head chef Josh Norris; while Freudendal is behind the design of the brightly lit corner space on Rathdowne Street, which impresses with a minimalist Scandi edge and elegant-yet-industrial feel. Think polished concrete walls and ceiling, sleek timber furniture, metal accents, large windows and a spiral staircase descending into a subterranean bar space.
“We’ll have to give you the full VIP treatment [when it opens],” Gavioli tells me. “We have to make Cordelia at Cordelia happen.” And when Cordelia does open, it’ll no doubt make a huge splash.
Cordelia is slated to open on 180 Rathdowne St, Carlton in May 2025. Instagram.com/cordelia.carlton
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