Alex Drewniak
Lygon Street Landmark King & Godfree was once known as a deli, bottle shop and grocer. Now the building’s iconic corner space is home to Delmonte, a suave, creamily lit Italian restaurant and bar. At first glance, it appears Jamie Valmorbida, grandson of Carlo who took on K&G in the 1950s, might have jettisoned the past with this new configuration, but closer inspection reveals the roots to be intact, but cleverly recontextualised for a new generation.
Designer Dion Hall (also behind K&G’s rooftop bar Johnny’s Green Room and new Garfield Pizzeria) has infused Delmonte with a charming, cocooning nostalgia. Light fittings channelling the original deli lights (minus the fluoro glare) are aided and abetted by rippled glass, cream tiles and terrazzo. There are upholstered banquettes, spacious tables, a zinc bar and smartly uniformed service team with a great attitude. Meticulously calibrated sound levels mean that the place buzzes without making your ears bleed.
Nods to the past come with the food and drinks list too. Karen Martini is culinary director here, working with executive chef Mark Glenn and head chef Diana Desensi (ex-Daphne) and has designed a menu that offers modern flexibility while also reflecting the deli and grocery store origin story.
An elevated, illuminated fridge displays salumi that’s cut to order on a deli slicer in the open kitchen (buttery-rich culatta is a highlight). Pasta, a K&G grocer staple and specialty, is featured too. There’s a daily changing pasta, perhaps a lush hand-sliced, egg yolk tagliolini tossed in a thrillingly intense sauce of fresh sea urchin and bottarga butter, alongside menu staples like fluffy cult-worthy gnochetti tossed with a multi-mushroom ragù cooked with parmesan rinds that add an admirable umami depth.
The menu revolves expertly around comfort, excellent ingredients and traditional technique. Satisfyingly oily, crunchy-edged focaccia Genovese teams beautifully with tuna ’nduja, a crudo flavoured with chilli and Calabrian olive oil. There’s an absolute cracker of a costoletta, the pork (from Donati’s across the street) stuffed with ham and Fontina, coated in a parmesan crust and served with bitter greens. Meanwhile, desserts like apple tart with crema pasticcera and Amarena cherries keep the hits coming.
An extensive, well-priced wine list with Italy and Australia at its heart is complemented by on-theme cocktails, completing Delmonte’s ode to the past – but it’s the back-to-the-future attitude that makes this neighbourhood diner very much part of the here and now.
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