Paisano & Daughters has flipped former vegetarian restaurant Flora into Joe’s Tavern, Restaurant & Bar. The restaurant will open Wednesday 15 October.
Named after group Founder and Partner Joe Valore, the tavern will offer nostalgic classics like steak, cold starters like prawn cocktails and devilled eggs, and Pastry Chef Lauren Eldridge‘s layered pink Knickerbocker Glory.
The restaurant will take a nose-to-tail cooking approach, with menu signatures such as Joe’s 50/50 burger with a patty made up of half lamb and half beef.
When Paisano & Daughters launched three new venues and boutique accommodation on the strip beside its successful Newtown stalwart Continental Deli, Flora was the group’s signature vegetarian offering. But within six months, the group had rejigged the restaurant’s menu to include meat and seafood, and appointed Måns Engberg to take over from Jude Hughes as head chef.
“This is a natural evolution that reflects the way we love to cook and eat, and allows us to work with more of the growers, fishermen and farmers we admire. We will continue to champion the best of Australian producers for both food and drinks,” the team said in a statement at the time.
Just two months later, in late September 2025, Flora closed.
The group says Joe’s Tavern was previously planned for Continental Deli’s third level, but it was knocked back after two years with council. Now, “the idea is finally coming to life,” says the team, with a restaurant paying respect to the “quiet leadership and generosity” of Valore.
The venue is positioned as a new York style venue. “Joe’s Tavern embodies that idea: a cosy, unpretentious space where familiar food is cooked with skill, the drinks are clean and classic, and the welcome is genuine,” says the team.
Elvis Abrahanowicz (Aria; Becasse; MG Garage; El Raco De Can Fabe, Spain; Bodega and Porteno) and Måns Engberg (Saint Peter; Au Passage, Paris) will lead the kitchen, with Michael Nicolian behind the bar.
Photography by Amber Barnes.
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