Chef and restaurateur Scott Pickett has relaunched his Smith Street restaurant Saint Crispin as Lupo.
The concept was a long time coming for the chef, who always wanted to open a relaxed Italian venue.
“We thought, ‘do we go back to the Saint Crispin format or mix it up?’” the chef told Good Food. “We don’t have any Italian heritage, but love our hand-rolled macaroni, and without being gimmicky, we want to do great Italian food with a little bit of Melbourne in it.”
Stuart McVeigh (The Botanical, Pied a Terre) has been appointed as executive chef with Charlie Watson (Eleven Madison Park) moving from Matilda 159 Domain to take on the head chef role.
Menu items include ndjua with fermented tomato and anchovy on toast, squid ink linguine with bottarga and sardine vinaigrette and black truffle and cipolla risotto cooked to order.
The wine list will offer a combination of Italian wines and Australian-grown Italian varietals, with a barrel-aged negroni and a range of classic cocktails also making the cut.
Image credit: Peter Dillon
