Karla Dawes Press Office

Upping Lygon Street’s pizza game might sound like a bit ambitious – this is Melbourne’s Little Italy, after all – but the arrival of Garfield Pizzeria is already doing just that. Named in honour of an orange feline that wandered onto the site during construction, the February opening of the retro-styled counter-service pizzeria on the storied King & Godfree corner, right next door to Pidapipó, has introduced new techniques including the cross-cultural innovation known as the “Tokyo Stretch”, a dough-making technique pioneered in Japan that adds a surprising crunch to the light and airy base.

It’s long been considered royalty among Melbourne’s hospitality icons, which made it doubly exciting for KDPO to help spread the word that St Kilda’s The Prince Hotel is set for a major transformation under the new direction of hospitality entrepreneur Grant Smillie.

One of the summer’s most irresistible collaborations saw St Kilda institution Stokehouse join forces with chef Ellie Bouhadana (formerly of Hope St Radio) for a pop-up highlighting Ellie’s breezy, coastal-inspired take on North African and Mediterranean cooking. Taking over Stokehouse’s boardwalk kiosk Beach Box, Ellie’s Kiosk at Stokehouse became one of the holiday season’s hottest tickets.

Like all proud, card-carrying Melburnians, the KDPO crew is very fond of a rooftop bar. So when stylish hotel HYDE Melbourne Place called about relaunching its refurbished rooftop venue Cleo, the brief landed squarely in our wheelhouse.

When our friend and long-time client Chris Lucas opened Grill Americano in 2022, the glamorous, Venetian-inspired steakhouse in Flinders Lane was an instant fan favourite. Fast forward a few years and following successful negotiations to secure the grand, glass-fronted site in the CBD’s landmark 1 Chifley Square building (formerly Qantas House), Sydney now has a Grill Americano to call its own.

Sand Hill Road hospitality group has made a habit of revitalising Melbourne’s most iconic and historic venues. With projects like The Espy, Garden State Hotel and Richmond Club Hotel under its belt, it has upped the ante again with The Waterside Hotel in Melbourne CBD’s west end.

When the team behind glam-fab venues Riserva, Baia Di Vino and Lucia decide to add to their stable, you know it’s going to nail its KPIs. 

Cremorne is the latest lucky location to be anointed with its own Baker Bleu, the cult bakery that started in a tiny Elsternwick shopfront in 2016.

As unashamed pom-pom-waving champions of Victoria’s amazing food scene, KDPO was thrilled to help launch a truly standout restaurant, the intimate 40-seat Barragunda Dining in Cape Schanck on the Mornington Peninsula.

We’re always excited to spread the word whenever a new restaurant is added the Lucas Restaurants stable, but it was particularly special to work on the campaign for his latest venue, Maison Bâtard, which opened in November.

KDPO loves any excuse to swirl and sip while learning more about wine.

That’s why we were thrilled to help spread the word about Circl, a new restaurant with a big focus on wine (as the magnificent 1500-bottle cellar will no doubt attest) on Punch Lane in Melbourne’s CBD.

Clarendon Street’s stocks are on the rise, as evidenced by the exciting arrival of all-day bistro Kirbie.

Of course, we were already fans of its predecessor, restaurateur Kirbie Tate’s Aussie-Korean wine bar James. We knew the strip was in for a fabulous new taste of her already assured take on hospitality, and were delighted to help announce the intimate 40-seater to both the `hood and further afield.

Five of our favourite words? Baker Bleu hot cross buns. The bun-loving KDPO office was bouncing to be engaged by the cult bakery to help amplify the launch of their brand-new hot cross buns over Easter. The best part was coordinating product send outs of the buns to KOLs and food media across Melbourne and…