We were delighted to jump onboard the Lucas Restaurants train again in October when Chris Lucas opened Carlotta, his much-anticipated debut on Canberra’s restaurant scene.
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Chin Chin Finds its Club
A Chin Chin pop-up restaurant at Geelong’s iconic GMHBA Stadium? They’re calling it Club Chin Chin, we’re calling it game on. The partnership between the trend-setting restaurant and the beloved Geelong Cats Football Club is one of the most exciting announcements of 2024. Taking Chin Chin’s trademark fire and spice down the Princes Freeway marked a significant milestone in Geelong’s dining scene and a triumphant homecoming for its Geelong born and bred owner Chris Lucas.
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Lucia is Here
South Melbourne’s Mediterranean heart is full with the opening of Lucia. The latest offering from the teams behind suburban gems Riserva, Baia Di Vino and San Lorenzo, and brings its own distinct identity to a great inner-city location just 10 minutes from the CBD.
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Melbourne Meets Wally’s
The gorgeous corner spot that houses bayside’s newest wine bar, Wally’s Albert Park, had us at hello. The Studio Ami-designed space is the very picture of European elegance with its brass tabletops, miniature lamps and velvet banquettes. Just add a marble-topped bar and waiter’s station, all reflected in an antique mirrored ceiling, and you can file it under “effortlessly chic”.
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See you at Starward
KDPO are long-time fans of Starward Whisky so we were enthusiastically on board for a campaign to help publicise the brilliant revamp of the 120-seat venue which has added a new bar and kitchen and a new name, Starward Whisky & Bar.
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La Dolce Vita at Johnny’s Green Room
KDPO and Johnny’s Green Room are old friends. We launched the iconic Carlton rooftop venue on the corner of Lygon and Faraday Streets in 2018, and last December we celebrated its stunning Tuscan-inspired makeover.
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Hotel Sorrento Goes Resort
Clifftop beauty Hotel Sorrento opened a new chapter in its 150-year history in December last year and KDPO was there to get the word out. The grand unveiling of its stunning makeover has cemented it as a leader in the Mornington Peninsula luxury-stay field.
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A Bigger, Better Family Butcher
It was a full circle moment when Gary’s Meats, the beloved Melbourne butcher, relocated to beautiful and larger premises within Prahran Market under the new name, G. McBean Family Butcher.
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Taittinger Kicks Goals
The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 was a roaring, crowd-pleasing, game-changing success and KDPO was thrilled to play our part in such an historic occasion through working with the series’ official champagne sponsor, iconic champagne house Taittinger.
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Young At Heart
There simply cannot be too many easy-going venues that seamlessly combine drinks, food, music and art, which is why we’re ringing the bell for new Windsor bar Young Hearts.
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A Bagel Attraction
The bagel revolution reached Armadale with the arrival of Hank’s Bagelry in April. The elevated New York-style bagels on offer from the shop by the Beatty Group, the masterminds behind Copycat Bar & Restaurant and Mammoth Café, have become an immediate hit and established it as a must-visit destination for aficionados while making plenty of new converts to the bagel cause.
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A Cruisy Collab
A collaboration between Kiwi chef Josh Emett, of Waiheke Island’s The Oyster Inn, and Raes, the gorgeous Byron Bay boutique hotel and dining room, was a meeting of two icons.
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The Motel With The Most
It’s easy to see why retro motels are all the rage. They’re a slice of Australian history, wrapped up in the gold-tinged nostalgia of childhood – and they make the perfect excuse for a roadtrip.
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Maha’s Big Night
Has it really been that long? June saw us wondering where the past 15 years had gone when Shane Delia’s acclaimed Middle Eastern and Mediterranean restaurant Maha celebrated its significant birthday (answer: the past decade and a half disappeared in a delicious whirl of silken hummus, fall-apart lamb shoulder and pomegranate-spike cocktails).
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Thrill at the Grill
The opening of a new Chris Lucas restaurant is always an event on the Melbourne hospitality calendar so it was a thrill for KDPO to help launch his latest venture, the very glamorous Grill Americano in Melbourne’s CBD.
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Pasta By the Bay
The sun has been shining on Melbourne’s iconic Stokehouse for more than 30 years. And now Melbourne’s favourite beachside playground is delivering St Kilda even more vitamin D in the form of newly launched Stokehouse Pasta & Bar, where Mediterranean vibes rule just metres from the sand.
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Happy Birthday Victor Churchill
KDPO has been an enthusiastic cheerleader for what is rightly described as “the world’s most beautiful butcher” since Victor Churchill opened in Melbourne in 2021. So we were counting down the days to their first birthday in November last year, and were on hand to help blow out the candles on the cake.
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Victor & Hector’s Limited-Edition Sanga
Sandwiches are king of the castle right now. Not the sad old school lunchbox numbers but their luxe cousins, made with excellent produce and a chef’s eye for detail. For a case in point, look no further than the limited edition, one-weekend-only sandwich, an amazing collaboration between our client, glam Armadale butcher Victor Churchill, and Fitzroy’s newest food crush, Hector’s Deli.
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Fanfare for the Classic Pub
The imposing Orrong Hotel has been an Armadale landmark for the past 150 years, and locals (some of them lucky members of the KDPO office) are thrilled it’s had a new lease on life since its reopening late last year under new owners Scott Connolly and Matt Vero.
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Pidapipo’s Experiments in Style
Our favourite gelateria Pidapipo really does deserve the label “cult”. Melbourne’s most creative gelato hub has proven its brilliance at blending traditional and innovative techniques and flavours time and again since opening in 2013.
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Shane Delia Adds Jewel to his Crown
It’s always exciting when Shane Delia embarks on a new project. Melbourne’s king of Middle Eastern food launched his cocktail bar Jayda in November, and the latest addition to his incredible restaurant and bar portfolio is a stunning exercise in art deco-leaning glamour, with a black marble-topped curved green bar and high-top seating in the front room leading to a sophisticated salon accessed through an archway.
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Read the Story of King & Godfree
It’s one of Melbourne’s OG food businesses; an institution that has been trading on its prominent corner of Lygon and Faraday Streets in Carlton for more than 150 years. Yes, we’re talking about King and Godfree, the Italian-hearted deli and grocer. After all these years it has plenty of tales to tell, which makes it…
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The March of Wine
We’ve been long-time fans of chef Peter Gunn and his excellent restaurant IDES, so we were more than excited to help him launch his second venue, a wine bar called March. Right next door to his restaurant on Smith Street in Collingwood, March is an intimate, moodily-lit, Japanese-inspired ode to small wine and sake producers, interesting cocktails and exquisite bar food (we’re suckers for the sake-steamed pipis and the sweet-and-sour quail). The offering is pure Gunn with its perfect balance of creativity and flavour, with added drinks ballast from IDES sommelier Hayley McCarthy.
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Turkish Delight in the City
Babajan, the exquisite little bakery and kitchen in North Carlton, has been gathering a cult following for its “Turkish-leaning” baked, fresh and sweet goods since it opened in 2016 on the corner of Nicholson and Pigdon Streets. Now owner Kirsty Chiaplias has spread the love to the CBD.
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Back to bassike
We’ll admit it: all of us here at KDPO are just a little bit addicted to fashion. In fact, we’re sure it’s embedded in our DNA, along with our collective love for the incredible style of Sydney-based lifestyle brand bassike.
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A Keen Bean
The KDPO office’s love of coffee is legendary – which makes it double the fun that one of our clients is Jack Murat, the pioneering Australian single origin coffee bean farmers changing the caffeine game.
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Sener Besim’s Minimalist Artistry
Melbourne-based designer Sener Besim is internationally renowned for his contemporary jewellery, eyewear and knitwear. His jewellery has been worn by the likes of Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton and has been described as “futuristic, clean, sharp and aspiring to perfection”. His work also looks amazing on anybody who wears it so KDPO was excited when…
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Meat, Meet Art
Anyone who has encountered Victor Churchill, the acclaimed marble-clad butcher shop in Sydney’s Woollahra, has been dazzled by the audacity of its vision.
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Garden State goes Italian
Can’t travel to Italy right now? Well, look no further than Sand Hill Road’s flagship CBD venue, Garden State, which mid-last year shifted gears on its flagship Garden Grill.
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HER to the Power of Four
It was a red-letter day when HER swung open its multiple doors in early February. Almost six years in the making, the four-level, multi-concept venue on Lonsdale Street in the city became an instant Melbourne landmark and the latest addition to our famous “vertical laneways”. A grand Victorian rescued from neglect by the HQ group…
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