When Dr Morse opened 12 years ago, it served pan-Asian dishes such as sardines with habanero sambal, and pork belly with pear and tabasco jam. The late-night Abbotsford venue closed at the end of January for a renovation and refurb, and reopened yesterday as a New York Italian-inspired “bistro disco”.

Owners Pete Walsh, Jon Costello, Greg Scott and Jessica Morris have brought on executive chef David Boyle, who will also oversee the menus at the group’s two other venues: Bodriggy Brewing Co and The Albion Hotel, where he’s replaced its opening Latin menu with pub classics. Boyle says bistro disco means “great food that doesn't take itself too seriously, served in a fun, relaxed environment”.

You’ll find lunchtime made-to-order deli sandwiches, local and Italian cured meats and cheeses, $20 house-made pasta specials on weekdays and a dinner menu designed for sharing that includes lasagne ravioli and cotoletta alla Milanese.

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“With the renovation, we want to make it somewhere you can spend all evening, have a decadent dinner inside, then head out to the courtyard until the early hours,” Boyle tells Broadsheet.

We caught up with Boyle – who is originally from Ireland and worked at Campagne, as well as under Richard Corrigan in London, before moving to Melbourne in 2012 – to learn more about his culinary journey and what he has in store for Dr Morse.

What brought you to Melbourne?
I came here for what I thought was only going to be a couple of months. I started working for Matt [Germanchis] at Pei Modern and it really opened my eyes up to a different type of food than I had been cooking in Europe. I loved the food scene here. I always thought you could eat very well in London and Dublin, but that you needed to know where to go. It seemed to me that you had to go out of your way to eat badly in Melbourne, so I ended up staying.

I spent almost three years at the Lake House in Daylesford under Alla Wolf-Tasker. I opened Oter on Flinders Lane as sous chef, then went to work at Pastuso in 2017. After a couple of years, I left to join the Farmer’s Daughters pre-opening team as head chef. I opened Farmer’s Daughter and, later, Victoria by Farmer’s Daughters at Fed Square.

What were your culinary references for the new Dr Morse?
The Sopranos Family Cookbook, Made in Italy by Giorgio Locatelli, Rolo’s and Wildair in New York, and Bistecca in Sydney.

What about the Sopranos cookbook inspired you?
I love the show and how food is such a focal point. So many of the pivotal moments happen outside Satriale’s, at Vesuvio or around the dinner table at home. The fact that their version of New Jersey Italian food is different from traditional regional Italian food is also an inspiration. I want the food [at Dr Morse] to be recognisably Italian, but also feel like it belongs in Abbotsford.

The house sugo and meatballs at Dr Morse is very inspired by the Sunday gravy in the cookbook. We use Italian sausage, pork belly and roasted beef bolar blade and bake them overnight with San Marzano tomatoes – it’s pretty special.

What dish are you particularly excited for people to try?
Bacon cutlet Milanese with parmesan and curry leaf. Brian [Gillespie], the head chef at Dr Morse, spent a lot of time working in Southeast Asian and Thai restaurants and used to do a curry night at Dr Morse, so he always had lots of Asian herbs and other ingredients around. We were trying out a veal cutlet Milanese and I went to grab some parsley for the sauce but we were out so I swapped the parsley out for fresh curry leaf – it worked really well. We also ended up swapping the veal for lightly cured pork neck.

What’s staying on the Dr Morse menu?
Just the $25 steak night: 250g O’Connor rump cap grilled over charcoal, with puttanesca butter. Other than that, it’s a fresh start.