Wine bars are ubiquitous in Melbourne, but it’s often hard to pinpoint what makes one truly great. But if anyone has the knowhow to nail the concept, it’s Giulia Giorgetti and Steve Harry of the just-opened Suze.

Giorgetti was most recently restaurant manager at Andrew McConnell’s Hot-Listed Marion, and Harry’s last gig was as head chef at Fitzroy wine bar Napier Quarter (before that, he worked at Cumulus Inc, Auterra and Hot-Listed Cutler). “All of our previous experiences shaped who we are today. The concept we created and the style of service and food reflects [that],” Giorgetti tells Broadsheet.

While Giorgetti has opened venues with her brother back home in Italy, on Wednesday March 12 the couple held the first service at their very own wine bar. “It felt incredible, but also so natural,” Giorgetti says. “[It] felt like a home dinner party.” That’s very much in keeping with the venue’s ethos, which places hospitality “without any fuss or pretentiousness” at its centre.

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The name Suze was chosen because the duo wanted to create an innate sense of familiarity: “everyone knows a Suze”, as Giorgetti says. The couple took over the former One Trick Pony space in November and renovated it to “drop down the vibe and make it a little more moody”, with grey-painted walls and a concrete bartop on the lower level.

Sit upstairs and you can watch Harry cook what he describes as “Melbourne wine bar cuisine” in the open kitchen. He and the team serve everything from small snacks to “knife-and-fork entrees”, mains, dessert and a house-made petit four (a Turkish delight that uses Davidson’s plum and rose geranium) brought to the table when the bill lands. While he’s got some serious experience behind him, Harry says he’d rather guests enjoy the simplicity of hospitality than serve dishes that focus on technique for technique’s sake.

Drinks are Giorgetti’s domain. The wine list is evenly split between Australian and European drops. Cocktails focus on aperitifs, with highlights including the fruity and tart Davidson’s plum spritz, the Suze Americano, which Giorgetti says is a general introduction to a herby flavour profile, and the Sherry Collins, which she says feels like a refreshing lemonade with great depth.

The couple hopes people will drop in and enjoy a drink and snack – such as the raw snapper with Tasmania wasabi oil, or the anchovies with guindillas and blood lime – without feeling the need to commit to a full meal. But for those looking for lunch or dinner, they recommend starting with the fresh focaccia and house-made ricotta – “the best dipping game ever” – before moving onto the eggplant cotoletta, or the pork chop with plum and celeriac (the guest-favourite from the first night of service) and finish with a scoop of the grapefruit sorbet served with Suze, the French aperitif liqueur.

Suze
6 Newry Street, Fitzroy North
(03) 9853 1826

Hours:
Wed to Fri 5pm–midnight
Sat midday–midnight
Sun midday–6pm

suzefitzroy.com