Mr Vincenzo’s

Matti Fallon’s Mornington restaurant Colt Dining had been open for less than a month when it was destroyed by an electrical fire in October 2023.

Six months later the chef opened Mr Vincenzo’s, a neighbourhood restaurant on the esplanade, overlooking Mornington Park and the bay. The menu uses a lot of Italian techniques and ingredients, but doesn’t pretend to be Italian. Expect two pastas on the menu at any time. There’ll always be a vegan offering and fun large-format pastas such as Jurassic-sized casarecce with spinach and wild garlic pesto, or beef ragu on thick, hand-rolled campanelle.

Snacks and small plates might include stracciatella on silverbeet, or mussels with Nduja, leek, cannellini beans and a sprig of saffron. Desserts have included baked Basque cheesecake with basil and a salted pistachio crumble on top, or a white chocolate tiramisu.

The wine list is entirely made up of Italian varietals, and two-thirds comes from Italy. Cocktails are classic. Mr Vincenzo’s is named for the late grandfather of Paul Godard, Fallon’s business partner. Images of older Sicilian people hanging out on the beach can be seen on the walls.

The venue, with its wine-bottle-green floors, corduroy and cork accents, red-glazed tiles behind the bar, and waffle-yellow walls, has the same 1970s vibe as Colt. The burnt orange details throughout the space echo the old venue, and the Colt Dining sign – the only thing that survived the blaze – is mounted on the wall.