Dieci e Mezzo site has new lease of life

The irrepressible Peter Harrington has taken over the former Dieci e Mezzo site in the base of the Actew building in Bunda Street (the one with those gorgeous coloured lantern sculptures in the foyer).

It was a difficult site for Fiona Wright’s Dieci e Mezzo, with the floor-to-ceiling windows and rather sparse, exposed feel, and it has been empty for more than a year since Wright’s restaurant empire collapsed.

Harrington, who owns Sage in Gorman House, has head-hunted a chef from San Francisco, one of the most go-ahead food cities in North America right now and home of Daniel Patterson, who was here last week sharing some ideas about his success. He plans a significant refurbishment of the Dieci space, moving the door towards the Dendy end, with outdoor seating also in the laneway at that end, and having windows that open to the street, all of which should improve the fishbowl feeling the restaurant had.

Two of the anticipated openings this month have been put back probably till after Christmas. Hotel Hotel in the New Acton precinct will open the hotel, but the restaurant looks to be next year. And Ben Willis’ new city eatery, Temporada, is unlikely to open now till mid-January. We’re told Josiah Li also plans a wine bar next door to his Malamay restaurant in the Burbury hotel.