Art Deco-inspired Italian cafe Marchetti to open in Brisbane

City workers sick of subs and weary of wraps can find a little succour from Monday at a stylish new Italian cafe/wine bar in the elegant Tattersall's Arcade. The man behind Marchetti is Brisbane optometrist Michael Makras.

“I've been in this arcade eight or nine years and always thought it needed a cafe,” Makras says.

“I wanted somewhere to take people that wasn't a hipster hole in the wall, a food court or a restaurant. The vacancy came up and everyone said 'why don't you do it? You know the local clientele really well.' So I thought about if for three days then came up with basic sketches for Tattersall's Club (owners of the arcade)."

Marchetti will be opening in three stages, Makras says, with Allpress coffee, piadina and house-made croissants and sfogliatelle on offer for the first month, followed by a focus on the lunch trade with a “small, tight” menu of six to eight food items. A wine list of 10, all available by the glass, will change every fortnight. Later in the year, Makras says they will also open for afternoon and evening “aperitivi” (drinks and snacks).

So, with his own heritage being Greek, why has he chosen to open an Italian cafe/wine bar?

“In the city there's a dire lack of super classic cafes, places that feel really established. They're the kind of places Italians and French do best. Cafes with lots of marble and brass, where you can stand at the counter and have a coffee.”

Makras says the elegant interior was informed by the style of the arcade, with design influences drawn from the art deco period and luxury travel in particular, with lots of advertising prints from that period. The name references his favourite plane, the Marchetti sea plane, also from the same period.

Marchetti (Tattersall's Arcade, 204 Edward Street) will be open from Monday, May 26.