Late-night bar food in Melbourne has been taken up one heck of a notch. Jock Zonfrillo, executive chef of Adelaide's celebrated Restaurant Orana, has taken charge of the snacks at Heartbreaker, CBD dive-bar sister to The Everleigh. The new concept is known as Love Street Diner.
"There's only going to be six things on the menu at any one time," says the Scottish-born chef.
"Staff are going to wander around with grandstand trays, you grab the food, swipe your card, and it's see you later.
"There will be a menu to order from too, but I think it's going to be so much better to be sitting there, food comes past, and you're like 'yep, I'll have one of them'."
The booze-food offerings include barbecue rib hoagies (slide-off-the-bone pork rib meat stuffed in a fresh baguette), Philly cheesesteak fries, Christmas dinner-style pork scratchings with jalapeno dressing, a reuben sandwich, and what Zonfrillo describes as "big, fat massive" chipotle onion rings.
There's also the KFP Royale – Kentucky-fried pork in a soft roll with mayo and iceberg lettuce; "Exactly what you want to shove in your pie hole after a couple of drinks," Zonfrillo says.
The food will be served until the bar closes about 3am.
234A Russell Street, Melbourne, 03 9041 0856, heartbreakerbar.com.au; open Mon-Sat 5pm-3am; Sun 5pm-11pm.
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