Machiavelli plots spin-off

Named after a famed political figure and frequented by a cabinet of luncheon powerbrokers, Machiavelli restaurant in the central business district is poised to birth a spin-off. Mach II will open early December, on the corner of Clarence and Barrack streets, near its older sibling.

''I've been here for 25 years, and I'm finally having a baby,'' says Machiavelli owner Caterina Toppi of the restaurant's long-awaited business expansion. ''Machiavelli is very corporate. Mach II will be a younger, hipper version with an underground bar.'' Antipasto will feature at Mach II, with city customers able to eat in or take out ''anti-packs'' to munch on at their workplaces.

''The entrance is through a carriageway. It'll seat about 50 upstairs and 80 down.''

No doubt young Libs and Labour pollies will mark their turf at Mach II, while the newer political parties have their own venues. Justin Hemmes proved a shrewd political sage given Clive Palmer's emergence, Merivale's Palmer & Co sounding like a political party as much as a speak-easy bar.