More Meatballs, please

Matteo Bruno will open a second Meatball & Wine Bar in Richmond in May. The Flinders Lane original opened in August last year and quickly became one of the lane's hot spots. Its success has spawned the successor. ''The idea has traction,'' says Bruno, commenting on the popularity of the city venue. The sibling will be ''in the same vein as Flinders Lane'', with the same menu to ''create familiarity across the brand''. Bruno is planning more outlets in Sydney and his home town Perth. In Richmond, he will open in a former bank building that was most recently the restaurant Bess, at 105 Swan Street. Renovations of the 90-seater are under way.

Hilary McNevin