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Chadstone shopping centre now home to Cinque Terre restaurant led by chef Joseph Vargetto

Dani Valent
Dani Valent

Shoppers can snack on mini-toasties or settle in with pasta and vitello tonato.
Shoppers can snack on mini-toasties or settle in with pasta and vitello tonato.Supplied

The first restaurant at Chadstone shopping centre's new Social Quarter dining and entertainment precinct has launched. Cinque Terre is a collaboration between restaurateur David Mackintosh (Lee Ho Fook, Ides, Pope Joan, SPQR) and Mister Bianco chef and owner Joseph Vargetto.

"It's a little taste of la dolce vita," says Mackintosh. "We're creating a relaxed Italian Riviera vibe, an escape to somewhere charming, romantic and fun."

Isn't it a bit of a stretch to summon the cliff-hugging ancient fishing villages on Italy's north-west coast at Chadstone, a sprawling retail complex in Melbourne's south-east? "It's really a beautiful restaurant," says Vargetto. "There's a separate entrance and a piazza at the front with a park."

Italy's Ligurian coastline is the touchstone for chef Joseph Vargetto (left) and restaurateur David Mackintosh.
Italy's Ligurian coastline is the touchstone for chef Joseph Vargetto (left) and restaurateur David Mackintosh.Supplied
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While the outdoor area won't open until mid-January, from this week shoppers can take five with mini toasties of smoked chicken and mozzarella, or more substantial dishes. Vitello tonnato sbagliato is an upside-down version of the classic with tuna mayonnaise at the base, fresh tuna atop and poached veal to finish. Pasta dishes include corzetti, ravioli stamped with a Genovese family crest, in this case filled with crayfish and sauced with fennel aglio e olio.

It's not long since Joseph Vargetto opened his last restaurant, the ill-fated Cucina Povera in partnership with Maurice Terzini. It launched with a bang in June and was shuttered by the end of July.

"I'm endlessly optimistic about Melbourne's appetite for great Italian food," says Vargetto. "I am confident Cinque Terre will set a new precedent for restaurants in large shopping malls in Melbourne. It's pretty special."

The pair hope that Cinque Terre's handsome looks will change people's ideas about shopping centre dining.
The pair hope that Cinque Terre's handsome looks will change people's ideas about shopping centre dining.Supplied

The $71 million Social Quarter development will also be home to Cityfields from the Half Acre team, Urban Alley Brewing, Piccolina Gelateria and entertainment such as ten-pin bowling and mini-golf.

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Open daily noon-9pm from December 5

The Social Quarter (below Hoyts and Lego Land), 1341 Dandenong Road, Chadstone, cinqueterrechadstone.com.au

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Dani ValentDani Valent is a food writer and restaurant reviewer.

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