Coming soon: Richmond wine bar Clover Vin de Cave from The Moon team

Former Etta chef Charley Snadden-Wilson is opening his own venue this winter with Lyndon Kubis, owner of Collingwood wine bar The Moon and several wine stores. Called Clover Vin De Cave, the Richmond venue will be similarly wine-focused and allow Snadden-Wilson to put his love of simple, sustainable food cooked over fire back in the spotlight.

The chef has cooked with only a hot plate and a deep-fryer for more than 18 months at The Moon in Collingwood, including hosting fun street-side stalls selling fish burgers during lockdown. But he's ready to get back into a proper kitchen.

He's kitting out Clover with a custom wood-fired oven and grill from The Brick Chef, which he'll use to bake bread, smoke sauces and stocks and cook fish and vegetables.

"We used to catch food and cook it over fire when I was growing up. We always lived rural and the norm was to build a fire outside," says the New Zealand-born chef, who further honed his fire skills at Embla.

Clover's kitchen won't only service the restaurant, but also The Moon and Malvern's Milton Wine Shop, another Kubis venue where Snadden-Wilson cooks at weekends. The chef plans to work closely with individual farmers and order a single whole animal each week, using every part across the three venues.

The kitchen will be integrated with the 48-seat dining room, with a low pass and chefs carrying dishes to the table to share their knowledge with guests.

"I'm looking forward to that generous style of service," says Snadden-Wilson. "The table will always be full, glasses always topped up."

Clover Vin De Cave is expected to open by June.

193 Swan Street, Richmond, instagram.com/clover.wine