Restaurateur Con Christopoulos,right,and business partner Stavros Konis at the original Bourke Street Kafeneion.Eddie JimOn February 7,Melbourne Supper Club on Spring Street will morph into a spot just like the late-night bars you find upstairs in Athens’ old quarter,according to Christopoulos.
“I was sitting in there the other night and it just felt good. We started playing Greek music. We’ve had a lot of family events in there,so it has nice memories,” he says.
Christopoulos (also behind The European,Kirks Wine Bar andFrench Saloon) and his Kafeneion partner,Stavros Konis,still want to find the venue its very own home,but these digs will be as permanent as anything is in hospitality.
The plan means one Melbourne icon makes way for another in the making. Kafeneion proved to be an instant classicwhen it opened,withThe Age’s chief restaurant critic Besha Rodell writing that its service,style and food were so very Melbourne itmade her swoon.
Melbourne Supper Club’s split-level space will give Kafeneion a clubby feel.Luis Enrique AscuiChristopoulos says the menu will undergo seasonal changes only and the same furniture and table settings will come from the original. But the look will undoubtedly feel more like a salon,thanks to Melbourne Supper Club’s split-level layout punctuated by staircases,walls and other nooks creating a clubby atmosphere.
The biggest change might be the hours:Kafeneion can now stay open until 4am (for drinks and snacks,not dinner),thanks to the Supper Club’s late-night licence.
Meanwhile,Kafeneion’s previous Bourke Street site (originally Self Preservation) is being transformed into something that’s a radical departure for the Christopoulos stable:a sushi train restaurant with a strong Brazilian theme running through the drinks,music and decor.
More than 2 million Japanese and their descendants live in Brazil,the largest population outside Japan.
Kafeneion’s sweetbreads are part of the home-style menu that will remain unchanged.Jason South“I’ve had some incredible Japanese meals in Brazil,” says Christopoulos.
Less mall,more made-to-measure,Bossa Nova Sushi will serve fast yet high-quality Japanese food via a sushi train to 26 people,with takeaway also available. Drinks will range from sake to Caipirinhas,the Brazilian cocktail of cachaca (sugar cane spirit) mixed with lime and sugar.