You know and love Caterina’s for its sharp, sit-down lunch service, and as it turns out, you love it when they do takeaway too. Over one special day during MFWF 2025, the Caterina’s team traded tradition for a raucous Venetian street food affair where cicchetti and tramezzini to-go were the star of the show.
Here’s the one and only Caterina Borsato with the details on one of MFWF 2025’s most exciting events:
Give us the rundown on your event, how did it come together in the planning stages?
Since inception, the theme at Caterina’s has always been about the long lunch. It’s a room that boasts intimate and business lunches where the service is sharp, the daily special are recited by a bevy of waiters, all clad in their black and whites. Traditionally it is about shared entrees, usually driven by seasonal produce, with clients then selecting their own main course and desserts, but most usually, cheese.
Beverage plays a big part in closing deals and we have a hefty wine list of more than 600 wines. So we thought that in our 30th milestone year, we would up the ante and give people who would not normally come to Caterina’s the opportunity to experience Venetian food, but in a totally different format. In Italy, ‘bacari’ are little wine houses that offer street food, but not just any street food, but rather delicacies that are found in the Veneto region. As our heritage is Venetian, it was the perfect way to flip Caterina’s on its head. Of course, street food is normally accompanied by wine and music and so for something totally different, we had an opera singer and violinist that we threw in for good measure, because as every restaurateur knows, the ambiance is just as important as the product.
Caterina’s is a little bit special in that it is underground, hidden, in fact it was once an underground carpark. There is much history here and you will find that history and antiques on every wall and surface in this space, a labour of love and side passion for Caterina. We decided to offer our regional food in small bites, so that it was accessible to people who had not dined here before. Diners got classical food, at affordable prices, with a bit of theatre thrown in for this one-off event. Caterina’s has been doing fine-dining lunches Monday to Friday for nearly 30 years, and we decided to trade our tradition for informality which is still very much reflective of our roots.
What did everyone eat and drink?
Typically, Venetian street food always includes ‘tramezzini’, which are small triangular crustless sandwiches of white bread filled with a plethora of typical food from the region and on the day we offered the following:
- Vitello tonnato – veal, tuna mayonnaise, capers
- Porchetta & radicchio – roast pork and red chicory
- Gamberetti, lattuga, salsa rosa – prawns, lettuce, pink mayonnaise
- Sopressa e carciofo – cured soft style salame and artichokes
- Bufala, pomodoro, melanzane – buffalo mozzarella, tomato, eggplant
You would also typically find ‘cicchetti’ which are small snacks or side dishes and these were our options:
- Baccala mantecato – creamed salted codfish
- Stracchino, pomodori secchi – Northern style soft cow’s milk cheese, semi-dried tomatoes
- Prosciutto cotto e rafano – cooked ham and fresh horseradish
- Mozzarella e acciughe – mozzarella and anchovies
- Lardo di Colonnata e rosmarino – lard and fried rosemary
- Sarde in saor – cured sweet & sour sardines
In addition, we added some typical snacks:
- Uova sode e acciughe – hard boiled eggs and anchovies
- Sarde fritte – fried sardines
- Polpettine – veal and chicken meatballs
- Insalata di polpo – octopus salad
We had a full open bar so that our regular clientele were still able to purchase their favourites including popular wines that Caterina’s is known for such as Valpolicella, Amarone and Soave. Of course spritzes of any type – Montenegro, bitter amara and the classical Campari, were as much of a hit as the Negronis.
And on the day, how did it go, what was the highlight?
Needless to say, we sold approximately 130 tickets at the two price points and the room was buzzing. In fact, many clients ordered over and above their original ticketed purchase. The experience was incredible for my team as Caterina’s has been doing fine dining lunch time service forever, and on this day, we were able to entirely flip this format on its head. I loved the fact that my chefs were out of the kitchen and on the floor, interacting directly with the clients. It was a lovely experience for them as they could explain their food and gauge diner enjoyment. For the rest of my team, it was a novelty that there was no traditional table service, the tables were stripped back bare and they were able to enjoy the day as much as everyone else. For myself and my chef it was exciting to indulge our Venetian roots. For Melburnians, it was our way to give back and say thank you for all their loyalty.
Any curveballs or challenges along the way, or perhaps something new you learned?
We anticipated that most people would grab and go as we offered the snack food in takeaway boxes. Instead, nearly everybody wanted to sit down and they stayed for hours and this was something that we definitely had not anticipated. We realised that the atmosphere of the day was just as important as the product we were selling. In Italy it is typical for people to stand up and eat, as a sit down incurs a surcharge which is called ‘coperto’. However in Australia it is quite the opposite.
Every year the question we’re asked most around event submission time is about price points and inclusions, what can you tell us about how you laned here?
We set our ticket prices so that we could cover costs of food, staffing and incidentals. This event was never about making money, it was about supporting Melbourne Food & Wine Festival and giving back to Melbourne. While the food ticket prices were purposely set low, we were more than able to make up for it in beverage consumption.
Everyone wants their event to stand out, what advice would you give to other hospitality operators when they’re brainstorming for their next event?
The advice I would give would be to stick to your roots and what you are known for. The street food is food that appears as part of our regular menus, so they were already tried and tested items but on a smaller, more casual scale. This meant that while the format of the service was entirely different, we were confident that our food and beverage offering were still in keeping with our standards and Venetian theme. The decision for this entire event was a collaboration between the whole team, so I knew that on the day everyone was comfortable with the change in service, plus it was also a great opportunity to gain new clients. Additionally, the added surprise of high level street music added value to the experience, and patrons felt that they got bang for their buck.
How did you promote your event?
Caterina’s has always been marketed through word of mouth and that has been the basis of our ongoing formula. Having said that, we promoted the event on our Instagram which was also successful in selling further tickets. Caterina’s is a little bit different because of its longevity way before social media was a thing, so while more technical marketing tools such as eDMs may have worked well, it is not something that is part of our marketing routine. Melbourne Food & Wine Festival gave us a good leg up with their promotion of our event. Fortunately, due to the very reasonable ticket price, it was an easy sell-out event which didn’t require too much marketing as opposed to a high ticketed price event.
What about the best event you’ve been to recently, what made it so memorable?
As part of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, Brat collaborated with Cutler and was high on my list of events to try. Not only is Cutler an all-time favourite and the most beautiful dining room but the dinner was very special. It was lovely to see Tomos Parry out of the kitchen and on the floor for a Q&A with Pat Nourse. The event felt intimate and confirmed Parry’s colossal success. It was a one-night only event which made it all the more special and it confirms that we Melburnians simply love a party!
Caterina’s Cucina e Bar, 221 Queen Street – Basement, Melbourne, caterinas.com.au, @caterinascucinaebar
@caterinascucinaebar
Basement 221 Queen St Melbourne 3000