Brunswick East’s New Public House Is Almost Here & Their Flatbread Has Caught Our Eye

Daphne is the new venture by the Etta crew that's on everyone's lips at the moment—the opening is set for 10 November on Lygon Street in the old Bar Romantica spot. 

Hannah Green is the celebrated mind behind Etta, and Daphne is a new take on her commitment to great food done right—something a bit more approachable and dynamic, suited to all kinds of occasions. 

The open kitchen will centre around the woodfire stove and oven from The Brick Chef, giving a smoky tinge to dishes that suggest a homely nostalgia, refined and clarified in a celebration of produce and approachability. 

The beef tartare shakes off the strictures of haute-cuisine dogmatism to celebrate the joys of pairing your delicate beef with crisp wedges of lettuce, instead of merely the old classic; chips. The resulting plate is a verdant arrangement that is wholly approachable for any tartare fanatic or initiate—and why not do things a little different? The flatbread is cornucopian too—slathered with whipped cod’s roe, heart of celery and fat mussels. This is food to be torn into, napkin tucked in. 

“It’s a restaurateur’s answer to a pub,” says Green. “The mood is fun and easygoing, the food is highly delicious but not too fancy.” 

“Our rules are that my dad should be able to read and understand everything on the menu, and it should be as accessible for after-school snacks and casual catch-ups as it is for milestone celebrations and midnight martinis.”

Head Chef Diana Desensi (Montalto, Saint George, Pt Leo Estate) celebrates food as something that brings people together as a community. Her food is generous, instinctive, and deeply rooted in seasonality and nostalgia. It's these values that shape the ethos of the menu. 

At Daphne there's neighborhood night specials that reflect the sensibilities of the venue. Mondays is Martini night, the price point set at a comfortable $15 for a glass, with bar snacks to compliment. Steak nights on Tuesdays ($30) feature classic pie options for the vego friends, and pasta night on Wednesday ($25) rotates through delicious, classic pastas that everyone can get around. 

Again, this is ‘a restaurateur’s answer to a pub’, and we are excited about what that alchemy means for both restaurants and pubs. 

For the interior, think walnut timber, glass brick, Australian marble, antique mirror, coffee-coloured upholstery, coral tiles and crimson textiles. With Bar Romantica’s custom-built sound system staying put, and DJ JNETT pumping tracks into the early hours, Daphne might just be the new place to be in Brunswick East on a Friday night. 

Sit tight for bookings and more info, but you can find Daphne in the flesh at 52/54 Lygon Street, Brunswick East. Doors open 10 November.

Additional reporting by Mattea Kearney.

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