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Society
Ph: (03) 9639 2544; 23 Bourke St, MELBOURNE 3000 www.societyrestaurant.com
Italian, $$
Open Lunch and Dinner Mon-Sat; Licensed; AE MC V
Chef Giuseppe Uva (7-08-07) Owner Dimattina Family (7-11-07)
Other published opinions
Herald Sun Claire Sutherland, 15-07-08 Score: **** "One of Melbourne's most esteemed Latin eating places, Society offers simple, fine and excellent food with classics such as osso buco, whitebait fritters, and duck being regulars on the menu"
Herald Sun Dining Out, Stephen Downes, 7-08-07 Score: 17/20 "Stop all the clocks, as Auden wrote. Society is back, and I can't believe it can ever have been much better. The food is simple, fine and excellent, the restoration loving and the service superb. Though not exceptionally long, you'll find something on the wine list to suit you. Prices are reasonable and eight table whites and 10 reds are available by glass."
The Age John Lethlean, 10-9-2007 "The place, taken over by the DiMattina family (which owns several other eateries here and interstate, including Blue Train at Southgate) looks excellent following a serious refurbishment, with different areas affording different atmospheres. For a weekday lunch, however, I believe you should try to get yourself as close to Bourke Street as possible, in the natural light, with a passing parade on the footpath. Here the floor is tiled and the black laminate tables are horridly bare (prices are the same all over the building) but it's where things feel more alive. I had to make two requests for a table change to get out of the dark den at the rear, which would have been fine for an assignation, but that wasn't on the agenda. Society's menu is a mix of old-school and more contemporary ideas, but not a lot of innovation."
Age Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 12/20 "Off the dining radar for many years, Society is back and once again making its presence felt with a smart fitout and decently cooked Italian comfort food courtesy of the DiMattina family (Blue Train)"
The Age Michael Harden, 4-6-2007 "The new Society has two distinct areas. Out the back is Rino's Room (named after Giuseppe's son, who still owns the building), a red-hued dining area, all crushed velvet, chandeliers and mock flock wallpaper that keeps things suitably cushy and clandestine. At the front is the bar area with its white-tiled floor and the finger-popping atmosphere of a smart railway cafe in Italy."
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