Sud

A place deserving of success. The southern Italian food is really good and the concept interesting. Daily changing food and wine menu which is written up on silver boards. The menu gets read out loudly, dish by dish. An unusual interpretation of baccala as a paté with fried bread was delicious with a dish of black olive puree. Spaghetti bottarga was well done as was the capretto, all too rarely seen these days. Sardinian lamb with orange and cinammon was richly flavoured. the suggested salad of radicchio, chicory and cucumber dressed at the table with excellent olive oil and housemade grenache vinegar. It's a cosy space, one long room with a wine wall at the far end and tables quite close together. Clientele is mainly business people and a lot of the legal community whose offices are nearby. it's a pleasant environment to retreat to at lunch, the light coming in from the street reflects on the soft yellow coloured panelling and contrasts with the matt brown banquettes and white linen cloths on the small tables. On arrival there are some small, fine grissini quickly followed by good bread with a choice of a dish of oil or of butter. Service can be a bit fussy but only because they care a great deal about what they are doing and perhaps try too hard. But it seems to suit the lunchtime crowd, nights are quiet. The location is really to blame, it's more West than Sud. A southern spot would be better for this style of business, day and night. However let's wish it well because the care and passion evident in the attention to detail in the food and wine should not be allowed to go to waste because the compass is pointing in the wrong direction.

219 King Street
Melbourne
Italian Cuisine
Melways reference 1A:C4
Phone: 9670 8451
Opening hours: Mon-Fri Lunch: 12 noon-4pm, Dinner: 6pm-late, Available for Sat-Sun functions
Licensed
Accepts credit cards
Seats Inside: 38,
Closed: All public holidays
Features: Kids encourgaed
Favourites: Home made italian sausages $17.90, Abbacchio (Sardinian braised lamb) $18.90, Baccala pate $8.90

*An updated review of Sud