SUD Food & Wine - CBD, Melbourne

SUD Food & Wine is an intimate 40 seat Italian restaurant open Monday to Friday for lunch and dinner. Booking is a must for lunch and highly recommended for dinner. I had the opportunity to book for lunch recently with one of the winemakers I represent and was not disappointed.

We arrived late to find the restaurant completely full, with the exception of our table tucked at the back between a partition and the bar. The spot was perfect for us as we were not in as much of a rush as the other diners, enabling us to sit back and observe proceedings. Shannon was the host for our table and verbally presented us with specials and the signature dishes with flair. There was so much to choose from not on the menu that we were left with a specials board to re-visit the options.

The aim of the restaurant is to offer the best fresh produce possible, and this concept is extended to the wine list. As a result the menu is constantly evolving. Knowing this, I thought it would be safe to have Shannon recommend two starters for the two of us to share. The starters selected were:

Beetroot salad: regular and baby golden beets roasted in house and served with asparagus, shaved radish, goat’s cheese and a blood orange dressing.

Salumi plate: prosciutto di parma along with organic figs, shaw river buffalo mozzarella, watercress and a little olive oil dressing.

This selection was just perfect, fresh, light and leaving me wanting more! The food was accompanied with a glass of 2007 Cantine del Taburno Falanghina, again a recommendation by our host. Just as the food menu changes regularly so too does the ‘wine by the glass’, which is appreciated by the many regular diners that visit SUD during the week.

We each selected a main each of our own, and I could not go past the house made pasta. The mains consisted of:

Maltagliati: house-made pasta sheets roughly cut or torn (maltagliati means poorly cut) and tossed through pesto made on the premises with some baby basil leaves to garnish.

Fricelli: short twisted pasta a little like fusilli, served with a red wine braised beef ragu.

Our main was accompanied by a glass of 2007 Enzo Boglietti Barbera dÁlba. The wine was clean and intense with aromas of black cherry, blueberry and plum with hints of violet, liquorice and vanilla. A perfect lunch time wine!

By the time we had finished our meal, every table had been cleared and the restaurant was all but empty. It was a credit to the staff that so many covers were served with such prompt efficiency in such a short period of time. I was assured that this was just another normal day! So if you are looking for a city location but conscious of time, book in at SUD because you will leave on time, wanting for nothing.

I would like to thank Shannon and Lee for making the visit a delight. I will be back to check out the winter menu in the coming months!