Palermo

01What to order

• Ojo de bife, 500 g / 18 ozO'Connor's pasture-fed rib eye, A$145, from the parrilla.
• Bistecca fiorentina, 800 g / 28 ozO'Connor's pasture-fed T-bone with roasted garlic, lemon and rosemary, A$195.
• Entraña, 250 g / 9 ozBlack Opal skirt steak, MB6–7, A$65; also the main cut of the A$105 Carlos Gardel menu.
• Tira de asadoO'Connor's pasture-fed short ribs from the parrilla, A$55.
• Cuadril, 250 g / 9 ozRump cap listed as O'Connor's grain-fed, A$75.
• Chorizo and morcillaPork and paprika sausage A$19, spiced blood sausage A$18, from the grill.

02The beef

O'Connor's, the Gippsland producer, supplies most of the beef: pasture-fed short ribs (tira de asado), 250 g / 9 oz eye fillet (A$99), 350 g / 12 oz scotch fillet (A$105), 500 g / 18 oz rib eye (A$145) and the 800 g / 28 oz T-bone (A$195), and a 250 g / 9 oz rump cap that the menu lists as grain-fed. Black Opal Wagyu supplies the 250 g / 9 oz skirt at MB6–7 and the MBS 7 porterhouse of the Primo set menu. The menu notes house specials of butcher's cuts and dry-aged beef without naming them; Broadsheet and Man of Many describe O'Connor's dry-aged beef on the parrilla. Lamb is pasture-fed Gippsland Suffolk; suckling pig came from Millbrook in 2017. Asado meats were sold in 250 g / 9 oz and 450 g / 16 oz portions at the opening.

03The fire

Two fires in one kitchen. The asado pit is a round pit of red brick; animals are splayed on frames above smouldering mallee-root charcoal and ironbark logs, and in 2018 Time Out saw a whole pig in a wire frame over it. The parrilla has shelves that are raised and lowered over the coals for chorizo, morcilla and the steaks. Order the asado first.

04The story

Palermo opened in December 2017 at 401 Little Bourke Street, the fourth South American restaurant of the group behind San Telmo (2011), Pastuso and CHE, with David Parker as co-owner and Ollie Gould, who had spent a decade at Stokehouse in St Kilda, as head chef. Builders uncovered a hand-painted Tuscan mural from Bill Marchetti's Tuscan Grill, the previous tenant, and Ewert Leaf designed the room around it with marble benches, tan leather banquettes, red carpet and harlequin tiles: 150 seats and a private room for 40. The wine list drew on Mendoza and Patagonia, with Ruca Malen and Humberto Canale. Gould is now executive chef and Jack Tildesley head chef, and the group has added Asado in Southbank and Robata.

05The practical

401 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne 3000. Monday to Thursday and Sunday noon to 10 pm; Friday and Saturday noon to 10:30 pm. Bookings online at palermo.melbourne or on (03) 9002 1600 (the number printed by Time Out in 2018, 9650 5525, is not the restaurant's). Set menus for a minimum of two: Asado A$135, Primo A$165, and Carlos Gardel A$105, which returns in 2027. A 10 per cent surcharge applies at weekends. Private spaces for functions.

Address

401 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

Phone

+61 3 9002 1600

Website

palermo.melbourne

Directions

Google Maps ↗

06In Melbourne’s selections