What’s Il Mercato? An ambitious Italian food precinct with stallholders, dining areas and the capacity to hold events for the community and corporates. The first Il Mercato opened in Florence 10 years ago. Sites in Rome, Turin, and Milan followed, with Il Mercato Centrale Melbourne being the first branch outside Italy.
Doors swing open at 4pm today at 546 Collins Street, between King and Spencer streets. The site is the art deco McPherson’s Building, dating to the 1930s. What will I experience? There are 23 stalls of local Italian artisan produce spread across two levels, with an event space on level three.
Look out for TikTok pizza star Valerio Violetti at La Pizza Napoletana; the man responsible for Melbourne’s burrata craze, That’s Amore’s Giorgio Linguanti and his La Mozzarella stand; and bean-to-bar chocolate specialist Alessandro Luppolo , who is serving a dessert that sees a warm chocolate brownie topped with liquid nitrogen-frozen sorbet. If you want to fill a shopping basket with fresh vegies, prosciutto and parmesan, you’re all sorted. And if you want to meet 10 of your besties for pizza, pasta and prosecco, you can do that, too.
How are the stallholders feeling? They’re excited. “It’s about collaboration between artisans,” says chocolate maker Luppolo. “The place has a really Melbourne feel, grand and urban, it’s going to be great.
” There are already webs of connection between the concession holders, many of whom are established Melbourne .