Melbourne's 'Little Italy'

Eat streets all over the world offering comingled aromas and delicious dishes are Instagrammed every day. Melbourne itself boasts lists entitled "9 Great Food Streets of Melbourne", including the likes of Brunswick Street's eclectic mix of hipster hangouts, Acland Street's bakery fronts and Chinatown's colourful array of dumpling shops. One thing these streets all have in common are their vibrant and unique aesthetics, and of course their focus-group of food they offer. That's why Lygon Street is one of Melbourne's most iconic food destinations.

Lygon Street is unequivocally a hub of Italian food. Dubbed Melbourne's 'Little Italy', University Café was home to our first espresso machine in the 1950s. Becoming a popular meeting place for Italian migrants, it slowly developed into a cultural nucleus, with restaurants and delis opening up left right and centre.

Walking down Lygon Street, restaurateurs chat and shout in Italian, while men stand out front with greetings of "Ciao Bella", in attempts to entice customers into entering their joint. At most times of the day, it is a pleasantly noisy and busy street, filled with Italians enjoying their cuisine, as well as the rest of Melbourne, who seems to have an endless appreciation for Italian food. Restaurants range from university budget restaurants such as University Café, to more high end coffee/produce/food collectives such as DOC, Brunetti and King&Godfree. All tied together by the common thread of Italian fare, it is interesting to observe outliers.

Spanish churros, Grill'd healthy burgers and Thai restaurants exist in this shared cultural space. However, what I found more interesting were those Italian restaurants which attempt to fuse their cuisine with local or otherwise foods, in order to appeal to the local demographic. Menu boards at Papa Gino's sell pizzas 'all'australiana' localise a traditional Italian meal, while Per Tutti offer an extensive range of brunch options - smashed avocado salsa is one of their most popular meals. I can relate to this in terms of my Chinese background; it is widely joked about that Chinese food sold to 'Westerners' is a completely different cuisine to authentic fare. It is fair to say that although Lygon Street is an Italian hub for Italian people, it has also developed and been changed according to Australian culture and Australian wants, invoking the question - is Lygon Street authentically Italian?

Lygon Street’s eclectic mix of both authentic and adapted Italian fare, and equally eclectic mix of customers, demonstrates its cultural significance; it brings people together to share in the joy of quality Italian food, in Melbournian style.

Love, Ingrid