Chef Karen Martini opens new restaurant Hero at Fed Square

Celebrity chef and author Karen Martini is calling for the return of the long lunch, and her newest Melbourne restaurant, Hero at Federation Square, has a table with your name on it.

“The relaxed long lunch and early dinner is a very real thing. People don’t want the formality of checking in at a specific time if they can help it,” says Martini, who has opened Hero in partnership with Hospitality M’s Michael Gebran. “It’s quite okay to have lunch at 2pm and still be there at 5pm.”

She hopes the new restaurant will help bring crowds back to the city centre and stick around.

“With many people working from home, our lifestyles and needs have changed,” Martini says.

“People don’t want extra pressure when they dine; they want to be able to head out and relax over a wine, a quality menu and get to know their city again.

“They also want somewhere where they can catch up with friends they haven’t seen in a long time.”

Hero sits within the heart of ACMI’s $40 million facelift –and brings with it plenty of ambition to please. This is where uncomplicated dining returns, reinvigorating the Federation Square precinct with European-focused food and the use of local produce are the keys to success.

Martini is all about keeping local producers connected to her kitchen, too. She sources from a variety of places including Cape Grim beef, Northside Fruit and Vegetables, Pino’s Fine Produce from Prahran Market, and Maker & Monger and That’s Amore for her cheese needs, while local artisan bread is in abundance, too.

“Hero isn’t designed to be formal and the service should be attentive but not stuffy,” says Martini of the restaurant’s modern bistro mood.

Executive chef Diego Rosales (former head chef of Sydney’s Centennial Homestead) and Philippa Sibley will join her in the kitchen, while Philip Rich (Prince Wine Store, Kisume) will curate the wine list.

There are grab-and-go breakfasts such as white chia pudding, cheese toasties and Portuguese tarts.

An all-day menu kicks off from 11.30am and includes Greek bagels and taramasalata, fried baccala with lemon, cured kingfish with sour cream and bush lime dill, and even a roast chicken.

Hero is home to banquette seating that has been carefully considered, decor that rides elegantly from day to night, and lighting that is fine-tuned to capture you at your best at any hour. Designer Chris Connell brings a charming blend of grey, white and blue hues to the new space, where distinct dining zones are united under one roof.

Now, the emphasis is on getting diners back into the city and thinking inside the square when it comes to eating.

“Good dining should be treasured and cherished,” Martini says. “If we want Melbourne to move forward and still be the leader in food culture in Australia, we need to get out and wave our wallets and support those that are still operating.

Naming the restaurant Hero riffs on cinematic heroes (and a nod to its ACMI screen roots) as well as the hero ingredient and flavour that is crucial to any of Martini’s dishes.

“I really want Hero to be a breath of fresh air,” says Martini.

“A standalone restaurant in the Square is surely what Melbourne has really been craving.”