Melbourne Icon Cafe Di Stasio listed for sale after 38 years
Cafe Di Stasio, the Fitzroy Street Italian restaurant that helped define the Melbourne's hospitality identity, has been listed for sale by founders Rinaldo Di Stasio and Mallory Wall after 38 years of operation.
Wall said the decision came down to a "combination of reasons," including two new ventures in Italy and a desire to focus energy on the couple's remaining Melbourne venues in the CBD and Carlton.
"Emotionally, it was a hard decision to make, but it has not been fiscally sensible to keep Cafe Di Stasio open," Wall told The Age. "We want to be spending more time in Italy, but when we are in Melbourne, we do not want to be spreading ourselves thinly between three restaurants. Three restaurants here was never part of our long-term plan," she said.
Since launching on Fitzroy Street in 1988, Cafe Di Stasio earned its place among a rare cohort of venues — alongside Stephanie's, Mietta's, Marios and Marchetti's Latin — that cemented Victoria's reputation on the international culinary stage. Its white-jacketed service, classical Italian menu and theatrically elegant atmosphere set the benchmark for fine dining in the city for three decades, with the adjoining Bar Di Stasio following in 2013.
The post-pandemic years proved challenging. In late 2023, Di Stasio and Wall undertook an ambitious renovation of the largely shuttered space, with plans to install an art gallery above a revitalised restaurant and bar. At the time, Di Stasio declared his commitment unreservedly: "I'm going in boots and all to St Kilda. We have to make it work … It reminds me of when I first took it over, failure was no option. You put everything into it."
The planned 2024 gallery, featuring new work by internationally recognised artist Shaun Gladwell — a longtime Di Stasio collaborator — did not proceed at the St Kilda site. Gladwell's work Spazio Tarocchi is now on display at Di Stasio Citta on Spring Street, which holds two chef's hats in the current Age Good Food Guide. The Carlton venue, which opened in 2021, holds one hat. Neither is part of the sale.
Wall was candid about the decision to let go. "Putting Di Stasio St Kilda on the market was overdue. Hanging on to it was really a bit of an indulgence," she said. The couple had received two offers on the property since 2020.
She was firm that the listing had no connection to a previously reported $1 million debt to the Australian Tax Office. "The dispute with the ATO has been resolved, shut down and was finalised in 2025," Wall said — a timeline confirmed by Federal Court documents.
The sale does not include rights to the Di Stasio name. Wall declined to disclose the asking price but made clear the owners would not accept less than market value: "if we do not get the right price, we will take it off the market."
The couple's Italian plans include a wine project in the Piedmont region alongside ongoing ventures in Venice and Di Stasio's hometown of Naples.
Industry tributes have begun flowing. Anthea Loucas Bosha, CEO of Food + Drink Victoria, reflected on the restaurant's lasting influence on Melbourne's dining culture. "This is very sad news. With their meticulous attention to detail and very specific view of hospitality, Ronnie and Mallory laid the groundwork for a very Melbourne dining experience that so many others followed," Loucas Bosha said.
Chef Karen Martini also paid homage to the restaurant's singular atmosphere. "It was the kind of place that accidentally gave you a sense of occasion on every visit. You felt like the most important table in the room every time you went," she said. "It inspired a generation of dark, sexily lit Italian restaurants after it, and is still inspiring me at Bar Carolina [in South Yarra]," Martini said.
In other Melbourne hospitality news reported by The Age, hatted Northcote restaurant Vex Dining has announced May 2 as its final day of service; bakery Penny for Pound has closed its Bridge Road, Richmond site but will open on Glenferrie Road in Hawthorn; and CBD venue Thai Tide on Bourke Street has closed after more than 15 years of trade.
Jonathan Jackson, 26th March 2026
