Forget ‘the Paris end’, the top of Collins Street is becoming a high-end Latin American hotspot

Following the well-received opening of Latin American diner Morena in Sydney – which earned a hat – Peruvian chef Alejandro Saravia has announced he’s bringing Morena to Melbourne, where he’s based. But it won’t be a copy-paste of the Sydney original.

This spring, the executive chef of Melbourne’s hatted Farmer’s Daughters, and Victoria by Farmer’s Daughters, will open two new neighbouring venues in the 80 Collins precinct: the upmarket two-level Morena Restaurant and the more casual Morena Barra.

“I’m going back to my roots,” says Saravia, “and showing that Latin American cuisine can be presented in a more elevated way than the popular street food and food trucks.”

Alejandro Saravia will explore Latin American flavours at Morena, opening in Melbourne this year.

While the restaurant’s menu will present similarly to Sydney’s – each dish listed alongside an airline code that denotes its country of origin – the team is feverishly researching lesser-seen ingredients and more intricate flavours to bring to the table, not only from Saravia’s native Peru but also Cuba, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Venezuela.

To star in the quintessentially Peruvian ceviche, they’re working on a version of chicha, a fermented drink usually made from corn, that instead uses Queensland-farmed palm hearts.

“Latin American cuisine can be presented in a more elevated way than the popular street food and food trucks.”

Alejandro Saravia

Also making an appearance in some form will be the complex Mexican mole sauce they’ve been ageing for two years in a clay pot. A labour of both love and time, the mole is made with 80-plus ingredients, including dried chillies and fruits.

As at Saravia’s other restaurants, there will be a focus on seasonal, hyperlocal produce, sourced directly from farmers and producers where possible. The offering will chop and change depending on what’s available.

The wine list will represent Latin America’s biggest hitters – including Argentinian malbec – but, like the menu, dig a little deeper. Saravia is especially excited about a section dedicated to “interesting, minimal intervention” drops made with criolla, a grape variety traditionally used to make the Peruvian spirit pisco. The spirit will form part of the list, too, including in a pisco sour zhuzhed-up with blood orange.

Ox tongue anticuchos have been a a hit at Morena in Sydney.

Next door, the all-day Morena Barra will “celebrate the cantina spirit – the bar culture – of Latin America”, says Saravia. It’ll get more loud and lively than the restaurant, with a menu centred around entree-sized snacks, including the ox tongue anticuchos (Peruvian skewers) that are proving popular in Sydney, and lomo saltado, a beef stir-fry with Chifa (Chinese-Peruvian) roots.

Morena Restaurant and Morena Barra are slated to open in spring.

71 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, morenarestaurant.com.au/melbourne