Old school beats Instagram cool at Umberto Espresso Bar

That’s no accident, according to owner Marco Finanzio.

“We don’t like trends, in case you haven’t noticed… we just do things properly, we do things genuinely, and with love and that’s what’s important in hospitality,” Marco tells me as we sit outside the restaurant, while inside a busy lunch service is taking place.

Everyone from mums with their bubs to older Italian gentlemen are enjoying a menu of casalinga (home style) dishes such as calamari fritti and cotoletta alla Milanese. There are no fancy foams here, and while it’s cliche to describe it as ‘nonna’s cooking”, which Marco says has been “done to death”, this is the kind of food you’ll get when you visit your Italian relatives for dinner.

“They’re approachable dishes… it’s about the flavours you know, it’s what it tastes like rather than what it looks like.”

I tell him the orecchiette with broccoli I just ate looks pretty good too, especially when eaten in the dark-wood panelled dining area, surrounded by a collection of Neapolitan coffee pots, chalked up specials and a shrine to Italy’s 1982 World Cup winning soccer team. The fitout is inspired by the espresso bars of 1970s Melbourne that Marco’s dad Umberto, who the bar is named after, used to take him to.

Nostalgia is important to Marco, who opened Umberto’s after he realised he wasn’t suited to his chosen career in the finance industry and returned to hospitality, which he had worked in growing up and while at university. As Marco talks, we are interrupted a few times by customers coming and going. They all stop to say a quick hi or ask how he is, and Marco responds in a way that shows this is a man born to be in hospitality. 

“When I did make that decision to return to hospitality, I went to chef’s school, tested myself in that arena as well and I did my pre-apprenticeship. As I worked full-time doing that course, I just loved it more and more and with dad’s help – he had just retired, so I was like, dragging him back out and the business is in my name, but I couldn’t have done it without his guidance and his support and his knowledge.”

Umberto, who is originally from Calabria in Italy, was one of Melbourne’s coffee pioneers and worked for early espresso companies Mocopan and Grinders. At the restaurant, he had a hand in developing the custom Umberto coffee blend which is made by another storied Italian hospitality family in Melbourne, Genovese. 

These days, Umberto still works at the restaurant on Fridays, mostly as a PR man according to Marco, showing potential customers around the various function spaces, including a cool members only room and Gigi Rooftop, an open air bar named after Marco’s daughter with fab views over Thornbury and the surrounding area.

“He is the best advertisement you could ever have,” says Marco of his dad. “Honestly, he could sell anything – he’s amazing.”

Marco’s dad is not the only family member in the business. Marco’s wife Carla is the marketing manager and they also jointly run Joanie’s Baretto, a wine bar inspired by the bacari of Venice, which is just down the road. Joanie’s, named after Marco’s Australian mum, is a more boisterous, more “night out” kind of place than Umberto, but all of the businesses are about making real connections with customers.

“You know, Melbourne can get lost in its own foodie culture, where the staff seem more important than the customers and it should never be that way,” says Marco.

“Our job is to make you happy in every touch that we are able to. From the conversation at the table to everything really. You know those QR codes, ordering from the table? That’s bullshit… the sooner we see the back of that, the better. There’s a place for technology, but you know it’s not in hospitality in terms of your dining experience.”

Marco believes it’s all about making sure customers feel very much part of the Umberto family.

“The service, the atmosphere, the food itself. They’re all as important equally as each other. In my opinion, we’re really proud of our food, but we’re also proud of the experience that a customer has all the way through.”

I ask Marco what he thinks of Instagram, expecting him to be firmly against a forum which is mostly about style over substance.

“I wouldn’t say I’m anti [social media] but I think it’s overplayed… but I do know now very strongly that it’s essential for business, so I do rate it but our strength is our story, so our online presence is about the people as much as the food.”

“Unfortunately next year will be tough in terms of our industry, tougher than it ever has been. The places that won’t make it through, sadly, will be the ones that don’t have that story, you know they attract a market who want to take that photo and then move on to the next place to take that photo.”

Umberto Espresso Bar might not be the hottest new thing on the block, but that’s exactly why this Thornbury staple is worth your time. Stop by for an espresso, a Campari spritz, a plate of handmade pasta, a chat with Marco, or if you’re really lucky, Umberto himself. You know you’ll always be welcome.

More information:

Umberto Espresso Bar: 917 High St, Thornbury VIC 3071 Book it here 
Joanie’s Baretto: 832A High St, Thornbury VIC 3071 Book it here
Gigi Rooftop: Upstairs, 917 High St, Thornbury VIC 3071

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