Sicilian style comes to Frankston’s waterfront (plus nine hot and new-ish venues to try)

In another boost for Frankston’s dining revitalisation, a 250-seat Italian restaurant and function space, Roccella Lido, will transform Frankston Yacht Club before year’s end.

Roccella Group (operator of Roccella in East Melbourne and Roccella Bundoora) is the first long-term tenant of the upper level of the club, which was built in 2016 and has struggled to cement a serious hospitality offer.

When it opens, Roccella Lido joins a fertile hospitality scene in the suburb, with pub renovations, a large Moondog Craft Brewery venue, and specialty coffee shaking up the once-maligned postcode in recent years.

“We saw an opportunity because Frankston has changed a lot. And it keeps changing and improving,” notes chef Francesco Crifo of Roccella Group.

As the build of Roccella Lido (“lido” means beachside) gets under way, Crifo and business partner Bruno Ceraso are relocating from Melbourne’s eastern suburbs to the Mornington Peninsula to meld with the locals.

Crifo, hailing from Sicily, is thrilled to not only open a new venue with a waterfront view in a burgeoning suburb, but also to return to coastal living.

“I grew up on the beach, so for me it’s like going back home.”

Plans for the space include a green and yellow Sicilian coastal colour palette, a large indoor lemon tree, and a function room with beach views from the balcony. The bar will be partly draped with a canopy reminiscent of striped beach umbrellas.

“From the moment you step in, the first wow factor will be the bar,” says Crifo.

Crifo shares there have already been inquiries from couples who wish to marry at the venue next year.

The menu will replicate what is served at Roccella’s East Melbourne restaurant, which in six years has become a go-to for its southern Italian specialities and Coeliac Australia accredited, gluten-free pizza bases.

Standouts that will appear in Frankston include the rustic peperonata with its roasted capsicum, red onion, capers and garlic, and casarecce pasta with mussels, calamari, clams and barramundi in a tomato-chilli sauce.

Crifo hasn’t ruled out concocting a special “Frankston only” dish to entice the curious, but for now is sticking with classics.

“The menu works very well for us, so we want to keep doing what we are good at.”

Crifo and Ceraso are keeping busy. While overseeing the Frankston project, the pair have another restaurant in the works. Roccella Dromana will take up a prominent corner of Dromana Hub shopping centre, with plans to open it in October after a three-month fit-out.

Construction on Roccella Lido begins in April; it’s due to open in August.

More Frankston eating and drinking

A block back from the beach, Hotel Lona is run by Mel and Charles Sedgley, who renovated the historic pub throughout 2021 and 2022. There’s now a leafy rooftop cocktail bar and private dining, with music and DJs until late on weekends. The rooftop also plays host to Playne and Butter by Lona, a new spot for weekend brunch. Think ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb butter and salted miso caramel, eggs Benedict on potato rosti, and Bloody Marys.

Commonfolk Coffee has garnered the attention of those seeking a quality cuppa, with all beans sourced and roasted in-house. In October, Commonfolk, won The Age Good Food Guide’s Cafe of the Year award, after relocating from another site in Frankston to inviting and spacious new digs on Playne Street. Dining drawcards including raspberry coco granola and honey halloumi bowls.

Project One cafe has sprouted on the Nepean Highway in the past six months, with speciality coffee, pastries and lunchtime fare including halloumi and chorizo toasties and “The Franga Sanga”: prosciutto, bocconcini, tomato and rocket on a long roll.

Those in search of fried chicken should seek out the Ampol service station on McMahons Road − tucked in beside it is Tendernest Fried Chicken, which opened late last year with burgers, pieces and boxes. For the Tender Bowl, choose a base of chips, rice or mac ‘n’ cheese, which gets topped with fried chicken and a mess of sauces.

For drinks and fun after-hours, Hotel Paradiso, described as Frankston’s home of pizza, craft beer, and cocktails, features a live DJ vinyl set on weekends. There’s also Young Street Tavern with plenty of live music, and Moon Dog Beach Club, which appeared just over a year ago on the Nepean Highway with four bars and a massive balcony beer garden.

Waterfront Kiosk is a crisply painted pop-up on the Frankston foreshore, found outside the former Sofia’s restaurant on Pier Promenade. Serving beach essentials such as ice-cream, coffee, cold drinks, hot pies and more, it’s open from 11am daily.

Asian fusion restaurant Bang Bang (Mordialloc, Hampton, St Kilda) has finally found a home in Frankston after scouting for a permanent spot. It’s operating out of nearby The Hop Shop (Craft Beer, Eats and Bottle Shop) until the move to Playne Street.