There's a small pocket between South Melbourne and Southbank that has long felt like a passageway rather than a destination—a forgotten corner beneath Queensbridge that people hurried through rather than lingered in. Nathan Toleman saw something different: an opportunity to create a neighbourhood where none existed.
The founder of Mulberry Group (the hospitality company behind acclaimed venues Hazel and Dessous) has opened Coupette, an all-day café and bistro that anchors an ambitious five-venue complex within the new Flack Studio-designed Hannah St Hotel. It's a gamble on a neighbourhood that isn't quite one yet—but Toleman is betting he can change that.
"It's designed to be like a local kind of neighbourhood cafe and bistro," he explains, "but also to become a little bit of a destination." The vision extends beyond Coupette to include Hannah St Coffee for morning lattes, Bar Hannah in the hotel lobby, and the connecting Carriage Lounge for late-night cocktails. A fifth venue, Propeller, a rotating restaurant residency concept, launches in March.
Coupette is the crown jewel. The 90-seat restaurant transitions smoothly through the day, beginning with Euro-leaning Melbourne breakfast classics before shifting to a lunch and dinner menu that borrows freely from French and Italian traditions. "We love the idea of doing pasta, but we also love the idea of doing steak frites," Toleman notes. "The result is a menu that allows butter and olive oil to sit comfortably side by side."
Executive chef Andrew Beddoes, formerly of French restaurant Tartine and Italian spot Enoteca Boccaccio, leads a kitchen producing standouts like a blue swimmer crab omelette, beef tartare seasoned with anchovy, and Fraser Island crab with green apple and lardo.
The space, designed by Flack Studios, balances European aesthetics with local craftsmanship. Marble, brass, and timber are softened by baby-blue leather banquettes and custom lighting by Melbourne studio Volker Haug. Behind the bar, Mulberry Group bar manager Kayla Sato has developed cocktails blending classics with lighter options, including the signature Coupette 75—an Australian twist on the French classic with gin, Cocchi, and lemon aspen, topped with Prosecco.
For Toleman, the goal is clear: make Hannah St Hotel function less like a sealed-off hotel precinct and more like a genuine neighbourhood hub. If Coupette succeeds, that forgotten pocket of Southbank won't feel forgotten much longer.