About us
Osteria Morelli
Osteria have always been a staple of Italian dining culture.
Back in the days, it used to be a place serving wine and simple food...
In the last 30 years, with the introduction of the slow food movement. Osteria got a relevant role in the Italian dining scene.
Emphasis shifted to food made with local produce, short menus and
specialties such as house made pasta, served to share in the middle of the table.
Our aim at Osteria Morelli is to showcase all the beautiful produce of the Northern Rives, using Italian techniques and principles.
On the menu you will find lots of home made Pastas, daily baked Focaccia, fruit & veggies from amazing local farmers & only the best meat and fish available on the day.
You can also find most of the produce we use on the menu in the best grocers, deli & restaurants in the area, under the name Morelli Fresh.
Our chef
Martin Morelli grew up in Bergamo, Italy and completed the strict Scuola Alberghiera in San Pellegrino Terme before traveling across Italy working and dining in many acclaimed restaurants.
Since moving to Australia he has held senior roles at various notable NSW eateries including Sydney’s Uccello and Byron Bay’s Beach Byron Bay.
Martin has a firm ‘live local, buy local, eat local’ attitude and strong personal relationships with local growers and farmers in the region, many of whom regularly give him the opportunity to handpick his produce for the restaurant directly from the dirt himself. This philosophy, coupled with a devoted determination and a dogmatic attitude to avoid food that is over processed, mass produced, or off-season provides the basis to our ever-changing menu.
When asked of his ambition for the restaurant he simply stated, “..to be a thread in the fabric of the community.”
Our philosophy
We offer a true representation of market - to - plate dining. Martin Morelli creates weekly-changing menus that are solely driven by seasonality and the freshest produce our select local growers and farmers have to offer. We’re in the heart of Lennox Head, a coastal town happily situated within one of the country’s greatest produce regions, the Northern Rivers.
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Our driving philosophy is to ‘eat local’, with community at the heart of our menus and our dining room. Dishes are served family-style arriving at the table as and when they’re ready, allowing diners to enjoy more of the menu and hopefully discover some new flavours, but most importantly to share the experience with each other.
