After 13 years and 10 venues in WA, Varsity is making its first move east with a 2,800-square-metre Ringwood venue built for burgers, beers, live sport, bowling and arcade chaos under one roof. Opening on November 13 in the former Jooce nightclub site, Varsity Ringwood will have a licensed capacity of 1,100, making it the brand’s biggest venue yet. A 70-foot bar pouring 52 taps sits at the centre of the space, surrounded by more than 30 screens, including three mega screens dedicated to live sport. The arcade alone covers 440 square metres and has more than 70 games, with 27 appearing at a Varsity venue for the first time. Hydraulic racing games, virtual reality, coin pushers, ticket and prize games sit alongside Pokémon and Metallica pinball, with a walk-through prize shop at the exit stocked with collectables, figurines, skate decks and movie memorabilia. Eight tenpin bowling lanes sit beneath a full-width HD LED video wall, while a dedicated pool room keeps a little of Varsity’s old-school dive-bar DNA in the mix. Three separate function spaces have also been built for private events, watch parties and sports team functions. Varsity Head of Marketing Abby Rohde said the idea was to bring the full Varsity experience together in one place. “Varsity has been built around creating epic experiences. Whether you’re here to catch the game, get stuck into a burger, challenge your mates in the arcade or settle in for a big night, we bring it all together.” Large-scale murals by artist Michael Hartley run through the venue and across the exterior façade, giving the new site its own look rather than simply transplanting the WA venues into Melbourne. “Ringwood is a massive milestone for us. Every part of this venue has been designed to deliver the ultimate Varsity line-up,” Rohde said. Varsity’s American-style burgers and bar classics are making the trip east too, alongside the rotating Burger of the Month that has become known for limited-edition collaborations and slightly unhinged builds. With two free car parks offering more than 100 spaces, the venue is set up for everything from a quick burger and a game to a full night of sport, bowling, arcade runs and drinks. Opening weekend Varsity Ringwood opens on Friday, November 13, with live art from Sindy Sinn, $8 pints during Happy Hour from 5 pm to 6 pm and DJs playing from 6 pm to 10 pm on both Friday and Saturday. Arcade giveaways will run across the weekend. Machine will be live screen printing from 3 pm on Saturday, with a Varsity Lager pint and shirt combo available for $40, while a Red Bull Replica Formula 1 Car will be parked inside the venue for the full opening weekend. Source: Kate Co. Find more dining out updates on Crumb Wire.

Eight years after its last cake line-up, Gelato Messina has rebuilt the range with new flavours, new fillings and four cakes ready for birthdays, Christmas tables and everything in between. Messina last refreshed its cake range in 2018, and the same in-house single-origin chocolate, fresh Jersey milk and pastry-chef-made additions are still at the heart of it. This time, the development team has revisited years of customer feedback and what it learned since the last launch to rework the range, rather than simply give the old cakes a new look. Dr Evil’s Magic Mushroom returns as Madame Mushroom, inspired by the Triple Whammy gelato special and keeping the familiar red glaze and white chocolate dots. Inside, it now has chocolate malt gelato and Messinatella mousse. Miss Pavalaska brings Bombe Alaska and pavlova together, while Dr Beez and Sir Choc-A-Lot are completely new additions. Dr Beez goes all in on honey, while Sir Choc-A-Lot is Messina’s most chocolate-heavy cake to date and the only semifreddo in the new range. Customers still have the choice of three traditional frozen gelato cakes or a semifreddo, which can be served straight from the freezer or fridge for a softer, mousse-style texture. Hitting refresh on the range The new and improved Gelato Messina cake range includes: Madame Mushroom (frozen) – $130, serves 16–20Malt whipped ganache, Messinatella mousse, milk chocolate and hazelnut fudge, chocolate cookies, chocolate malt gelato and chocolate sponge, finished with red chocolate glaze and white chocolate dots. Miss Pavalaska (frozen) – $99, serves 12–16Passionfruit and mango gelato, vanilla gelato, raspberry and passionfruit sauce, baked meringue and raspberry glaze, finished with torched passionfruit Italian meringue. Dr Beez (frozen) – $90, serves 10–14Honey brûlée mousse, honey custard gelato, honeycomb gelato, vanilla caramel, hokey pokey crunch and chocolate sponge, finished with velvet chocolate spray. Sir Choc-A-Lot (semifreddo) – $90, serves 10–14Dark chocolate mousse, chocolate brownie with cocoa nibs, chocolate sponge and salted caramel cremeux, finished with chocolate glaze and chocolate garnishes. The new cake range will be available in all Gelato Messina stores and online from November 10, with cakes available to order ahead for pick-up or grab directly from store cabinets. Customers will also be collect points on cake purchases through the Messina App. Find more food retail updates on Crumb Wire.

Bevi Italiano is bringing more than 200 Italian wines, Negronis, antipasti and classic cinema to Sydney CBD for one night only. Created by wine communicator Angus Hughson and sommelier Lara Caraturo, the event brings Italian producers, importers and drinks educators together for an evening that digs into just how much there is to drink beyond the country’s best-known labels. “Bevi Italiano is about bringing people together over great wine, food and conversation, while encouraging them to explore beyond the labels they already know,” Hughson and Caraturo said. “We want people to discover just how diverse and exciting Italian wine can be, in an atmosphere that celebrates the best of Italian drinking culture.” The walk-around tasting will span regions across Italy, including Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino, the sparkling wines of Franciacorta and wines grown around the volcanic soils of Mount Etna. Importers will be on hand throughout the night, giving guests a chance to taste widely and ask questions as they go. Negronis and Canella Bellinis will sit alongside salumi and cheese from Ocello and bread from LODE Bakery by Federico Zanellato, while classic Italian films play across the venue and music runs through the evening. Hughson will host smaller wine masterclasses exploring Italian regions, grape varieties and wine culture, while Sydney bartender and drinks educator Claudio Bedini will run hands-on aperitivo sessions looking at the history and traditions behind Italian bitters and vermouths. CLASSICO tickets are $55 per person plus fees and include entry and tastings of 200 wines. RISERVA tickets are $99 per person plus fees, adding access to more than 40 premium and rare wines, a welcome cocktail and a take-home wine glass. Bevi Italiano takes over Machine Hall in Sydney’s CBD on October 26. Trade and media sessions begin from midday, with the consumer session running from 5 pm to 8 pm. Find more food and drink news on Crumb Wire.

Twenty years after Pony Dining first fired up its open kitchen in The Rocks, the Sydney restaurant is getting a much bigger sibling at Barangaroo. Pony Dining Barangaroo will open on November 18 with 200 seats and 500 square metres of space, almost three times the size of the original. The new restaurant and bar will sit on the corner of Shelley Street and Barangaroo Avenue, carrying over the wood-fired cooking that has defined Pony while giving the kitchen considerably more room to play with fire, so to speak. Executive chef Neil Nolan, who has been with the family-owned group for the past two decades, will oversee a kitchen fitted with a traditional wood-fired oven, multiple wood grills and a dedicated wok section. Ironbark will remain at the heart of the cooking, but the larger set-up gives the team more ways to work with smoke, heat and char than it has had in The Rocks. “Not many modern Australian venues incorporate a wok into their cooking,” Nolan said. “For us, it’s another way we can harness the transformative power of natural fire to create flavours, aromas and textures that no other method can replicate.” The extra space will also allow Pony to bring more preparation in-house, including its own butchering and dry-ageing, while multi-tier live seafood tanks will hold fresh local produce for the kitchen. Pony was an early adopter of the open kitchen when its original restaurant launched, and Barangaroo keeps that connection between dining room and cooking front and centre. The expansive kitchen will be visible from every seat, putting the wood ovens, grills and wok in full view of diners. For Nolan, keeping the kitchen visible is “incredibly important” to the way Pony operates. “We were one of the first venues in Sydney to have an open-plan kitchen; prior to that it was always in the back, hidden from view.” Where The Rocks has built much of its character around a busy, close-quarters atmosphere, Barangaroo has been designed for longer lunches, dinners and drinks, with wall-to-wall windows offering harbour glimpses and custom booth seating across the dining room. The 200-seat venue will also have a dedicated bar with its own menu, DJs and live music, giving guests somewhere to settle in beyond dinner and pushing Pony further into late-night territory than its original location. Pony Dining Barangaroo opens November 18, with bookings now open. Find more dining out updates on Crumb Wire.