With two hole-in-the-wall stores in the CBD and a larger venue in the Docklands, Saluministi brings an authentic Italian experience to Melbourne. Visitors to the cafés can expect rich Italian-roasted coffee, good old-fashioned customer service, and its signature panini.
“Every single panino on our menu has a story behind it. Our salsiccia panino is based on our homemade salami recipe. Our melanzane parmigiana (eggplant) panino is my mother-in-law’s recipe,” Co-owner Peter Mastro says.
“It’s about really connecting with people, putting our story on a plate, and seeing people’s faces when they eat food they recognise. It brings back memories.”
When it came to sourcing coffee for Saluministi, Peter says Lavazza was the only option he considered.
“[Lavazza] is something I associate with myself and grew up on. I love the product, its style, what the brand represents, and the culture,” he says. “I’ve been good to them, but they’ve been amazing to me. I’m Lavazza for life.
“We try to do coffee consciously and the way we grew up with it: consistent, old-school Italian roasts.”
Saluministi prepares the Lavazza Super Gusto blend with La Marzocco espresso machines at its Docklands and Flinders Lane venues and a smaller Wega machine at its Causeway café. As well as espresso, Saluministi offers traditional stove-top caffettiera coffee, which Peter says elicits strong responses from guests.
“We’ve refined [the caffettiera] a lot, and made it more elegant. There’s some steps and procedures we’ve implemented to keep it consistent and offer a better product, but it’s essentially what we grew up with,” Peter says.
“People come in, see the caffettiera and go ‘oh my god, you do that here?’ They try it and say we’ve done it justice. It’s given the respect it deserves.”
Peter says in hospitality, though it can be hard to operate a business on your own terms, Saluministi has been true to itself since day one.
“The food we want to do, the way we want to do it, for the people we want to do it for, when we want to do it,” he says.
“There is a market for everything and there’s an opportunity for us to really own that old school coffee style. Simple, basic coffee, when done right, is all you need.”
Saluministi
892 Bourke St Docklands, Victoria, 3008
Open Monday to Saturday 7am to 3:30pm
(03) 9088 2999