Emilia reviews a restaurant in Alphington you just have to try

Press PLAY to hear Emilia’s FULL review on 3AW Breakfast

I’ve been waiting for this one. Word about Decca’s opening has been circulating since 2023, and for the better part of two years, it sat quietly in progress – papered windows, hushed updates, and plenty of local speculation. It’s sat in my long notes list of places to go and I’ve been checking on it every couple of months. It finally opened just two weeks ago, and yes, it’s absolutely worth the wait.

Decca sits on Mills Boulevard, a pocket of Alphington that’s been slowly finding its rhythm. It’s a community waiting to buzz, built on the former Amcor Paper Mill site. The delay in opening was partly due to that development itself; with construction dragging on around it, the team had to hold tight until the dust (literally) settled. Inside, it’s restrained and elegant, the room is designed to hold space for a proper meal – lingering, multiple courses, a bottle of wine that lasts the evening. You can tell that chef Adam D’Sylva, known for his work at Coda, Tonka and Lollo, hasn’t just opened another outpost – he’s built something new.

The menu is Italian-ish, notably, the menu also features some of Adam’s signature dishes from his previous ventures—like the yellow duck curry—adding a familiar touch to an otherwise new chapter. Adam is Italian and Indian, so you see that reflected in the menu. What it is full of is fresh pasta, made in-house with a La Monferrina machine they’ve imported from Italy (and reportedly cost around $30,000). 

We started with the Shadowfax ‘Macedon’ 2023, it’s one of those bottles that disappears before you realise, especially when paired with snacks like the arancini ($24 for 4). Crisp on the outside, molten within, they were textbook golden orbs – rich, savoury, and completely satisfying.

The king prawns ($30) came next, shell-on and blistered from the grill. Smoky, sweet, and served with bread to lap up the butter sauce it was laid in. Our waitress came back around just to see our reactions as we ate it, commenting on how good the kitchen smells from the grills the prawns are cooked on.

Ravioli ($31) was next—pillowy pockets filled with veal, amaretti and bathed in sage butter. The yellow duck curry ($29), while slightly off-theme, was a fragrant, full-bodied standout – a perfect example of Adam folding his Southeast Asian roots into the Italian-leaning frame. The chargrilled chicken ($39) followed: deeply charred, juicy, and a very generous serving that we for one could not finish.

With prices hovering around the $30–$40 mark for mains and most starters in the mid-$20s, Decca isn’t cheap – but it’s not pretending to be. This is polished dining in a considered space, where the attention to detail justifies the bill. It’s the kind of place you save for a night out, but don’t feel stiff once you’re in the room.

And while the food was stellar, the service is what really made the night. Mimi, our server, was an absolute standout – funny, charismatic, and sharp as a tack. She knew the menu inside out, offered pairing suggestions that actually made sense, and somehow made us feel both looked after and entirely at ease. If Decca is the new standard for Alphington dining, Mimi is the gold standard for hospitality.

This isn’t just a new spot to eat. It’s a new reason to go out in Alphington. I’d say go before everyone else discovers it, but let’s be real – this place already had a head start.

Decca

27 Mills Boulevard

Alphington