The owner of a popular Sydney eatery has responded to revelations his restaurant has a “doppelganger” on the other side of the world.
Known among rich listers for its classic Italian fare, Totti’s in Sydney has grown to become an institution in Australia’s culinary scene.
Instagram account Miss Double Bay shared a post a few days ago notifying her followers of a strikingly familiar restaurant located in Paris, saying the similarities between the two venues were “uncanny.”
“It has come to my attention that we have a doppelganger in our midst – Totti (with no ’s), an Italian restaurant located in Paris,” she shared online.
“The like4like is uncanny … @merivale get the lawyers on standby.”
Now Merrivale chief executive Justin Hemmes has opened up about the scandal, sharing the very brief remark: “Don’t they say ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’? I’m not sure I agree with that.”
It is understood the restaurant group has known about their Paris doppelganger for some time.
Totti’s, which boasts venues in Sydney’s CBD, Bondi, Rozelle, and Lorne, is part of the multimillion-dollar Merivale group founded by the late John Hemmes and his wife Merivale.
Some of its Instagram’s 60,000 followers reacted to the shocking revelation in the comment section.
“I don’t see the famous bread??,” one person said. “Totti you can copy totties but you will NEVER work out the crabby patty formula to make the bread puff up the way it does.”
“How could they … HOW COULD THEY!!!!,” a second said.
“Juzzy Hemmes about to lawyer up,” another person wrote about the Merivale founder’s son and current owner Justin Hemmes.
Another jokingly referred to it as the “Wish version” of Totti’s.
But not everyone agreed this was a case of a copycat, with one commenter noting Totti was a common Italian surname shared with former footballer Francesco Totti.
The Parisian doppelganger recently rebranded its social media, so there are only posts as far back as May 2023, making it hard to discern which of the two venues came first.
Patrons have posted feedback to Google Reviews dating back to November 2022.
However, when checking the restaurants’ tagged photos, the grid is filled with posts tagged at the Merrivale group’s various Australian locations with visitors mistakenly tagging the Paris venue, including one from radio host Jackie O’.
Totti’s Bondi – the first location of the now iconic franchise – was opened in March 2019.
Merivale group has been approached for comment.