Bosisto’s Liquor Bar: 318 Bridge Rd, Richmond VIC (03) 9428 6888 or www.mrbosisto.com It’s ‘goodbye Asia, hello Europe’ for the team behind Double Happiness and New Gold Mountain. Like most savvy operators, they’re always looking for something new to sink their teeth into. Seeing an opportunity for a boutique venue on Bridge Road, Richmond, the
Siglo: Level 2, 161 Spring St, Melbourne (03) 9654 6300 The Melbourne Supper Club has been a late-night quaffing institution going on 10 years now. It’s Con Christopoulos’ baby, and the sibling to The European — the adjacent bistro he established around the same time. Since those formative days he’s taken on the tenancy of
Wests Ashfield: 115 Liverpool Rd, Ashfield NSW (02) 8752 2000 or www.westsashfield.com.au It’s no good spending squillions on a fancy interior design and installing the best audiovisual gear available if the exterior of the venue looks as inviting as the Port Hedland Detention Centre. Advertising agencies charge manufacturers a bomb to design wrappers for their
The Undertaker: 329 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn VIC (03) 9818 3944 or www.theundertaker.com.au After a healthy lifespan of three years — making Undertaker about the ripe old age of a half-century in hospitality years — Olivia Frawley and family decided to bury the old design and layout, and resurrect the venue with a touch of Melbourne
Madonna has only four minutes. Four minutes to strip down to her nanna’s undies, four minutes to skip down the aisle of a supermarket, four minutes to jump all over a Triumph Stag, four minutes to bust in on some chick’s ablutions, and four minutes to run roughshod over a family’s evening meal with her
Sydney’s Star City Casino has had a water feature situated at its entrance for several years but recently it’s been given a new lease on life courtesy of LED illumination. It is the first of a series of water features in and around the Star City complex that will be lit or re-lit with waterproof
Sofitel Brisbane: (07) 3835 3535 or www.sofitelbrisbane.com.au Sofitel is upping the ante. The primo French hotel chain is giving its brand a polish, thanks to a name change (Sofitel Luxury Hotels) and a regime of oo-la-la refits. The Sofitel Brisbane is one of the more recent to benefit from a makeover, $7m worth to be
Pacific Dining Room: (02) 6680 7055 or www.pacificdiningroom.com.au Donning the sandals and shorts and road tripping North towards the sun and sand is an inviting prospect for some in the Southern states. Far from a holiday though, John and Lisa Van Haandel decided to make the trip work for themselves handing over a generous sum
Giuseppe, Arnaldo & Sons: Crown Promenade, Southbank VIC (03) 9694 7400 or www.idrb.com Italian-sounding enough for you? For your info: in this case the ‘Sons’ are the brains of the operation. More to the point, the ‘Sons’ (Robert Marchetti and Maurice Terzini) represent the golden partnership behind Bondi’s top-shelf Icebergs Dining Room. Marchetti and Terzini
Verde Restaurant and Bar: corner Stanley & Riley Sts, East Sydney NSW (02) 9380 8877 or info@verde.net.au I can’t imagine anyone doubting the authenticity of Verde Restaurant and Bar — it’s as Italian as an Azzurri, Ferrari and Sophia Loren pizza. Owned by Antonio Ruggerino, Louie Kallas and Vince Squillace, the three cousins from Calabria