Mr B’s: 396 Pitt St, Sydney NSW (02) 8080 7777 or www.mrbshotel.com.au The old Mandarin Club was a Sydney CBD institution. Founded in 1965, it was situated at the corner of Pitt and Goulburn Streets until a relocation in 2009. The place to be for the who’s who of the entertainment industry in the ’60s
Albert Park Hotel Oyster Bar & Grill 83 Dundas Place, Albert Park VIC (03) 9690 5459 or www.thealbertpark.com.au The Melbourne Pub Group knows how to do a gastro pub. Spearheaded by Julian Gerner, Melbourne Pub Group has been busying itself turning old titles into new gold, and The Albert Park Hotel is one of
Norman Hotel: 120 Ipswich Rd, Woollongabba QLD (07) 3391 5022 or www.normanhotel.com.au ‘The worst vegetarian restaurant in Brisbane’, trumpets the proud calling card of the Norman Hotel. Those looking for rabbit food, can well, just sod off — the Norman is all about meat! When the Hotel caught fire recently — right in the middle of
Café Vue At Heide: 7 Templestowe Road, Bulleen VIC (03) 9852 2346 or www.heide.com.au/heide_cafe At the opening of Café Vue at the Heide Modern Museum of Art in Melbourne, Minister of for the Arts, Lynne Kosky, pronounced chef/owner Shannon Bennett an “artist in the true sense of the word”. Kosky may well have been referring
The Edge: 1/6 – 8 Eastern Beach Road, Geelong, VIC (03) 5222 2666 or www.edgegeelong.com.au Geelong football star, Cameron Ling, is getting in on the footballer-turned-bistro-owner act while he can. But instead of a pokie-laden footy club featuring the same tribute band every Wednesday night, Ling and partners got onside with Geyer to put together
Grand Hotel Rockdale: 482 – 484 Princes Highway, Rockdale NSW (02) 9567 2493 or www.grandhotelrockdale.com.au The Grand Hotel has been trying to follow the changing styles of Sydney and its local patrons for the last 25 years. Southern Hotel Group has taken the hotel through many refurbishments, including a sports bar, and at one time
Riverland Bar: Vaults 1 – 9, Federation Wharf, Melbourne (03) 9662 1771 or www.riverlandbar.com The Riverland Bar’s progress has been anything but meteoric. Life began out as a single coffee bar with a handful of staff to coincide with the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in 2006. Now? The venue stretches almost 100 metres along the
Mumu Grill: 70 Alexander St, Crows Nest NSW (02) 9460 6877 or www.mumugrill.com.au At Mumu Grill the old steakhouse norms have been put out to pasture. The new Mumu concept combines the highest quality sustainable and organic produce with the age-old, flavour-enhancing cooking process of the wood-fired oven. The very best of seasonal Australian meat,
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
Ripples at Chowder Bay: Deck C, Chowder Bay Road, Mosman NSW (02) 9960 3000 or www.ripplescafe.com.au Developers have been eyeing-off the old Chowder Bay top-secret defence base for years. Finally, this prime piece of Sydney real estate — with expensive views of Clifton Gardens and Sydney Harbour — can be enjoyed by anyone… well, it