Joe’s Shoe Store: 233 High Street, Northcote VIC (03) 9482 7666 Julian Beattie: www.makestuff.com.au Photo: Gustavo Adolfo Prince Gonzalez Joe’s Shoe Store is a beautifully comfortable new bar (in Melbourne’s increasingly cool suburb of Northcote) with wonderfully engaging staff. Without hesitation you’re asked if you want to start up a tab, a gesture of respect
Cristal: (03) 9826 3330 Dean Johnson of Tryst has realised a new after-dark vision in the heart of South Yarra, Melbourne. The Cristal cocktail and champagne bar was designed from scratch and features a dedicated lounge area with leather chesterfields and high wingback chairs, a heated balcony and private entertainment booths separated by heavy drapes
Locanda: Cnr Little Bourke & Exhibition Streets, Melbourne (03) 9635 1246 or www.locanda.com.au How do you get the cultured ‘A List’ to rock up to a restaurant/bar debut? Your very own private ‘Grange Hermitage by the glass’ tasting session has to be about as compelling an inducement as it gets. Apparently Locanda Cucina Bar is
MINQ Bar & Lounge: Burswood Entertainment Complex (08) 9362 7965 or www.minq.com.au Burswood Entertainment Complex has officially unveiled its latest venue: MINQ Bar & Lounge. NH Webb Architects, the design team behind the project worked within the existing infrastructure — the space was formerly used as private gaming rooms — keeping original wood panelling, intricate
Rooftop Cinema: Curtin House, 252 Swanston Street, Melbourne VIC Where you watch a movie is becoming just as important as the movie you watch. If you’ve seen a movie at one of the more inspiring open air cinemas you’ll know that nothing ups the atmosphere like the great outdoors. So how about movies on top
The Red Hummingbird: 1st Floor, 246 Russell St, Melbourne VIC (03) 9654 2266 or www.theredhummingbird.com.au Thomas Kiltorp and his partners at The Red Hummingbird are gunning for an air of exclusivity: forget about a sign over the door that leads upstairs to the bar, the only pointer is a red birdcage. Exclusivity is one thing
The Order Of Melbourne: (03) 9663 6707 or www.theorder.com.au ‘Established in 1890’ could be tacked alongside The Order of Melbourne’s Latin inscribed motto ‘Omnes Bibimus Nostris Sodalitas’, so accurate are the antique touches. Patrons often give mistaken kudos to part owner and designer of The Order, Margo Orr, ‘A lot of people walk in and
www.loof.co.sg Loof is a bar on a roof in Singapore, and its light-hearted promo material tells us it’s been “designed as a refuge for the bedraggled office worker, a respite for the brilliant mind, a sanctuary for fools, a canvas for the budding artist and the launch pad for a brilliant night”. It’s a playful
GPO: (03) 9662 2909 After (what seemed like) 160 years of continuous renovations, Melbourne’s old GPO building revealed itself. And it looked great. Funky clothes and bags took up residence downstairs and ‘by appointment’ $5000-a-frock haute couture upstairs. And, perched in ‘the belfry’ is the eponymous GPO nightclub. If, like me, you thought the GPO
The Corner Hotel: (03) 9427 9198 or info@cornerhotel.com A cigarette, beer and a band still go hand in hand for many punters at the Corner Hotel — a bastion of live rock’n’roll in Melbourne. Rather than bucking the institution, the Corner, with the help of architects, Six Degrees, transformed its rooftop into a smart dining area