Merricote

81 High Street, Northcote
merricote.com.au

A husband and wife team are behind this latest Northcote venture, and Rob and Bronwyn Kabboord are setting their sights on creating a warm and friendly environment. “Rob and I view Merricote as our living room, and wish our guests to view it as such – we have seating for only 30 people,” states Bronwyn. “We have two rooms; the larger room seats approximately 20 people, while the smaller ‘copper room’ displays Rob’s well loved copper pans and can be booked for private groups.”

The name came from a couple of local inspirations, namely the Merri Creek (Merri) that runs close by and the fact that they are located in Notcote (cote), so you get the feeling that they are all about the grassroots sort of service where the local and repetitive crowed is what they want. “[The] Merricote is inspired by the ‘neo-bistro’ scene in Europe where the emphasis is on great food and drinks at a really accessible price,” says Kabboord. “The menu is Modern European, we have an old fashioned cheese trolley that’s a hit when it’s wheeled out and the wine list is a 50 bottle list that covers as much of the globe that I can, giving our guests an opportunity to try wines that they may not normally see – the beer list also covers a wide range of beer styles.”

The venue’s interior design was a well thought out piece of the puzzle too when it came to bringing their dream to life. “[We have] an Astroturf courtyard, with a rolling hills landscape street art by local artist Callum Oliver and we worked closely with city based Aer Design to achieve Merricote’s whimsical, animal centric feel and brand, and are thrilled with the results.”