The latest addition to the Mornington Peninsula based group Iconic Hospitality (the team behind local venues The Social, Café 115 and The Bay Hotel) is the McCrae Pavilion.”A leisurely stroll from the beach, the Pavilion was once two separate ’50’s style beach houses that have been fully refurbished and united to create two unique experiences,” says Ryan Scoble, Bar & Beverage Manager. “In one house we offer modern and fun tapas style fare such as Yellow Fin Tuna with Squid Ink and Romesco, or our Beetroot Salad with Goats Curd and Ruby Grapefruit.” The other ‘house’ has been converted into a casual fine dining room with a focus on locally sourced produce.
Venues
Venues
It’s a bold move to open a drinking and dining establishment that gives pride of place to beer instead of wine, but that’s exactly what Masterchef stars Chris Badenoch and Julia Jenkins have achieved. Josie Bones, which opened in December 2010, is a haven of fine brews and nose-to-tail eating. The joint offers beer lovers a way to enjoy high-end ales outside of a pub environment paired to some of the best beer drinking grub any gastronome could ask for.
If Bourbon focused cocktails and a hankering for the Americas are your thing, then this is a place for you to certainly check out. Nathan Debritt is heading up this now ‘not so old’ Melbourne bar and is proud of the driving Bourbon influence that they’re showcasing to their guests and the reports are that the mix of drinks and food are really turning the tables with the humble little venue bustling from open till close.
The Burlington in Crows Nest has added something new, finally opening their new wine bar. Now offering guests a unique opportunity to enjoy a drink before dinner or the chance to relax with a cocktail at the bar. The Burlington, a well established eatery in the hub of the northern suburbs, has long been providing great food and drink to those in the know – and the newly added wine bar goes that little bit further by offering a more relaxed and casual area to enjoy a glass of your favourite wine.
Grace the Establishment is the latest venture by the Trim Hospitality Group, the brains behind such venues as The Manse in north Adelaide. “We opened on new years eve just gone,” states Rob Wood, “and as we speak, I am rewriting the cocktail list to suit this Mediterranean style bar/restaurant.”
This latest ‘Gatsby’ like eatery is setting a trend on Melbourne’s ever growing bar and dining scene. The brainchild of young entrepreneur and restaurateur Davis Yu, the Millswyn offers guests a stunning view, a great atmosphere – and if you’re in the know, your own bothy-like hideaway bar inside; Bar 132.
Do you remember the way that Grandma used to spoil you? Well the boys behind new Sydney small bar Grandma’s certainly do and their bar in turn aims to be a home away from home.
A great new subterranean addition is ready to visit, set beneath the cool sandstone walls of The Commons in Darlinghurst. Downtown is described by the team as a ‘classics bar’ and set in its 160-year-old sandstone larder underneath The Commons dining room, it is hard to argue. ‘Downtown takes you back to the roots of good music and liquor.
Creating quite a frenzy is this little number, a new multi-level venue in the heart of Sydney’s night life area. The Hunky Dory Social Club (HDSC) has been fully refurbished in a 1900s French décor style with vintage chandeliers to boot. Well worn chesterfield sofas to sink into, pressed metal ceilings and a copper finished bar provide a pretty sleek environment to enjoy a classic martini or a longneck of beer.
Where is Sydney’s oldest pub? Whether the claim is ‘the oldest pub’, ‘the longest running continual liquor licence’ or ‘the oldest building ever used as a public house’ there will never be a definite answer as colonial Sydney was brimming with sly grog-shops and hotels from 1800 onwards. Furthermore, the irregularity with which liquor licences were issued would make it all but impossible to substantiate a claim of actually being the ‘oldest hotel’ in Sydney.
Self described as ‘Melbourne’s newest vodka and Pintxos bar Naked for Satan is shaking up the bar scene with a healthy dose of creativity and style. “Naked For Satan is a Basque style Pintxos and Vodka Bar that serves Pintxos,” says Eddie Crupi.