New Melbourne Hot Spots
Gertrude Street welcomes Cutler and Co, Newtown Workers Club and Southpaw
It’s no secret that Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, has been gaining momentum over the last few years. It is a little hub of alternate cool with a mix of locally designed and vintage fashion, retro music stores, groovy bars and restaurants and cutting edge galleries.
Book-ended by Nicholson Street and Smith Street, with Brunswick Street intersecting through the middle, the action on Gertrude Street has been so far concentrated on the eastern (Brunswick – Smith) section.
With the opening of two smart new venues – the Newtown Workers Club and Cutler & Co - the western, more industrial end of Gertrude Street has started to catch up.
And with the opening of intriguing new bar Southpaw on the Eastern side, there’s even more reasons to visit both sides of the street.
Destined to become another must-visit addition to Melbourne’s ever-growing roof-top bar fraternity, the Emerald Peacock - a new bar from the owners of the chic Asian-themed, Red Hummingbird – has opened on Lonsdale Street.
Cutler & Co., 55 – 57 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, Ph: (03) 9419 4888
With swarms of diners flocking to their still-new restaurant Cumulus Inc, award-winning chef Andrew McConnell and architect Pascale Gomes-McNabb understand the concept of striking while the iron is hot.
The prolific pair has just opened another venue, Cutler & Co, which is sure to be welcomed by the ever-increasing number of fans keen to sample McConnell’s enticing, intelligent approach to food.
Located in an old metal work factory, Gomes-McNabb has created an interior that layers old with new. Still visible on the façade is the old sign of previous owners “Economic Industries” (which operated out of the site for 80 years), serving as a reminder of the street’s industrial origins.
The black metal bar has been designed to encourage a local bar trade as a separate component to the Cutler & Co. restaurant with a full bar selection and ‘short eats’, a casual food option.
For patrons looking to experience the full extent of the chef’s culinary skills, the dining space at Cutler & Co. is the place to be, and for those who have so far missed out on the McConnell magic due to the ‘no bookings’ policy at Cumulus Inc, the good news is that they do take reservations.
Newtown Workers Club, 51 Brunswick St (Cnr Gertrude St), Fitzroy
Newly opened on the site of the old Rob Roy Hotel, the Newtown Workers Club is the new venue from the same folk who opened St Jeromes and Sister Bella, two of the most consistently popular venues in the Melbourne ‘barscape’.
Newtown Workers Club is essentially three bars in one. There’s a bright, sparsely decorated front bar which resembles a funked-up version of old school pubs that used proliferate in Fitzroy before its gentrification. ‘Sideshow’, a second space on the Brunswick street side with eye-catching green wallpaper, is an ideal place for the more low key (ie quiet) drinkers and can also be booked for private functions.
And finally, there’s the band room which will be programmed by the capable folk at The Evelyn, one of Brunswick Street’s longest running band venues.
The one room that does not contain a bar in it – an inner chamber through one has to pass through to get from one space to another - is the most fun. With walls and floor decked out in a geometric-patterned carpet in lurid orangey and brown hues, the look is pure 70s. Think the building in the film The Towering Inferno (before the fire starts) and you are on the right track.
The Newtown Workers Club serves up several ice-cold quality Australian beers on tap and the wine list features a strong showing of Victorian wines. A kitchen serving modern Australian fusion menu will open in April. Keep an eye on their website for gig dates / artists appearing in the band room: www.newtownworkersclub.com
Southpaw, 189 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy (03) 9004 2590
With so many bars opening every year, its not surprising that, in the quest to develop a following, some might struggle to develop a distinct character, but this will never be said about Southpaw.
While the 70s and 80s have become an almost ubiquitous presence in Melbourne’s newest bars, the only glimpse you’ll see of them here is in the fine music being played on the bar’s two turntables. Instead Southpaw has set itself up as a quaint Fitzroy ‘local’, with a vintage charm that pays homage to the suburb of yesteryear and the ‘motherland’ (or old Blighty to the natives).
With an interior the size of a Fitzroy terrace house (narrow and long), it’s remarkable just how many spaces there are to sit and enjoy a beer at Southpaw. Patrons can choose from alfresco tables on the footpath, a large bluestone-walled bar with wide stools for perching on, a side den with comfortable couches or walk through French glass windows to an elegant rear courtyard.
The food is deliciously old-school in a stodgy English sort of way, with the menus offering up such delights as Devils on Horseback, Pigs in Blankets and vol-a-vents, cocktail food from a bygone era long gone by the wayside in favour of sushi, haloumi, and other more ‘dietarily correct’ fare.
The drinks list features rarer boutique and micro-brewed varieties (bottled beer only), some good local and international wine varieties, and terrifically original cocktails including one named after indigenous boxer Lionel Rose.
The Emerald Peacock, 233 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Ph: (03) 9654 2266
The Emerald Peacock is the new restaurant / bar from same team behind the Red Hummingbird.
Up a flight of stars from Lonsdale Street, the bar is split into two levels with a capacity to accommodate up to 450 people. With its elegantly furnished downstairs bar, and a spacious rooftop bar, the Emerald Peacock has set itself up as an ideal place to drink (and snack) at any time of year.
The culinary offer is simple, uncomplicated, offering a selection of wood fired pizzas and fusion tapas lend the palette to savour the passionately selected wines and hand crafted cocktails.