New Melbourne Hot Spots: Smith Street
Only 10 minutes on the number 86 tram from the CBD, Smith Street which straddles the border of Collingwood / Fitzroy is ‘so hot right now’. Shops specialising in vintage clothes and accessories stand alongside fresh food groceries and kitschy Asian gift shops, and for music lovers, there are at least three shops with shelves groaning with the weight of fine quality vinyl LPs.
But the real highlight is the bars. Smith Street has seen a proliferation in groovy watering holes at only two to five minutes walking distance from each other. Here are some suggestions for the first-timer.
Collingwood World, 97B Smith Street, Fitzroy, Ph: (03) 9419 3518
Opened in late October, Collingwood World - like so many of Melbourne’s better watering holes - can be tricky. It is located up an unmarked set of stairs with no street sign, but there are rewards aplenty for the intrepid.
The feeling of the bar is unfussy but chic. The furnishings, mainly large wooden benches and tables, are minimalist but welcoming. The bar staff friendly, with a penchant for vinyl records circa 1982, many of which have been obtained from The Searchers, a nearby treasure trove of second-hand books and vinyl. The drinks menu, too, is economical. There’s only a handful of beers, and just one red and one white wine to choose from but there’s a good reason for this: the focus is on cocktails, which vary from $10 - $14, very cheap for a bar of this calibre. Collingwood World’s owners, one of whom was the former manager of Asian-chic laneway bar Double Happiness, have been keen to reinvent the cocktail from a ‘mixologist’- epic to an everyday experience. They specialise in original fruit-based concoctions - with such inspired names as the ‘tuk tuk’ and ‘monkey steals the peach’ – varying ingredients according to the season. Although not on the menu, the able staff can also mix you up a cocktail of the more classic variety if you ask.
Also worth noting is the huge blown-up Melways map of Collingwood / Fitzroy / Carlton that decorates one wall – handy if you wander out of the bar after one too many cocktails and forget where you are.
Panama Dining Room, Level 3, 231 Smith Street, Fitzroy, Ph: (03) 9417 7663
Light, airy, and spacious, the Panama Dining Room is arguably the antithesis of a typical Melbourne ‘hidden bar’ and yet it works superbly. With both a wine bar and a restaurant section (there’s plenty of room for pool tables too) the Panama Dining Room is blessed with series of astonishing ground-to-ceiling arched windows, which offer gorgeous views of Collingwood rooftops and, further in the distance, the Dandenongs, making it an ideal bar for those long summer nights.
Cocktails are not to be missed with choices such as choices the Manhattan, the Negroni, and the Gimlet. The wine list is evenly split between Australian and international product, with Gippsland pinot noir, and Yarra Valley shiraz sharing the limelight alongside sangiovese from Tuscany and tempranillo from Spain. The beers include international brands as well as some of the better known boutique Australian brewers such as Mountain Goat (whose brewery is only one suburb away, now that’s keeping it local), Holgate and Little Creatures. The restaurant has excellent service, with a menu focusing on European dishes.
Yah Yah’s, 99 Smith Street, Fitzroy Ph: (03) 9417 2326, www.yahyahs.com.au
While the illustrious Cherry Bar, with its rock-star owner cred has been Melbourne's main ‘rock bar’ several years, this exciting new Collingwood upstart looks set to upset the applecart.
The latest venture from the owners of Pony and Bar Open, Yah Yah’s ruby red walls, crazy artwork, leather booths and bar-installed record player (increasingly a regular feature in the coolest bars in town) gives off a shady ‘den-of-sin’ vibe, described as ‘a preview of the second level of hell, where all the fun stuff will be happening after you die.’
With a rotating line-up of bands and DJs playing every Thursday to Saturday, it’s the sort of setting you can imagine ending up being later being chronicled as the meeting place for next generation of Melbourne’s rock royalty. Pass by on a Friday night and the place is pumping, not bad for a venue that has been open less than three months.
Grumpy’s Green, 125 Smith Street, Fitzroy Ph: (03) 9419 1944, www.grumpysgreen.com
Green is the focus for this newly-opened eco-friendly bar nestled on the Fitzroy street side of Smith Street. There’s a laudable focus on Victorian product here, chosen deliberately to minimise the business’s carbon footprint. As their website explains, it is an “utterly pointless burden on our environment as we are lucky enough to have a endless supply of locally produced beer and wine available to us that is of exceptional quality”. Like many of its neighbours, Grumpy’s Green also favours local craft brewers with beers from Yarra Valley, Healesville and the Macedon Ranges, while wines on offer include quality labels from Pyrenees, Mornington Peninsula and Mildura. Even the majority of the first shelf spirits are Australian.
The small food list, made from locally sourced (Victorian) ingredients, is vegetarian-only, a rarity among Melbourne bars which tend to cater for the carnivore-loving majority. ‘Who needs a cow when you can have an eggplant?’ the menu proudly states.
Sink into the ample couches at the front and enjoy a roast vegie parma (eggplant, capsicum and field mushrooms) and Mountain Goat beer on tap or settle into the cosy bohemian ambience of the outdoor beer garden. Grumpy Greens also features live music every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, check out the website for more details.
Caz Reitop’s Dirty Secrets, 80 Smith St, Collingwood, Ph: (03) 9415 8876, www.crds.com.au
If you ever need a discreet watering hole in which to trade state secrets, gossip about the boss' PA, or discuss the next big takeover deal, head straight to Caz Reitop's Dirty Secrets. This sleek bar, time-warped straight from the 1920s Prohibition era, is replete with quiet corners, nooks, crannies and bolt holes perfect for airing dirty secrets. Decorative touches, including the lovely gramophone that takes pride of place on the bar, give it a unique and welcoming feel.
To grease the wheels of conversation the bar is well stocked with classy grog slung into classic cocktails, as well as some new-fangled alcoholic expressions. Try the ‘Wake Up Call’, an espresso martini that's sure to have you shooting your mouth off quick smart. Or hark back to yesteryear with a ‘Bonnie's Passion’ - vodka infused with orange blossom and lime, Cointreau, Aperol, lemon juice and passionfruit.
If you prefer something simple, there's Becks on tap and a smattering of new-world wines by the glass. Caz also stocks a tasty collection of rare single malts, including Glenmorangie, in various wood cask finishes.
Don’t miss Happy Hour between 5 – 7pm Wednesday to Fridays, where you can sample cocktails for $9.