New Bits and Pieces
New Bars/ Restaurants/ Cafes
The Chocolate Bar at ARIA Lounge
The Langham Hotel, 1 Southgate Avenue, Southbank T: 8696 888
www.melbourne.langhamhotels.com
A new dark and decadent afternoon tea experience is available every Saturday and Sunday afternoon from 1pm - 4pm at The Langham Hotel Melbourne's newly refurbished ARIA Lounge.
Onder Gronds
Basement, 27 Russell Street, T: 9650 3708
This new basement bar has funky interior and a Belgium-inspired bar menu featuring beverages from all corners of the globe! It functions as a bar and restaurant in the evening before transforming into a nightclub later in the night.
Two Fingers
47 Russell Street, T: 9663 0202
Located behind The Forum on Russell Street, this funky new cafe offers fine coffee and some scrumtious breakfast options. Its close proximity to the Australian Centre of Contemporary Art (ACMI) makes it a popular stop for a bite to eat before or after a visit to the gallery.
Il Tempo Bove
QV Square (site formerly occupied by Regina Pizzeria), T: 9663 3797
This beautifully-furnished café serves Italian tapas and small dishes. Chef Mark Zelmon (formerly of North Melbourne's Rubicon) also owns the original Il Tempo on Degraves Street.
Laksa Me
Shop 1, Liverpool Street Melbourne, 03-9639-9885
This new modern Asian restaurantwill serve a creative blend of modern Asian cuisines designed by head chef Allen Woo, formerly part-owner of Ah Mu Restaurant in Bourke Street which was voted Best Malaysian/Modern Asian Restaurant of the Year from 2001-2004 in The Age Good Food Guide.
New entertainment hot spots
The Toff in Town
Second Floor, Curtin House, 252 Swanston Street
Following in the footsteps of iconic Melbourne venues, Revolver and Cookie, this multi-layered venue, The Toff will boast a premier boutique performance space and a dedicated club/bar area offering late-night dining. Located on the second floor of historic Curtin House (a floor above Cookie), The Toff has been designed to celebrate the natural beauty of the amazing building in which it is situated.
The Toff’s band room will cover the full spectrum of Australian performing arts including music (from pop to country to ensembles), dance, comedy, and theatre, as well as touring international acts.
The club/bar room will feature local DJs playing sultry sounds and has a train carriage running down the centre, made up of booths that can be made as private as desired by closing doors and pulling down blinds.
Society
23 Bourke Street, Ph: (03) 9639 2544
One of Melbourne’s oldest Italian dining institutions returns when Society reopens this month at the top end of Bourke Street. Established by Guiseppe Codognotto in 1932, it was one of Melbourne’s most popular restaurants attracting famous celebrities such as Barry Humphries, Gore Vidal, screen goddess Vivien Leigh and American author James Michener (who described Society as “the best meal I ever had”).
Having taken over in February 2007, the DiMattina Group has worked with the Codognottos to take Society back to its roots as the place for relaxed, Italian, home-style hospitality.
The menu includes favourites like Osso Bucco, fresh home-style pastas, risottos, meatballs, anti-pasta, grilled seafood and meats finished with sinful desserts matched to local and imported beers and wines.