Category: MELBOURNE

New wine bar Melbourne: By The Glass in Armadale

By The GLass bar wine bar

Wine lovers, rejoice! There’s a new wine bar in town that’s sure to become your new go-to destination for a night out. Introducing By The Glass, located in Armadale, this venue is bringing quintessential European concepts to Australia with its cosy yet adventurous atmosphere. Upon entering By The Glass, you’ll be greeted by an expansive selection of wines from around the world, available by the bottle or by the glass. From Australian Chenin Blanc to Argentinian Malbec, there’s something to suit every palate. The wine list is curated with a whole menu refresh every six weeks, ensuring that there’s always something new and exciting to try. The sixty-eight-seater wine bar is divided into several intimate spaces, each with its unique atmosphere, depending on the occasion. From the dark and moody indoor dining area to the hypnotic ambience of the street front dining section, By The Glass offers a variety of seating options. Plus, their secluded thirty-eight-seat arcade area is perfect for those looking for a more private dining experience. But it’s not just the wine that’s impressive at By The Glass – the food menu is equally enticing. Venue Manager and Head Chef Myles Davis-Schiele has created a menu bursting with flavour, featuring dishes like Burnt Butter Brioche topped with mackerel, Duck & Lamb Pate, and Oysters with preserved lemon oil & bloody shiraz gin caviar. Plus, the Marinated Beef Heart served with chimichurri, Burnt Butter Cauliflower, and Lamb Carpaccio are favourites gracing the menu. By The Glass owners, Ron Dhali and Gareth Yan, are… Read More

Chic new Melbourne restaurant, Morris House

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Get ready, Melbourne. On Monday, July 10th, the city will welcome its newest four-level pub, Morris House, after a stunning $4 million transformation. Designed by the talented Red Design architects, Morris House will feature a fresh, light exterior, an NYC-inspired basement comedy club, an elegant ground-level dining room, a cozy level one bar and terrace, and a spacious rooftop with fantastic city views. Taking over the former European Bier Café, the renovated venue will accommodate up to 550 guests across its four revamped levels, including a generous rooftop space for 180 guests: Basement Comedy Club – Morris House proudly presents the Basement Comedy Club, a neon-lit haven inspired by New York’s finest comedy venues. Showcasing exposed brick and moody lighting, the space will host local and headline comedy acts every Friday and Saturday night in partnership with Melbourne Comedy, featuring a residency from Arj Barker starting on July 18th. Ground Floor Dining Room & Bar – The newly revamped ground floor Dining Room boasts plush leather booths and a sleek marble bar, perfectly situated off the bustling city sidewalk for mid-week lunches or post-work drinks. Level One Bar & Terrace – Experience comfortable booth seating and a sun-soaked terrace overlooking Exhibition Street at the Level One Bar and Terrace. This space hosts weekly live music and is available for corporate and social events. Enjoy local bands every Friday night or unwind with $16 Negronis while listening to smooth jazz every Thursday. Rooftop – The fourth-level rooftop offers an inner-city, leafy-green oasis perfect for social gatherings…. Read More

Auburn Hotel Melbourne gets a new future

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The iconic Auburn Hotel in Hawthorn is set to receive a multi-million-dollar expansion, providing the local community with fresh indoor and outdoor spaces to savor food, drinks, and good times. Since 1888, this historic pub has been a landmark at the corner of Auburn Road and Victoria Street. Now, it’s transforming the adjacent Regan Motors site into a vibrant hub for the Hawthorn community – a gathering destination for locals and workers alike. The popular beer garden will undergo an upgrade, featuring a new woodfire pizza bar, picnic tables, and an expanded sun-soaked lawn for elevated weekend sessions. A brand-new kids’ playground will also be added, making it perfect for the little ones, especially during the Auburn Hotel’s locally-loved Family Funday held every Sunday. In addition to the beer garden extension, the Auburn Hotel will convert the former Regan Motors site into a laid-back, atrium-style dining hub. This relaxed space will also include a function area extending onto a sprawling deck. The new area will seamlessly blend the location’s history with modern finishes, offering the best of Auburn Hotel with a fresh twist. Guests can anticipate a mouthwatering new menu alongside the unveiling of the revamped spaces, featuring the pub classics Auburn Hotel is famous for, as well as a selection of scrumptious woodfired pizzas, bites, and small plates perfect for group grazing in the beer garden. The Auburn Hotel makeover will maintain the cherished local hub experience while offering more spaces for the community to enjoy year-round. Although demolition on the new site has… Read More

Melbourne Design Fair 2023 launches at Melbourne

Melbourne Design Fair woman art

Design enthusiasts in Melbourne are in for a treat, as the annual Melbourne Design Fair has launched at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) and will run until May 21. This year’s event is set to be bigger and better than ever before, featuring the work of more than 150 designers across 60+ presentations from all Australian states and territories. Visitors will have the chance to view and purchase one-of-a-kind, limited edition, and small batch design production, including furniture, lighting, and contemporary jewelry. The fair showcases some of the most cutting-edge designs from established and emerging designers, providing an impressive range of designs that appeal to both collectors and the general public alike. The Melbourne Design Fair features several feature group presentations, including Agency, ALM, Australian Tapestry Workshop, Craft Victoria, C. Gallery, Leonard Joel, MARS Gallery, Modern Times, OIGALL PROJECTS, Origine, Sophie Gannon Gallery, Stanley Street Gallery, Broached Commissions, and Sullivan+Strumpf, among others. Visitors can expect to see a wide range of exciting and innovative designs from these groups. One of the highlights of this year’s Melbourne Design Fair is the new section dedicated to contemporary jewelry presentations. The fair also includes an NGV-curated exhibition, FOCUS, which brings attention to the work of five accomplished Australian female designers and makers. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about their creative processes and inspirations. In addition to the exhibitions, the TALKS series, presented by Major Partner Mercedes-Benz, offers visitors the opportunity to gain a deeper appreciation of the culture of collectible design while learning how… Read More

New theatre bar coming to Australia: Club Broadway

Archer Street singer bar

Get ready to put on your dancing shoes because Australia’s newest and most unique nightclub experience is hitting Sydney this Saturday, May 20th, and Melbourne in June. Check the website for the full location list. Club Broadway is the first full-scale 18+ musical theatre nightclub to grace Australia, and it promises to be like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Think Archer Street in London! DJ Dan Murphy, a passionate musical theatre aficionado, will only play musical theatre songs all night long for club-goers to sing and dance along to. But this isn’t just any nightclub – it’s a musical theatre rave! Original versions of showtunes will be played – no dance remixes – so attendees can sing and dance to the musicals they know and love. The night is billed as a combination of a rave with a night at the theatre. So, expect to see some special performances and surprises along the way. Musical theatre themed fancy dress ups are encouraged but not mandatory. Opening night is already sold out, but tickets are still available for the second night on Friday, May 26th, from 8 pm till midnight in the basement of the Imperial in Erskineville, which’ll feature a live performance from singer Jacqui Dark. Tickets are also available for Melbourne’s opening night on Sunday, June 11th, from 5 pm till 9 pm at Sircuit in Fitzroy – performers to be announced. Organiser DJ Dan Murphy said: “This’ll be a dream come true for anyone who loves a showtune. You’ll feel right at home… Read More

Diamonds, but not like you know them: we speak to Moi Moi in Melbourne

Diamon finger woman

As the world becomes more conscious about the impact we have on our planet, many are seeking ethical and sustainable alternatives to traditionally sourced products, including diamonds. That’s why lab-grown diamonds have become increasingly popular among consumers who want the beauty and durability of a diamond without the negative environmental and social costs associated with mined diamonds. Some hardcore diamond enthusiasts may still have reservations about lab-grown diamonds. They may believe that they are somehow inferior to mined diamonds, but the truth is, they are virtually identical in every way. Both are made of carbon, and lab-grown diamonds are created under controlled conditions that replicate the natural process that occurs deep within the earth. We spoke to Lauren Chang Sommer, the founder and managing director or Moi Moi, who said, “One of my favourite things about them is that they come at a fraction of the price of mined gems which makes it possible for our customers to purchase their dream jewellery and afford bigger stones. LAVANA Lab Grown diamonds are ethical and socially responsible and come with a guaranteed source of origin, promising that brilliant jewels don’t need to cost the earth.” In fact, lab-grown diamonds are so similar to mined diamonds that in 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ruled that a diamond is a diamond no matter where it comes from. This means that lab-grown diamonds can be graded, certified, and sold in the same way as mined diamonds. At Moi Moi, they offer LAVANA lab-grown diamonds and SUPERNOVA Moissanite, which is… Read More

Opera Australia puts on Miss Saigon in Melbourne

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Opera Australia has announced that the acclaimed new production of Boublil and Schönberg’s musical Miss Saigon will be playing at Melbourne’s Her Majesty’s Theatre from October 29th for a limited season. The Australian cast will be led by Seann Miley Moore as the Engineer, Abigail Adriano as Kim, Nigel Huckle as Chris, Kerrie Anne Greenland as Ellen, Nick Afoa as John, Laurence Mossman as Thuy, and Kimberley Hodgson as Gigi. Tickets for the Melbourne season go on sale Tuesday 6 June, with priority booking available to those who sign up to the waitlist at miss-saigon.com.au. Miss Saigon is a story of love and loss set in war-torn Vietnam, following the story of a young Vietnamese woman named Kim who falls in love with an American G.I. named Chris, but their love is ripped apart by the fall of Saigon. Created by the same minds behind Les Misérables, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, Miss Saigon has been seen by 38 million people worldwide, performed in 15 different languages, in over 32 countries and 350 cities, and has won 70 major theatre awards including two Olivier Awards, three Tony Awards, and four Drama Desk Awards. The musical features an unforgettable score including classic hits like ‘The Heat is On in Saigon,’ ‘The Movie in My Mind,’ ‘Last Night of the World,’ and ‘American Dream.’ The new production of Miss Saigon, which opened in London in May 2014, was directed by Laurence Connor with musical staging by Bob Avian and additional choreography by Geoffrey Garratt. The production design… Read More

Melbourne’s best bottomless cocktails at Brogan’s Way, Richmond

Negroni Spagliato cocktail

Bottomless cocktails, delicious tacos, and a cozy atmosphere – who says you have to wait until summer to enjoy all of these things? Thanks to Brogan’s Way Distillery and Bar in Richmond, cocktail-lovers can indulge during the colder months too. Starting on 20th May, Brogan’s Way is hosting Bottomless Cocktail sessions on selected Saturdays from May through to September. Each session will run for two hours starting at 3pm and will take place at the Brogan’s Way Distillery and Bar on North Street, Richmond. Guests will be treated to unlimited G&T pairings, select gin cocktails, and bottomless bubbles. Some of the G&T pairings on offer include the popular Everyday Salvation Gin & Tonic and Strawberries & Cream Gin & Tonic. Meanwhile, the cocktails on offer will be on rotation, including the Mando Sour, Mulled Gin, and Blood Orange Negroni Spritz. Not into alcohol? Don’t worry, Brogan’s Way also offers a non-alcoholic menu featuring delicious mocktails, select soft drinks, and alcohol-free wine. But that’s not all – guests can also indulge in tasty tacos from the Special Event Taco menu. Both meat and vegetarian options are available. Tacos start from $13 for two and can be ordered during the Bottomless Cocktail sessions. The Bottomless Cocktail sessions are a great idea for those looking to catch up with friends and family on a Saturday afternoon with refreshing and unique drinks and delicious food. And with tickets for the bottomless Gin Cocktails Drinks Package priced at $58 pp and the unlimited non-alcoholic Cocktails and Soft Drinks Package at… Read More

What to do in Melbourne and Sydney this ANZAC Day

Melbourne Shrine Remembrance ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day is a day of remembrance and commemoration of the sacrifices made by Australian and New Zealand soldiers during World War I. It is a public holiday in both Melbourne and Sydney, with many events and activities taking place throughout the day to honour those who have served their country. Here are some of the best things to do in Melbourne and Sydney on ANZAC Day. Melbourne: Sydney: No matter how you choose to spend ANZAC Day, it is sure to be a day of reflection, commemoration, and gratitude for the sacrifices made by those who have served their country.

Exciting news from Ford: the new Mach-E GT is coming to Oz

Daniel Riccardo Ford Mach e 1

Ford Australia is set to launch the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV later this year, marking the company’s first all-electric passenger vehicle, they have announced at this year’s Melbourne International Grand Prix at Albert Park. Three different variants of the Mach-E, namely Select, Premium, and GT, will be offered to customers, each designed to provide exhilarating driving experiences with performance and convenience features built-in. At the top of the range is the Mach-E GT, boasting MagneRide suspension and performance brakes, making it the quickest car that Ford will sell locally. Its dual electric motors give it an impressive 0-100km/h sprint of 3.7 seconds and up to 490 km of range. The Premium variant runs on a bigger battery of 91kWh, making it the longest range option with close to 600 km of running on a full charge. The Mach-E’s Untame mode offers a driver-centric experience and adds more fun to your drive. The Mach-E’s interior can comfortably sit five people, featuring a 15.5-inch infotainment system with Ford’s SYNC 4, a 10.2-inch digital cluster, wireless mobile phone charging, and a 10-speaker B&O sound system. All Mach-Es delivered in Australia will come standard with a panoramic sunroof. Ford Australia’s President and CEO, Andrew Birkic, expressed his excitement about the Mach-E’s arrival, saying, “We know Australians love that feeling of driving a performance car, and the Mach-E will mean they can enjoy that iconic Mustang freedom with all the benefits that an EV offers. There’s something special about the Mach-E that you can only really understand once you get… Read More