All posts filed under: bars

Captains of Industry

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I have a new cafe crush. Captains of Industry couldn’t be more Melbourne. Tucked down a laneway off Little Bourke Street, this cafe sits one floor above street level, its large front windows overlooking the beautiful GPO building on Elizabeth Street. The space has a warehouse look, with painted brick walls and large metal roof beams, but it doesn’t feel cold or cavernous. A smattering of small wooden tables, a long dining table and window benches makes this a comfortable hangout whether you’re visiting as a group, a couple or alone. And here’s where the industry comes in. Branching off from the main cafe space are three tiny shops: a shoemaker, a barbershop and a jeweller. Each is the size of a shoebox, but each is filled with a fascinating array of tools and contraptions. Peeking through these doors is like catching a glimpse into the Melbourne of another era. While the website declares that ‘the practitioners of Captains of Industry are Practical Men of Wide Experience offering the Good, the True and the Beautiful …

1000 £ Bend

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  I discovered this cafe a couple years ago, just after it first opened. It was big, bare, cheap and different — the new kid on a city block that’s generally off-limits to the budget-conscious. Today, 1000 £ Bend is still big, relatively cheap and different — just with a few extra chairs, tables, lamps and lude scribblings on the bathroom walls that have gathered over time. The intervening years have given this cafe space to settle and find its groove — that groove being a blase hangout for Melbourne’s alternative crowd who have been shoe-horned out of their Fitzroy/Northcote/Brunswick homes and flung into Melbourne’s all-too-mainstream CBD. Despite its city location, you won’t find a suit in sight, although free Wi-Fi makes this a popular workspace so during the day the place becomes a sea of laptops. Behind the cafe area in the front is an enormous room used as a quieter work space — when it’s not being used to house exhibitions. Upstairs is a cinema, where free film screenings take place every Sunday. There’s also free live music on Sundays from 2pm-4pm. Food here is mostly of …

the alderman

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    It’s what every neighbourhood needs: a simple, no-fuss bar where you can have a simple, no-fuss drink. The Alderman reminds me a bit of Joe’s Shoe Store in Northcote – the type of place where you can immediately tell that many of the customers are firm regulars. There’s a beer garden out the back and a small central room featuring an open fireplace that’s kept lit during winter – a warm heart to this unpretentious little watering hole. Note that this is not the place to come for a wild night of getting trashed on happy-hour drinks; in fact, The Alderman doesn’t have a happy hour (for exactly this reason, according to the bar’s owner). Drink prices here are fairly standard: Beck’s on tap is $5 for pots, $9 for pints and $15 for jugs; house wines are $6.50 per glass. You can get cocktail jugs ($23.50 for a mojito jug) and spirits are around $7.50–$14. This is a lovely spot for a quiet drink and refreshingly audible conversation.   The Alderman Address: 134 Lygon St, Brunswick …

bar etiquette

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–   This must be one of the most underrated bars in Melbourne. Or at least the bar furthest under the average Melburnian’s radar. Nobody seems to know about it –  even many locals who live in the area are oblivious. It’s true that Bar Etiquette isn’t particularly noticeable from the outside; the street-front is tiny, and it seems almost to blend in with the shops around it. It’s a bit like that hide-out house in the Harry Potter books – the one that’s jinxed so that humans (sorry, muggles) can’t see it. The eye runs up the street and somehow slips over Bar Etiquette without even registering its presence. This particular jinx doesn’t just affect the bar’s exterior, either. When you step inside, what looks like a small watering hole magically keeps on growing and growing. Out the back is a small beer garden, but if you wander upstairs you’ll feel as though you’ve rudely stumbled into someone’s share-house. There are three rooms up here, each filled with comfy couches – all a bit dingy and scroungy, but …

joe’s shoe store

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    I was at Joe’s Shoe Store the other day and happened to ask the bartender whether they have a website. He looked at me doubtfully. ‘God no,’ he said. ‘We’re not that organised.’ That pretty much sums up this cosy little bar in High St, Northcote. Not unorganised, as such, but definitely low-key. Small, simple bar; small, simple beer garden. No fuss. The Shoe Store’s forte is a large selection of local and imported beers and wines, and you can order gourmet pizzas at the bar which come direct from Meine Liebe next door. The staff are friendly and the atmosphere is uber relaxed. This is a great place to kick back, listen to some vinyl and enjoy the little things in life.   Joe’s Shoe Store Address: 233 High St, Northcote Vic 3070 Tel: 9482 7666 Damage: Pot $5 / pint $10; house wines $7; cocktails $12-20   Read more reviews at  

go green

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V What is it about The Brunswick Green that makes it so damn cool? Maybe it’s the red velvet couches. Or the Persian carpets. Or those beautiful wrap-around windows overlooking the beer garden. Or the bar, covered in bottles and photos and random knick-knacks. Or that front band room, with its stage and lamps and framed pictures… Or maybe it’s the refreshing lack of pretentiousness. Nobody seems to be trying too hard here. This place epitomises everything good about the Melbourne bar scene — including, of course, live music. Apart from featured gigs, there’s a regular free jazz night on Thursdays (from 8.30pm) and blues on Saturday afternoons (2pm till 6pm), also free. Visit. Enjoy. Maybe I’ll see you there.   The Brunswick Green Address: 313 Sydney Rd, Brunswick Vic 3056 Tel: 9381 2413 Opening hours: Tues-Thurs 4pm-12am, Fri & Sat 2pm-1am, Sun 2pm-11pm V