An intimate wine bar just a stone's throw away from the main part of Smith St. Visited when it…read morefirst open and finally got around to going back last night to indulge in their raclette. The wine list is short but they focus on showcasing Victorian wines which is nice. Plus remember the old saying - quality over quantity. I recommend coming on Thursday night when they do mac & cheese that is covered in raclette. If I could have a bucket full of that everyday I would be a very happy lady. It is a wine bar so it can be expensive if you plan on making it an evening there as the portion sizes are on the small side, so unless you eat a loaf of bread beforehand you'll need to order a few raclettes to fill yourself up.

Lovely is the best way to describe Smithward. Delightfully simple, intimate and welcoming. Will be…read moreback!

Food was FKN brillliant!…read more Service was sucky in a great way. Ambiance was a big turn on!

One of the best meals I've had in a long time!…read more I'm usually not a fan of the set menu, as you tend to not get enough food (for my large appetite) and never the dishes you want, but boy oh boy was this set menu the bomb dizzly. There were six of us and this is how it played out: Charcuterie plate with endless warm bread - you know that I wiped that terrine bowl clean! Cured salmon - flower petal garnishes win hearts! Deconstructed beef bourguignon - cooked for 48 hours and oh so tender. Mussels and frites - I'm a mussels freak! Dessert - sorbet served with fresh berries and meringue, topped with crumbed shortbread - I have been thinking a lot about this dish since last week! Creme Brulee - wasn't as good as the other dishes. Then just when you think there couldn't possibly be any more... Cheese platters! Drinks not included (obvs) but they have a killer cocktail list and would probably shake you up anything you wanted. Staff were fun and attentive. Take me back!

Wine. Charcuterie. Cheese. Bread. Perhaps the greatest foods ever invented?…read more Gertrude Street Enoteca provides all of these things in very generous proportions, and it's hard to declare which of these is the best; they're all good. The wine selection is always interesting, with some great options by the glass and even more by the bottle. It's hard not to end up buying a bottle to take home once you've tried something new and intriguing. The food is perfect drinking food, rich and good for sharing. There's the likes of smoked salmon with crème fraîche, eel rillettes and cured meats, served with mountains of super fresh baguette to ensure you have plenty in your stomach to soak up all that vino.

Sherry is no longer an old lady's drink, it's making a comeback. That's what I heard on the…read moregrapevine anyway. The Enoteca is all elegance and class and this is where I tasted the goddamn best sherry ever. Not knowing much about sherries, but realising that I would like to know more about it, I came in here and asked the bartender what kind of sherries they have. The bartender reeled off a whole string of words that I did not understand, but I did gather that, on the most simplistic level, I could choose between dry, medium or sweet sherry. Like the fence-sitter that I can be, I went for a medium sherry. And I tell you what, it was beautiful. I wanted to buy a bottle of it to take home with me, but at $15 a glass, I knew I didn't have the funds for the full bottle. Still, sitting in the cosy and intimate bar space surrounded by the best bottled grapes known to Melbourne, I took pleasure in the moment and god knows I sipped the %^# out of that drink and savoured every note, scent by cent.

An oozy cheesy hot mess of a jaffle is the kind of thing you want to eat at the end of a big boozy…read morenight. I love that Bad Frankie offers a wide variety of them, including a lamington jaffle (!), so you can pre-load on them while drinking. No more regrettable late night eats - just do it early in the night and you won't feel the need to double down on a second dinner! The booze selection at Bad Frankie is glorious. There's loads of locally crafted spirits along with a tidy selection of wine and beer. The real appeal though is coming and trying a line up of liquor from Australia in their tasting flights. 5 x 10ml pours is a fun way to start the night, right? Pro tip: sign up for a masterclass if you want to enhance your booze knowledge.

Ok, let me start by saying that the name did predispose me to like this place. Full disclosure, I…read morewalked in full of swagger and excitement and immediately stole one of their business cards to use as my own. That out of the way, the drinks were amazing. Bad Frankie's serves all Australian spirits and their bartenders have made some wonderful things. My friend and I worked our way through 8 different drinks and were thrilled with everything that came out. My favourite was the notorious F.I.G. but I honestly don't think you can go wrong here! Also they have a lamington jaffle, let's take a second to appreciate that that exists, and then sneakily snuffle it into our bellies at all possible opportunities.

Ordered a Negroni and it was watered down or missing a key component. The bar manager came out to…read moreapologise and serve another. It was a sip. The steak was 150gram max plus surcharge. Oh and when you pay your bill 10^ surcharge on Saturday. $180 for next to not much. Would have gone to fine dining instead.

Would of been good had the waiter not dropped a full kettle of boiling tea on me, not apologised or…read moregiven a shit and then overcharged me.

Amazing ambiance and service. The details of this bar are incredible. Definitely not a place to go…read moreoften, but a really cool spot to experience and take other people to. The menu is wildly inventive and requires a bit of explanation (in which the servers do exceptionally well). Definitely a must-stop-by spot if you're visiting Melbourne.

This used to be a night club, and honestly, I am totally over nightclubs, simply because they are…read moreloud, crowded, and can be impossible to enter at times. Well, this is no longer the case here. In fact, this place not only opens much earlier but it has an awesome atmosphere. Actually, I don't even think I can consider it to be a nightclub anymore, but rather a cocktail bar, and a pretty awesome one at that. Not surprisingly, there are references to books, and some pretty awesome books at that, all over the place. Oh, and not only do they also have beer available, and the service is also pretty awesome.

Hidden gem - a little off the beaten track but well worth the effort…read more Great selection of wines with full bar available should you need it. Lots of excellent small plates.

Oui Oui! Kirk's is a lovely escape in the centre of Melbourne. If you're longing for your next…read moreEuropean holiday, then a visit here for glasses of wine and shared plates of cheese, charcuterie and other wine-friendly foods, will help tie you over until you purchase that plane fare. Forget the fact that the menus are written in English and the waiters have that Aussie twang, if you squint hard enough you could be on a Parisian street corner watching the world go by as you drink glasses of Chablis. A lovely spot for a date or a catch up with a friend, but probably not the place for a large gathering as seating is minimal. Service is efficient and non-obtrusive. They're happy to load up your table with eats and then drift past when your glass is looking low. There's always some daily specials that are a little more substantial if you want to stick around for dinner, but my pick is to come here for a few nibbles and a glass or two before moving on to another venue.

What a lovely little fromagerie in bustling Carlton. We decided to come here for a snack before…read morelunch and ended up gorging on so much cheese and charcuterie that we didn't need lunch afterward. The staff were very friendly and knowledgeable. The ambiance is relaxed, and it's awesome to check out the huge glass display of hundreds of cheeses when you walk in. There are so many different types of cheese pairings and flights, with beer, wine, whiskey and even sake and cognac. They even do fondue, frittatas, pates and baked cheese dishes. We ordered a wine and cheese pairing and a side of prosciutto, honeyed burrata and some fresh bread. The cheese pairings were divine, a great way to sample mostly Victorian cheeses and wine but a few amazing French ones in there too. The burrata had a bit too much honey on it for my liking but it's all a matter of preference. There's also a huge space upstairs, and they do cheese trivia nights and special dinners like a Vietnamese and cheese meal (I'm so curious how those can really go together?!), I was bummed we don't actually live in Melbourne to take advantage of the fun events. If we're back in the area, we'll definitely come back!

This was such a fun and unique experience - such a great way for four friends to get together over…read moregood food and wine. Our table ordered 2 x wine flights, 1 x sparkling wine flight, a 5 x cheese board (too much for one person but oh my god that Gorgonzola!) and a mix of cold cuts and extras with the help of the staff. The atmosphere is cosy and friendly. The staff were friendly as well; one struggled with the tasting notes and forgot one of our drinks but perhaps this comes to experience? The staff were helpful in other ways talking us through the menu and assisting with which sides to have (although a couple were unavailable) The cheeses were amazing and I look forward to returning to try more dishes on the menu. For those first timers a flight and sides is a great way to get the Milk the Cow experience! They also do a beer flight and a whiskey flight - bottoms up!