New Bar: Yah Yah's

What do Pony and Bar Open have in common? They're owned by the same people as the latest Smith Street arrival - Yah Yah. As Clem Bastow describes in her latest Epicure review, "Yah Yah's is a rock'n'rollin' bar like they used to make: from its ruby-red walls and "beer or beer or hard stuff" drinks menu to its no doubt soon-to-be-sticky carpet and Superman II-esque chandeliers..." Click here to read the full review.

New Review: Black Pearl

Clem Bastow has given a briefer-than-usual account of the Brunswick Street staple Black Pearl. In Epicure she writes that despite the boastful showiness of the venue, Black Pearl offers a decadent experience in the heart of the Bohemian strip. "A visit to Black Pearl could start from pre-party drinks, carry through to all-night whisky tasting and onwards until you're asked to leave." Clem also recommends visiting mid-week to avoid the "Brunwsick Street masses on a Saturday night." Fine words indeed, click here for the full review.

New Review: Little Creatures Dining Hall

Clem Bastow works her magic on Brunswick Street's newest arrival. "The Dining Hall is the boutique brewery's first large-scale foray into nationwide supremacy. Housed in what was once ground zero for brides with money to burn, the old Mariana Hardwick shop, the fit-out is impressive in its size and effect, if a little cavernous. All exposed bars, beams and pipes criss-crossing white-on-white, it creates a sense of a brewery "cellar door", or at least what Joe Public probably thinks a brewery looks like, while an open kitchen at the far end provides movement and warmth." Click here for the full Epicure review.

New Review: Cumulus Inc

Joining the Deck of Secrets and ThreeThousand reviews of Cumulus Inc (Flinders Lane, Melbourne) is Clem Bastow with her recent review for Epicure. "If you want good design that isn't alienating, fine wine without stuffiness, and great, unpretentious food, Cumulus Inc. is just the ticket." Click here for the full review.

New Review: Revolver Upstairs

Clem Bastow meets the Chapel Street institution Revolver Upstairs for her most recent Epicure reivew. "Split between the band room, back bar, and Thai restaurant, Revolver is one of those venues that very much suits a turn-up-for-dinner-and-leave-at-breakfast sort of evening's entertainment." Click here for the full review.

New Review: Fusion

Clem Bastow, aware of the Melbourne bar scene stigma, was willing to give a Crown Casino bar a visit. In Fusion she found a fun alternative to the average "no image" Melbourne bar. As she writes in Epicure, "Fusion's kit-out of mirrors and feature lighting gives the venue a rather retro feel, a little Studio 54." Click here to read the full review.

New Review: Sahara

Clem Bastow reviews Sahara on Swanston Street, Melbourne for Epicure and writes; "Functioning as a cafe during the day and a snacky watering hole at night, Sahara has a drinks list that remains as cheap as ever, with what has to be my favourite genre heading of all Melbourne's drinks menus: "Nice Drinks"." If you'd like to hear a little bit more about this student favourite bar, click here to read the full review.

New Review: The Vic

Abbotsford's The Vic is the most recent bar to be reviewed by Clem Bastow for Epicure. In summary; "Whether you're en route to dinner or escaping the Ikea mega-store, The Vic is an ideal stopover." Click here to read more about this friendly bar.

New Review: Don't Tell Tom

"Tom is one of those institutions that is one man's breakfast joint to another man's late-night (ish) watering hole." Clem Bastow reviews this slightly-quieter Brunswick bar Don't Tell Tom for Epicure - click here to read her evaluation.

New Review: Sentido Funf

Sentido Funf, once called Yelza, on the corner of Gertrude and Brunswick Streets, Fitzroy, has been delighting patrons for some time now. Clem Bastow sums it up for Epicure with "Sentido Funf will please those looking for a corner to sink into as much as it will those with partying on the agenda." Click here to read the full review.

New Review: Tuscan Bar

Clem Bastow is delighted by the Tuscan Bar interior designer's ability to restrain themselves when designing the latest chandelier-laden bar. Located just above the old Gaslight Records on Bourke Street, "Tuscan Bar's Italian-inspired fit-out is definitely lavish, but it manages to avoid the more Franco Cozzo-esque trappings." Click here to read the full review in Epicure.

New Bar: Mockingbird

Clem Bastow has reviewed Mockingbird, a new bar on St Kilda's Fitzroy Street for Epicure. Her thoughts? "With friendly staff and a so-relaxed-it's-almost-horizontal attitude, Mockingbird might be a new-ish addition to the Fitzroy Street crawl but its spirit is strictly old-school St Kilda." Click here to read the full review or have a look at the St Kilda Today blog for a big picture.

New Review: Wesley Anne

Clem Bastow has reviewed the well-established Wesley Anne on High Street, Northcote for Epicure and manages to put her fragrant humour to work on the 2am drinking bans aswell. Well worth a read.

New Review: Sweatshop

Clem Bastow has reviewed the recently opened Sweatshop on Lonsdale Street for Epicure. "With West Coast Coolers and long necks in brown paper bags, why would you go anywhere else?" Click here to read the full review.

New Review: Precinct

Formerly the Depot, Richmond's Precinct has been reviewed by Clem Bastow for Epicure. "And if the makeover is a little unimaginative in an interior design sense, although retaining the pressed-tin ceiling over the dance floor is a nice touch, what the Precinct lacks in surface decoration, it makes up for in atmosphere." Click here to read the full review.

New Review: The Palmz

Clem Bestow reviews The Palmz, atop the Carlton Hotel, with her usual wit for Epicure and it sounds like this open air affair is more than just a quick add-on bar for smokers.

"Palmz makes tropicalia its game and feels more like a poolside cocktail lounge than a 'beer garden'." Click here to read the full review.

New Review: Carlton Yacht Club

Clem Bastow, writing for The Age, has shared one of her favourite bars with us. The Carlton Yacht Club is into its fifth year on the busy Lygon Street strip - and it appears the quality hasn't gone.

"Decorated with cluttered ephemera, the bar is lovely and the staff friendly." Read the full review.

New Bar: Willow

Clem Bastow has reviewed the new Willow bar, which was formerly North Bazaar and Terra Firma before that, for Epicure.

"A sunny disposition and an utter lack of pretension is one of the nicest things about Willow." Read the full review.

New Review: Mother's Milk

Clem Bastow has once again weaved her magic for another Epicure bar review, this time she's at Mother's Milk on Chapel Street, Windsor.

"Mother's Milk (the front bar at least; the decked rear is somewhat more "clean") has one of those fit-outs that doesn't seem to be able to work out whether its vibe is op-shop chic, dilapidated '70s, or leather-lined luxury and instead falls in an odd middle ground between all three."

New Review: Lotus

Clem Bastow has just reviewed South Yarra's Lotus Bar for The Age's Epicure bar guide.

The review is just as much about her experience at a "Single & Sexy" over-28s night, and brilliantly captures her first impressions of the bar.

The Epicure summary for Lotus:
"You never know what you will find when you visit South Yarra institution Lotus."