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: Bar None

"It's the location, with its connotations that you are participating in something a little shady, that really give Bar None its edge." Michael Harden reviews the hidden bar, Bar None, on the border of Hawthorn East and Camberwell for Epicure. "The adventure of finding such a place in Camberwell is worth the trip alone but it is when you start thumbing through the voluminous drinks list that you realise this is a bar with a serious dedication to good booze." Click here for the full review.

New Review: White Rabbit Record Bar

Larissa Dubecki reviews Kensington's White Rabbit Record Bar where you can shop for vintage vinyl or merely stop by for a few drinks. "This hybrid music store and bar could well leave punters wondering why alcohol isn't served in more record stores about town." Larissa also mentions some of White Rabbit's cocktails, including some of their own infusions, such as coriander vodka in a Mad Hatter or a coriander and wasabi-flavoured Bloody Mary. Click here for the full review.

New Review: Siglo

If you could judge a bar soley by the quantity of reviews it receives, you might be thinking Siglo is Melbourne's hottest bar. Michael Harden (Epicure) and Deck of Secrets have already had their say - now Kirsten Law reviews it again for Epicure. "Overlooking a resplendently lit Parliament House with the spire of St Patrick's Cathedral looming behind, Siglo is the crown of Con Christopoulos' shrine to degustation... The prevalence of Spanish and Portuguese on the menu sets the ambience for the coming summer nights; think romantic dates and convivial gatherings." Click here for 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: Napier Hotel

Michael Harden reviews the eccentric Fitzroy local, The Napier on Napier Street, for Epicure. "The Napier Hotel is one of the suburb's most Fitzroy-ish pubs and not just because of its proximity to the over-the-top grandeur of the Town Hall." And of course, like every good Napier review, there is a mention of the infamous Bogan Burger; "a stomach-turning stack of steak, chicken schnitzel, potato cake, bacon, egg, cheese, onion, pineapple and beetroot served between slabs of Turkish bread, with wedges and salad on the side, $15.50". Click here for the full story.

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: 1806

It seems Melbourne can't get enough of 1806 at the moment, thanks to winning the world's Best Cocktail Menu they've managed another high-profile review. Michael Harden has reviewed 1806 (Exhibition Street, CBD) for Epicure and concludes: "This bar takes itself seriously but never loses sight that drinking cocktails is fun. It is, unlike [Tom] Cruise and [Bryan] Brown, a winning combination." Click here for the full review.

New Review: Handsome Steve's House of Refreshment

Hidden in the Abbotsford Convent is the lovingly titled Handsome Steve's House of Refreshment, which Kirsten Law describes as "charmingly off-kilter evening, complete with kitsch decor, in possibly the smallest space in Melbourne". Click here for the full Epicure review.

New Review: Church Street Enoteca

Kirsten Law writes for Epicure: "Fine dining of the traditional European type is the norm here, but if you're a Richmond local starved of nice places to take your visiting friends or family, Church Street Enoteca could come in handy." Click here for the full review.

New Review: Von Haus

"Von Haus taps into a demographic that likes good food and booze and is not afraid to pay for it." And in so few words, Michael Harden has once again set the background of another excellent bar review. Reviewing Von Haus (Crossley Street, Melbourne) for Epicure he describes retro decor, European eats and a small space that is "uniquely Melbourne". Well worth the read.

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 Reviews: Little Creatures Dining Hall

It hasn't been open a month yet, but the reviews are already flowing in for the Little Creatures Dining Hall (222 Brunwsick Street, Fitzroy).

Marinella Padula, Deck of Secrets;
"Almost as long-awaited as the iPhone, there was little chance of a ‘soft’ opening where Little Creatures was concerned. Conceived as a concept pub and retail store to showcase the range, brewery operations are still run out of Fremantle but it’s definitely the next-best-thing for LC fans." Click here for the full review.

Michael Harden, Epicure;
"Little Creatures Dining Hall is certainly a beer barn, but a good-natured, reasonably stylish member of the species. It does the usual industrial-chic shtick that you expect in a place this size - concrete floors, exposed metal pipes, massed metal light shades, foil-lined roof, industrial-strength heaters - but it also cosies it up a bit with some cute, slightly kitschy touches such as strings of coloured lights and posters describing the brewing process glued to the brick walls." Click here for the full review.

The Fitzroy Dining Hall now also has its own page on the Little Creatures Official website.

New Review: Silk Road

Fancy a "a blinged-out super-venue with ornate crystal chandeliers, ceiling frescoes, carved dragons and a generally confusing mishmash of artistic influences loosely themed on the famous trading route, ranging from Michelangelo's Rome to art deco"? Well you might like Silk Road on Collins Street, according to Larissa Dubecki in Epicure. "Take a sense of humour for the daft good fun to be had here, and a credit card for the somewhat expensive experience." 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: Atticus Finch

Michael Harden has reviewed the new Atticus Finch (Lygon St, Brunswick East) for Epicure, which was also just recently posted by Deck of Secrets. He concludes "Atticus Finch is one of those carefully realised bars that reward repeated viewings. Playing to character type, it appears quiet, unassuming and pleasant enough at first meeting, and then gradually wins you over with its solidity, generosity and good-heartedness." 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.