A first-floor oasis of smart Euro-leaning coking paired with an Aladdin’s cave of lo-fi wine treasures, Neighbourhood Wine is both dining destination and casual wine bar, where a casual pop-in could easily melt into an hours-long stay.
Today, the dust has been swept away and some of the more burdensome security features removed, but apart from bespoke wine storage throughout the room, not much has changed. The interior décor remains largely intact, though it’s reasonable to expect the vibe may have changed somewhat. A gangster’s ‘gentleman’s’ club is certainly not the first thing that springs to mind, with the roulette wheel replaced by a well-supplied turntable, and the Victorian décor reflected through a 1980s sensibility an oddly harmonious feature.
The wine offer runs to over 550 listings, with 20 plus by the glass, and a cant towards wines less handled. “We definitely lean to the minimal intervention end of the wine spectrum, but it is purely out of preference. We are not dogmatic about it,” says Denman. “If a more conventional wine is drinking well and at a great price, we will be all over it.”
Walking the wine bar and restaurant divide deftly, Neighbourhood Wine is one of those venues that will be used by customers in distinctly different ways, from casual drinking to more involved dining. But the overall feel is one of warm hospitality and conviviality, a little oasis removed from the outside world.
From his original base at Toorak Cellars, Lyndon Kubis, along with business partners Renton Carlyle and Mark Hopkinson, have expanded into territory less well serviced, including Milton in Malvern and the notoriously dry zone of Surrey Hills (not to be confused with Sydney’s Surry hills, which is afforded much better amenity) in Melbourne’s east, with…
While 2004 is hardly that long ago, it is in the veritable mists of time in respect to how much the wine-dispensing game has changed in Melbourne. Back then, James Broadway, an importer of Italian wine and Slow Food evangelist, and chef Brigitte Hafner, who had worked with Neil Perry, Kylie Kwong, Guy Grossi, Greg…
At Geralds, the early arrivals dictate the open bottles, which can be switched around once exhausted, with ten typically open at any one time.
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