World Restaurant & Bar

World Restaurant & Bar is a great venue to get together with a group of friends and enjoy the relaxed, casual atmosphere at the bar with live music playing, overlooking the Yarra River. If you make your way towards the back of the restaurant, you will find an intimate dining area giving you a different experience in the one venue. In its convenient location on Southbank, this place offers a unique combination of great food and live music – making it a great meeting point where you can also have a few drinks. 

 The iron gates provide a warm, rustic look to the intimate dining area and also help section off the large venue for those who prefer a concealed dining experience away from the commotion and drinking scene. Once you have finished eating however, there is no reason to miss out on the atmosphere around there bar. With couches provided to enjoy the laid back atmosphere, this truly does express the great culture of Melbourne.

The food, of course, was not disappointing! I enjoyed the mezze plate and a Turkish bread base pizza. Both meals served generous portions and were certainly more than enough for two people and at reasonable prices you can’t go wrong! I don’t think I can see myself looking past the mezze plates on a return visit as I really enjoyed all portions and every time I look at this photo I can’t help but salivate. On the other hand though, all the meals on tables around did look great so I know that I’ll be pleased either way. 

Roasting Warehouse

What better way to celebrate Mother’s Day than with a brunch outing as a family, with my parents and brother. I have been raving about Roasting Warehouse to my family for quite some time now, so it was their turn to experience the delicious meals on offer at Leveson Street, North Melbourne. This reinvented warehouse has turned into any coffee lover’s sanctuary, with fast word spreading of them roasting the best coffee blends in town! Their display of large hessian bags filled with coffee beans and an industrial roasting machine on display certainly adds to the warehouse vibe.

There is always a bustling crowd around the counter at Roasting Warehouse, with customers either waiting for their coffee-to-go or waiting for a seat and this constant buzz adds to the warm, busy atmosphere. Even though there is a line majority of the time to get a table, it is certainly worth the wait and from my experiences the line tends to move at quite a fast pace with an abundance of staff to keep the ball rolling. It also doesn’t hurt to enjoy inhaling the beautiful aroma of coffee whilst you wait, to give you a taste of what you’re about to enjoy! I, again, couldn’t stray away from ordering poached eggs as I know they do them so well. My meal, on this particular visit, came with eggs on Turkish bread with roasted fennel and relish. The menu is constantly changing which keeps it exciting and expresses the café’s diversity using rich flavour combinations and I was also delighted to find that they serve my favourite tea, Teadrop! 

Not only is this place a café but also a mini store with their large selection of coffee beans on display for you to choose and take home to enjoy the goodness, you can also purchase coffee machines or indulge in the display of sweet commodities.

I definitely recommend it’s worth a visit to try what all coffee lovers of Melbourne (including my mother who claims it was the best coffee she’s had) describe as one of the best coffee spots in town! And what’s just as great is that the food of course, which is sure to please appetites of all size.  

A drink or two…

In the convenient location of Church Street, Richmond (close to the Swan Street intersection) is a dark doorway which inside lays great excitement. The elaborately themed drinks provide a cocktail experience like no other and the menu displays a large selection to please all types of taste buds. Der Raum, a cocktail bar ever expanding in recognition for their unique flavour combinations, are definitely worth checking out! Using unique preparation methods, including Bunsen burners and fry pans as part of their every day equipment, these bartenders are always ready to cook up a storm… in liquid form.

With their liquor supply dangling above their heads, a true demonstration is displayed of the large range of liquor used to fulfil Der Raum’s exciting menu, whilst also creating an exciting atmosphere. It takes great skill to create cocktails of this calibre and watching the bartenders prepare your order is like an art form. The drinks are not only served in your regular cocktail glass, but in jars, medicine bottles and wooden boxes, just to name a few! This very unusual presentation style is always consistent with the theme of the drink ordered and always keeps you guessing.  

If you’re lucky enough to come in on a quieter night and get a seat at the bar, like I was on my first visit (I’m not sure if this place has many quiet nights these days though), it allows you to have the full experience with the bartenders spending time to go through the menu with you to find a drink that really speaks to your taste buds. You also get a great view of the preparation and best of all… little wait time! But even with a bustling bar, the element of fun is never removed!  

With a long list of achievements including winners of Cocktail List of the Year numerous years in a row at the Australian Bartender Awards and the Australian Liquor Awards and this year being ranked as No.1 World’s Best Bars, there is no reason to miss out on a unique cocktail experience at Der Raum!  

Just to satisfy my olive obsession…

On a drive towards the Macedon Ranges, I went on a bit of a food adventure. First stop was in Sunbury for lunch at Pitruzzello Estate. With numerous Brown Tourist Attraction signs pointing the way to an olive vineyard, I couldn’t help but follow the road. When I saw the large gates, I knew we had reached our first destination which officially opened to the public only quite recently in February, 2010. Taking in the open space of the vineyard and stretches of green reaching out into the mountains, this place sure was a breath of fresh air. With rows of vines travelling as far as the eye can see and an adorable gazebo along the entrance, I couldn’t resist taking a few happy snaps. This picturesque environment would make a great venue for any function.

Upon arrival I was pleased to find that the cellar door was part of the restaurant so we could get up and taste some of Pitruzzello’s own wines to decide which would best compliment our meals. I enjoy a sweet Moscato myself, and this one had a very smooth texture that slid down with ease on every taste. Even more so to my delight, we received a plate of olives and bread with olive oil drizzled on top (the olives and olive oil both produced by Pitruzzello of course) to start off the meal.  For lunch itself, we ordered 2 share dishes - the antipasto platter and a pizza with prosciutto, boccaccini and rocket. Highlights on the antipasto platter would have to be the olives (yes, there’s no denying that one) and the pickled vegetables which were also drizzled the Estate’s very own extra virgin olive oil, a gold and silver winner at the Royal Melbourne Fine Food Awards for 2008 & 2010. The flavour combinations in the pizza were also great, with the salt from the prosciutto and the rocket to add a fresh, cool touch.

The counter provides a variety of products to buy from the Estate including wines, olives, olive oil and even body lotions. I’ve already decided on going for a drive to this place the next time I need a good bottle to compliment my meal!

For our next stop, we continued our drive to Woodend for dessert where we stopped at a bakery which we have heard much talk about. If you haven’t heard about this busy corner location, Bourkie’s Bakery is definitely worth checking out. Make sure to take a ticket for service on entry as this place attracts quite a crowd and with their numerous awards including 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd prizes on various occasions in the Great Australian Vanilla Slice Triumph, there’s no surprise why!  

We grabbed coffees and teas at Bourkie’s along with an apple slice and then bag of goodies to take home including… yes their famous vanilla slice! There is certainly no doubt why this treat has won so many awards, with its smooth filling that melts in your mouth it sure justifies why you see trays and trays constantly brought out as you wait!