Immersery Pop-Up to Transform the Banks of the Yarra

It used to be that the best bars and restaurants were hidden down dark laneways with no signs out the front (sah chic, sah Melbourne). Now, they're huge bustling creatures taking over bridges and riversides. From February 28 till March 16, the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival will be setting up their hub, The Immersery, on the banks of the Yarra River. In a beautiful feat of innovation it will include not only a restaurant and bar but a raingarden that stretches over the disused Sandridge Rail Bridge.

What's a raingarden, you ask? It's actually exactly what it sounds like. As part of the 202020 Vision project, The Immersery will be making the most out of Melbourne's horrible weather with a series of PVC pipes that funnel all our unexpected showers into small garden beds. A big project in the name of sustainability, and a stunning sight to behold.

Water will take a main role in the dining experience too, as local chefs such as Florent Gerardin (Silo), Daniel Wilson (Huxtable and Huxtaburger) and Jesse Garner (Añada and Bomba) have created menus inspired by it. Over The Immersery's 17 nights, you can expect diverse offerings such as Japanese eggplant miso dumplings or Mexican-inspired spiced Wessex saddleback pork empanadillas. The MFWF is nothing if not open to experimentation.

The same can be said for its bar options. Eleven of the country's best bartenders have been commissioned to create new cocktails inspired by the three states of water — solid, liquid and gas. Though none of the drinks have been announced yet, there will be offerings from Tom Kearney (Mechanics Institute, Perth) with the team from Lily Blacks; Tim Phillips (Bulletin Place, Sydney) with Black Pearl; and bar staff from both Eau de Vie Melbourne and Sydney squaring off against one another.

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is one of those things you always kick yourself for forgetting. Hidden around trendy pockets of the city, it's easy to mark in your diary and never get around to. Now, with its bridges and riversides and pipes and world-class cocktails, it's going to be pretty hard to miss.