An Opulent Old-World Cocktail Bar Has Arrived in Port Melbourne
Named after Rosemary Clooney, George's famous jazz musician aunt, it's serving up craft cocktails in a luxe art deco setting.
Port Melbourne has scored itself a taste of the 1950s jazz scene, with sophisticated cocktail lounge Clooney Kitchen & Bar opening its doors on Bay Street this week. Named not for the actor, but for his famous jazz musician aunt Rosemary, it's a little dose of old-world Hollywood glamour down under.
Heading up the bar are Shannon McFarland (The Rochester, Woodland House) and Will Crennan (Gin Palace, Collins Quarter), who have pulled together a collection of artisanal spirits, inventive signature cocktails, craft beers from across Italy and Australia, and a tidy, yet well-travelled lineup of wine. Dialling up the luxury will be lesser known Italian liqueurs, Scotch tasting trays and George Clooney's own Casamigos tequila.
Meanwhile, McFarland's house-made liqueurs — and the bar's opulent crystal goblets — will add a unique edge to your drinking sessions. To match, Head Chef Leigh Stanicic (Melbourne Wine Room, The Fat Duck) has designed a menu of bar snacks and small bites drawing inspiration from across Europe and Asia, featuring dishes such as Peking duck terrine with duck skin crackling, barbecue pig jowl and Davidson plum salmon crudo.
You can go a la carte — and choose your own adventure — or settle in for the four-course food and cocktail degustation, a collaboration between McFarland and Stanicic.
The space itself is dressed to impress, designed by Darren Kerf of Kerf Designs, with swanky plum velvet booths, art deco features and bold wallpapers full of 1950s elegance.
To round out the experience, the team is matching that vintage sophistication with an old-school sense of hospitality, serving drinks carefully customised to guests' palates, and respecting the classics, while also embracing the new and innovative. And the music will, fittingly, feature plenty of old-school jazz.
Find Clooney Kitchen & Bar at 171 Bay Street, Port Melbourne. It's open from Tuesday–Wednesday, 4pm–midnight and Thursday–Saturday, 4pm–1am.
Images: Kevin Li.
