The Everleigh Crew Is Opening a New Late-Night Brasserie in a CBD Basement

Four years after rock 'n' roll den Heartbreaker joined the family, acclaimed Fitzroy cocktail haven The Everleigh is set to score another younger sibling, as Michael and Zara Madrusan's Made In The Shade group (MITS) gears up to launch its latest venue.

Dubbed Bar Margaux, the Lonsdale Street basement bar brings to life one of Michael's long-held dreams, opening his own riff on the Parisian-style brasseries he frequented during his years as a bartender in New York during the early 2000s. While The Everleigh is elegant and poised, and Heartbreaker boasts a more rebellious, dive bar attitude, this newcomer will capture a little of both. As Zara explains, "she'll be sophisticated and feminine, but lively and late."

The space itself will be a big nod to those Big Apple brasseries, complete with chequered floors, banquettes in deep red and an impressive zinc-topped bar. Working to MITS's signature focus on top-quality drinks, food and service, the new 80-seater will be a spot for cocktail and snack sessions, dining room feasts and everything in between. And it's dishing up the goods delightfully late, with French-inspired classics on offer until midnight and a supper menu doing the rounds right up until 5am on Fridays and Saturdays.

The Everleigh, James Morgan.

As for the drinks offering, it's another cracking collaboration between Michael and Marty McCaig (MITS Group Manager and co-owner of South Yarra wine bar South Press). Expect lots of familiar French varieties, natural wines aplenty and what is expected to be one of Melbourne's most enviable Champagne collections. Meanwhile, the cocktail list will star a good spread of wine-based cocktails, with half-sized martinis and manhattans available, too.

Bar Margaux is slated to open in May at 111 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne.