Enoteca Boccaccio

Overview

Walk up the pink marble stairs by Boccaccio Cellars in Balwyn — a family-run Italian grocer and bottle shop that's been around since 1963 — to find one of Melbourne's best new wine bars, Enoteca Boccaccio.

The impressive fit-out comes courtesy of the Mim Design team, who were directly inspired by the venue's focus on preserving fine Italian and Australian produce.

They've integrated a glass-walled cheese maturing room right by custom wine fridges that are stacked with bottles from local and international producers. But the bar's central white marble countertop is the star here, decked out with glass fridges that proudly showcase huge cuts of cured meats and piles of fresh oysters that the chefs work through each night. Pull up a stool and design your own charcuterie board from what's before you.

But the new Melbourne wine bar isn't just serving charcuterie. Like many of Melbourne's best wine bars, food is given a lot of love at Enoteca Boccaccio. You can easily stay here for a full sit-down dinner at the bar or on one of the tables scattered about the 60-seat space.

Small bites include the grilled Fremantle octopus served in a cold ajo blanco soup with charred cos and Espelette peppers as well as the grilled wagyu ox tongue topped with beetroot, pine nuts and a summery mustard fruit dressing. A selection of five pastas plus a couple of roasts and desserts round out the tidy menu of contemporary European eats.

Wine-wise, the exciting cellar is rapidly rotating through local and international drops. For what's in stock that day, simply ask the team to talk you through it all. It's the kind of place where you should blindly trust their recommendations. The crew know what they're doing.

Interior shots: Peter Clarke