Coming Soon: Basement Bar Purple Pit Will Join Reine & La Rue in Melbourne's Queens and Collins Building This December

Aussie hospo mainstay Maurice Terzini (Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, RE and Jackson on George) has teamed up with Joe Jones to open a sleek new bar in Melbourne's CBD.

Opening in early December, the duo will take over the underground space at Queens and Collins, where Reine & La Rue recently opened to huge acclaim.

Here, Euro-centric cocktails and "champagne food" will be served within a lavish brutalist space where post-punk tunes will be booming late into the night.

So what exactly is "champagne food"? For Terzini and Jones it's small aperitivo-style dishes and luxe late-night bites that you want to nosh on while sipping on fine wine and cocktails. This will include house-made calzones filled with either mortadella, ricotta and fermented chilli or a playful take on the Big Mac flavours. You can also get around the tomato tartare brushed with shiko koki and a tuna loin that's made specifically to be paired with a dry martini.

Speaking of martinis, Jones has decided to go balls-to-the-wall decadent with his Ticket to Ride creation. It will include a half-serve of martini taken right from the freezer and a 90ml glass of champagne, paired with a cheeky bump of caviar and kochu crème fraiche. This will glide over to you on a silver tray, effortlessly oozing luxurious cool.

If Purple Pit is anything like its upstairs neighbour or any of Terzini's other ventures, it'll quickly rise to be one of Melbourne CBD's top bars.

Purple Pit will open in early December at 376–390 Collins Street, Melbourne. It will be open Tuesday–Saturday, from 3pm–1am. For more details, check out the venue's website.

Top image: Queens and Collins building courtesy of Reine & La Rue