Overview
There were short-lived rumours that Melbourne's art and hospitality scene had reached peak saturation, but the city quickly put those to bed when its cultural ecosystem grew and flourished once again. It was a year of innovative new restaurants and bars — bigger and taller than ever before — forward-thinking events and bold spaces, pubs and cafes. And they're not all from the big players — independent ventures are flourishing.
At Concrete Playground we encourage exploration and showcase innovation in our city every day, so we thought it fitting to reward those most talented vanguards pushing Melbourne to be a better, braver city. And so, we are very pleased to announce Concrete Playground's Best of 2017 Awards.
As we continue to attempt to define Australian cuisine, chefs continue to push the boundaries. We've seen (and tasted) fermented calamari noodles and cod roe in choux pastry, we've climbed three levels to find some of the city's finest Japanese fare and we've eaten duck smoked by our favourite pasta experts. Bars continue to offer immersive, imaginative experiences that take you beyond their drinks lists — and late into the night, with some now serving inventive bar snacks til 3am.
The cafe culture is stronger than ever, too, with new cafes not only guaranteeing a stellar cup of Joe, but also innovative lunch snacks and sleek interiors that'll really make you reconsider that desk sandwich.
Pubs are now more likely to brew their beer in-house than not, and they continue to champion other local brands, artists and events. The bringing together of the art and food scene has expanded beyond pubs, with venues spending more time on their appearances, collaborating with local designers, architects and street artists to create stunning spaces. This prompted the creation of our new category, Best New Space. We've searched far and wide to find our favourite, visually stunning, innovative and sustainable spaces that are accessible to you — including shops, hotels, co-working hubs and public spaces.
Event organisers have created smart and clever new events, celebrating the city's cultural ecosystem and bringing people together to dance in museums, look at innovative art and to support each other in times of hardship.
This year, we will be awarding a People's Choice and Overall award in each of the following five categories:
- Best New Restaurant
- Best New Bar
- Best New Cafe
- Best New Pub
- Best New Event
- Best New Space
These 36 outstanding Melbourne ventures have been handpicked by Concrete Playground for their combination of originality, innovation, creativity, approachability and sustainability. We straight-up love them. And the winners are...
BEST NEW RESTAURANT
OVERALL WINNER: OSTERIA ILARIA
Backing up a wildly successful first restaurant with another cracker is never an easy feat, and yet the names behind cult favourite Tipo 00, have managed to hit it out of the ballpark with their new wine bar, Osteria Ilaria. Taking over the Little Bourke Street space next door to its legendary pasta bar sister, this chic newcomer complements rather than competes, steering away from Tipo 00's pure Italianness to take an even bigger bite out of Europe. The warmly-lit space nails that modern rustic feel; it's all white-painted exposed brick, with an open bar and kitchen down the length and a suave private dining room sitting up the back. And then there's the menu. It's clever enough to pitch this newbie among the Melbourne's contemporary wine bars, yet there's an easiness to the delivery that's primed for that more casual, snack-happy, after-work crowd. You don't have to dig too deep to realise that Osteria Ilaria's got all the makings of another instant classic.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE: KISUMÉ
The simplest way to describe Kisumé, the luxe Japanese restaurant from lauded restaurateur Chris Lucas, may be this: three storeys of considered grandeur. Its design is impressive — a Chablis bar, a Kisumé Winewall, avant-garde art — and considered attention to detail travels throughout the three levels, from the menu down to the nifty coin-sized refreshment towels that entertainingly expand when you open them. In the kitchen, there's acclaimed Korean-born chef K. S. Moon. Known the world over for his innovative flair. Moon arrived fresh from his Singapore restaurant, Mikuni, armed with some serious certifications including as an international sake sommelier. And his knife skills are impressive. Raw fish dishes are all elegant and mostly restrained, allowing the quality of the (well-sourced) produce to speak for itself.
BEST NEW BAR
OVERALL WINNER: LONGSONG
If you believed the hype, Longsong was on track to being one of the year's best new bars long before it opened. Venture in to experience the final product and you'll be hard-pressed to disagree. A long time coming (it was first rumoured to open in November 2016), it's the latest venture from David Moyle of Hobart's Franklin. He has teamed up with Melbourne restaurateurs Lisa and John van Haandel to create a sibling venue, and upstairs neighbour, to their iconic mod-Thai haunt, Longrain. The kitchen offering is a celebration of simplicity — unfussy, but cleverly executed and more affordable than you might expect. The drinks situation proves just as tempting, whether you're in for a feed or not. Alongside all-Victorian lineups of both craft beer and wines by the glass, there's a handful of classic cocktails. There's no doubt that this one was well worth the wait.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE: TOKOSAN
Neon lighting, a 16-metre-long street art mural, a DJ and a karaoke room. Tokosan, an offshoot of top Sydney and Dubai fine dining establishment Toko, is more than just a bar. The pub-style Japanese menu features sticky grilled pork ribs with a jacket potato, Japanese-style chicken burgers and popcorn shrimp with spicy aioli. Ramen and udon noodle soups also make an appearance, as does sushi, and $20 all-you-can-eat Temaki Tuesdays (a type of hand-rolled sushi). Tokosan's cocktail list, named after Kill Bill characters, includes the gin, cucumber and passionfruit O-Ren Ishii, the Boss Tanaka with bourbon, apricot brandy and ginger ale, and the sake-infused Sofie Fatale.
BEST NEW CAFE
OVERALL WINNER: AU79
Au79 is the symbol (and atomic number) for gold on the periodic table, and it's the name of Abbotsford's new cafe. When you name your cafe after such a covetable metal, you're making quite the statement — and the team behind this ambitious eatery have certainly gone for gold in every aspect of its production. Previously an auto mechanic's garage, the 200-seat space has been radically transformed by Mim Design and now feels more like a large-scale conservatory or botanical garden fern house — it's loft and bright and filled with greenery. Executive chef Stephen Hogan worked closely with his kitchen crew to create a menu that reflects his imaginative approach to food. In addition to the kitchen there's also a bakery and patisserie run by ex-Rustica head baker Isaac Kane, and a roastery that looks after all the Au79 coffee. So you know that the cakes, tarts and breads are made in-house, as is house blend of beans from Brazil, Colombia and Guatemala.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE: BAD LOVE CLUB
Just like chocolate and peanut butter and croissants and coffee, cakes and cocktails seem like a match made in sweet-tooth heaven. Boozy bakery Bad Love Club certainly thinks so. The bakery has a pretty simple concept. During the day the focus is on coffee, bagels and oozy jaffles. When the sun goes down, the sugar levels go up with alcohol-infused desserts and dessert-inspired cocktails. The owners, Sarah Ryan and Damien Shaw, split the shifts according to their strengths. Shaw caters to the AM crowd serving up Profile Coffee, 5 and Dime bagels and experimental jaffles. Ryan takes over at night, serving up sweet treats and booze until the wee hours. The team is committed to using local produce with suppliers such as Zeally Bay Sourdough, Cobb Lane Bakery and Saint David Dairy on the roster. They also make the majority of the syrups and spirit infusions in-house.
BEST NEW PUB
OVERALL WINNER AND PEOPLE'S CHOICE: WATERSIDE HOTEL
The CBD's historic Waterside Hotel is in a new phase of its life in the hands of prominent pub group Sand Hill Road, who are behind the relaunches of Melbourne's Garden State, Prahran and Bridge hotels. The Waterside Hotel has been reimagined by the new owners as a multifaceted drinking and dining destination that nods to the past. A considered array of antiques, art and furniture sourced from across Europe lend plenty of personality. The ground floor spaces is the Ale House, a sprawling public bar with a focus on crafty American beers. It sits alongside the Doghouse, a US-inspired dive bar slinging hot dogs, tinnies and bottled cocktails, and an old-world dining space dubbed the Chophouse. The Waterside's crowning glory is a rooftop bar known simply as the Roof, boasting sprawling CBD views. This corner of the city is currently a little bereft of quality drinking dens, but the Waterside Hotel changes that.
BEST NEW EVENT
OVERALL WINNER: MAJESTIC HAWKER
Taking over an Abbotsford warehouse for two nights in July, Hank's Majestic Hawker pop-up saw an array of Singaporean dishes — including soy marinated chicken wings with chilli vinegar, sambal stingray served in banana leaf, rice noodles with Chinese sausage, fishcake and egg, and fried banana fritters with pandan coconut ice cream. Turns out Americans aren't the only ones who know their way around a charcoal grill. The chef in charge of the pop-up was none other than Alicia Cheong, who previously ran Hank's kitchen when they were based at the Mercat Cross Hotel. The pop-up was so successful that Fancy Hanks is bringing its stoveless concept back to Bourke Street permanently in the new year.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE: NOCTURNAL
This pop-up isn't at a pub, an underground club, or even some repurposed warehouse space. Nope, this event series is happening at a venue you've probably only ever seen in the light of day: Melbourne Museum. Launched in July, the first Friday of each month sees the museum's exhibition spaces transformed into after-dark playgrounds, as Nocturnal swaps the school-uniformed tour groups for crowds of music-loving partygoers. It has pop-up bars slinging cocktails, roving entertainers and spot talks from some of the museum's curators. Plus, plenty of killer tunes, with a main stage set up in front of the Forest Gallery.
BEST NEW SPACE
OVERALL WINNER: JACKALOPE
This Victorian boutique hotel takes a weekend on the Mornington Peninsula to a new level of luxury. Jackalope Hotel is smack-bang in the middle of the Peninsula's wine region in Merricks North, just next to Red Hill. The hotel is the 'passion project' of 28-year-old entrepreneur Louis Li, who worked with architecture firm Carr Design Group and Fabio Ongarato Design studio to design the hotel, which is his first. At the entrance to the hotel, guests are greeted by a seven-metre-tall sculpture of a Jackalope, the mythical horned rabbit of North American folklore the hotel is named after. The 46 rooms offer terrace or vineyard views, with their double-the-size 'lair' suites offering the best views in the house. Each room boasts floor-to-ceiling windows, private terraces and hand-crafted bespoke furnishings. If you're one for a good bath, the deep-soak, black Japanese tubs and exclusive Hunter Lab bath products will keep you utterly relaxed while you admire your fabulous self in the double vanities.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE: KISUMÉ
Kisumé, the luxe three-storey Japanese restaurant from lauded restaurateur Chris Lucas, is impressive. So impressive, you voted for it twice. The space, conceived by Australian firm Wood Marsh, unites sophisticated clean lines and a monochromatic palette of buffed metal and leather banquettes. The design doesn't scream Japanese restaurant, just cleverly hints at it, from the touches of red to Nobuyoshi Araki's provocative photographs of Japanese women. It has a Chablis bar, a wine wall, a sushi bar, restaurant and the Table — a 12-person dinner hosted by head chef K. S. Moon.