Overview
Champagne, cognac and caviar. This is what Melburnians can expect from an incredibly opulent new cocktail bar that's headed for the CBD next year named Nick & Nora's.
How do we know it will be opulent? Well, the bar is brainchild of the Speakeasy Group — the owners of cocktail classic Eau de Vie, Viking luxe bar Mjolner and whisky-serving Boilermaker House — for one. Secondly, like Mjolner, Nick & Nora's will be a Sydney import — the group opened its first Nick & Nora's in Sydney in October last year.
Like its Sydney counterpart, the venue is inspired by Dashiell Hammett's novel The Thin Man and its fictional crime-solving team Nick and Nora Charles. If you're not familiar with the book, expect a roaring 30s vibe befitting a most glamorous party — the 240-person venue will have five distinct spaces, three balconies, art deco finishes and a whopping 400 bottles of Champagne on display.
The latter will be housed in a climate-controlled display case and feature rare vintages alongside bubbles by the glass. For cocktails, the manual will be organised by taste — a Speakeasy Group signature — but with venue-themed list names like Femme Fatal, Hollywood Starlet and The Snitch. Think martinis, Champagne cocktails and sours aplenty.
Nick & Nora's Sydney, by Jiwon Kim.
Nick & Nora's will be located in the high-end restaurant precinct within the 80 Collins Street building that's currently under development and set to open in early 2020. It's shaping up to house some big hospitality names, with a highly anticipated new venue from Sepia's Vicki Wild and Martin Benn and a rooftop restaurant and urban farm from Pastuso's Alejandro Saravia already locked in.
The giant 80 Collins development is going up on the site of the heritage-listed Le Louvre building, on the corner of Collins and Exhibition Streets. The high-rise, along with a newly refurbished commercial tower on the same block, will boast a futuristic new office tower, a 255-room boutique hotel and a luxury retail offering alongside the hospitality precinct.
The Speakeasy Group — led by owners Sven Almenning and Greg Sanderson — is also doing things a little differently this time around. Instead of raising equity for future venues through private investors, the group has started a Birchal crowdfunding campaign for public investors — and over $870,000 has already been invested since it started last month. The campaign will run through April 4 and investments can range from $500–10,000. If you have the cash to splash, all new 'owners' will receive a VIP invite to the Nick & Nora's Melbourne opening night.
Nick and Nora's Melbourne will open in early 2020 at 80 Collins Street, Melbourne. Keep an eye on this space for updates.
Image: Nick & Nora's Sydney, by Jiwon Kim.