When you think of Brighton, you probably think of beach boxes, sunbathing and ice cream sangas, but this seaside suburb is so much more than just a summertime destination. Located alongside the beautiful bay in Melbourne's southeast, Brighton is a haven of local stores offering some of the city's best wares. Regardless of the season, there's always something to do. We've teamed up with American Express to encourage you to shop small and support local businesses. Below, you'll find ten shops and eateries that are helping make Brighton great. As a bonus, all of these businesses accept your American Express Card, so no need to worry about keeping coins in your boardshorts.
Tucked between soaring hotels and office buildings, Pepe's Italian & Liquor's faded red-brick facade and entangled coral tree are hard to miss on Exhibition Street. This heritage-listed spot was originally constructed as a synagogue in the mid-1800s, serving numerous purposes until 2007, when restaurateur Nick Kutcher transformed the site into Trunk. After 12 impressive years, it was time for a change, so Pepe's Italian & Liquor moved in with Italo-American cuisine. Now, the latest evolution is here, as Pepe's Parlour is ready to launch right next door. Conceived as a more casual sister venue, Pepe's Parlour is set to become a go-to lunch spot for hearty sandwiches, healthy plates and a stellar martini list. Plus, its after-dark ambience is bound to prove popular with cocktail-lovers. With the OG venue taking cues from New York's golden age — think burgundy banquettes and a 13-metre zinc-topped bar — Pepe's Parlour offers a similarly sophisticated old-world vibe that doesn't skimp on the colour or fun. "We wanted to create somewhere that feels special but never stuffy," says Kutcher. "By day, it's the perfect spot for a catch-up lunch that feels like an occasion. By night, it's all about martinis and good vibes — the kind of place where every occasion feels like a celebration." With Kutcher collaborating with local creative agency Projects of Imagination, the venue didn't miss the chance to highlight its most enchanting natural feature. Inside a glasshouse, beneath its 150-year-old coral tree, marble-topped round tables and green leopard-print garden chairs adorn a sunlit dining room. The interconnected martini bar brings a moody juxtaposition, featuring timber panelling, velvety bar seating and chic table lamps. Look up to find the domed ceiling covered in a striking tomato mural by renowned artist Jordy Van Den Nieuwendijk. Head Chef Antonio Loffredo has shaped a tight, elegant lunch menu in lockstep with the design. Ciabatta baked fresh daily in a custom brick oven forms the basis for a selection of Italian-style sandwiches, such as porchetta, eggplant parm and chicken cacciatore dip. Then, a pair of baked pastas — spicy vodka rigatoni, and baby ricotta and salami cannelloni — makes ordering simple. Meanwhile, six lunch plates balance a hero protein (or vegan-friendly option) with three sides, like cured Aperol salmon with half avocado and pistachio pesto green beans, and roasted eggplant with cashew cheese and charred broccolini. Once the day has passed, Pepe's Parlour shifts up the mood as it transforms into a martini bar. Sophisticated but approachable, lighthearted indulgence defines the drinks menu, with playful riffs on classic martini spin-offs like the pornstar, Mexican and appletini. There are signature options too, like the Jordy's Tomato, which pays tribute to the venue's mural by combining a classic martini with a subtle tomato flavour. With each drink served with complimentary nuts and olives, you're also welcome to order from Pepe's neighbouring restaurant menu. Timelessly chic, this CBD joint is a bellissimo choice for a martini-soaked afternoon or late-night meal.
Hotel Morris is an impressive design-led boutique hotel with a sense of warm, understated luxury as well as a fantastic wine bar Bar Morris. Hotel Morris is tucked away on Pitt Street in Haymarket not far from the best of Chinatown, the Sydney CBD, and Surry Hills. The heritage listed property first opened as a hotel in 1929 — a design showcase for architect Virgil Dante Cizzio's interpretation of the Inter-War Palazza style. It underwent a significant refurb before reopening in 2023, boasting beautiful new finishes and detail while maintaining the elegance of its historic Italian influence. The exterior has been refurbished to retain the original design, with a bold white and red sign proudly exclaiming 'Hotel Morris' out the front. Inside, art deco-leaning suites welcome guests with Jarrah wood accents and custom furniture that pays homage to the history of the building. Downstairs, the aforementioned Bar Morris continues the building's design with a sleek 40-seat space built around pink marble, velvet, leather, timber flooring, and vibrant flourishes of red.
A sister to the Prince Wine Store next door, Bellota Wine Bar brings elegance to the wine game. Hark back to the golden age of food and drink within the refurbished Victorian building and be prepared to temper any stresses of your day as you're welcomed by the warm and intimate space. It's clear that quality is where this wine bars interests lie, with small details littered throughout the space. The deep wood panelling and expansive marble bar highlight and complement the dazzling selection of produce on offer. With a comprehensive liquor selection on display, it goes without saying a changing selection of wines is available. Best of all, though, is your choice to endeavour by the taster, glass or carafe. This all-encompassing offering is suitably backed up by knowledgeable staff that will guide you through the selection process — or leave you to your own devices if you feel confident to go ahead. But be sure to listen up to what they have to say, because you may find the greatest of daily specials if you do. Also note that corkage is $15 or complimentary if you select a bottle over $80. The unashamedly European menu is well balanced. Catering wholeheartedly to whatever dining experience you desire, Brigitte Hafner of Gertrude Street Enoteca has injected sensibilities of both class and pleasing flavours. A careful selection of cheeses, charcuterie and salumi form the perfect foundation for a pre-meal aperitivo, while the bar snacks and antipasti selection are a little more substantial, such as the potato and onion tortilla with sliced Culatello di Parma ($10). If you feel like going the whole distance, mains are also suitably priced and distinct in combination, such as the tart with goat's cheese, leek and herbs ($15). For something a little closer to the full experience, the spaghetti with Berkshire pork meatballs cooked in tomato sugo ($18) is a rich and comforting choice. Sometimes all you want from a dining experience is for the staff on hand to be one step ahead of you at all times, and this is what Bellota Wine Bar achieves. With your needs met and exceeded, your mind is left free to relish la dolce vita — and that's definitely not a bad thing at all.
Holidays are only half the fun when you have to leave your best friend behind. But that problem is now a thing of the past: there's a whole new world of pet-friendly accommodation throughout Victoria where you and your pooch can both feel welcome. Whatever holiday you have planned, there are boutique city stays, swish little eco-cabins, historic country cottages and seaside luxury escapes to fulfil your travel yearning - with the pup in tow. And these pet-friendly accommodations in Victoria offer more than just a kennel out back. Expect a range of Fido-loving special features, like in-room pet menus, goodie bags, private gardens and even dedicated pup-sitting staff. Whether you're exploring East Gippsland, the Great Ocean Road, Mornington Peninsula, the Macedon Ranges, the Dandenongs or striking out along the Murray River, you can find warm, pet-friendly hospitality waiting. Recommended reads: The Best Hotels in Melbourne The Best Glamping Sites in Victoria The Best Dog-Friendly Cafes and Restaurants in Melbourne The Best Dog Parks in Melbourne Laneways by Ovolo, Melbourne Mention the Ovolo and watch your pooch prick up their ears - it's all about the perks, baby. You've heard of the renowned Ovolo service, but you might not know they offer a V.I.Pooch package to ensure your doggo has the same special treatment. Enjoy prime city-centre accommodation in one of Melbourne's trendiest hotels with free snacks, social hour drinks and gym access (the perfect balance). Your pup will have their own bag o' swag with special doggie treats and a dog bed, mat, food bowl and dog-sitting staff on hand for backup tummy rubs. There's no outdoor space, but the city is your playground: explore the CBD, run around Melbourne's dog-friendly parks or take a scenic wander along the Yarra River. Ocean Blue Coastal Retreats, Mornington Peninsula Got a group and some cash to burn? This five-paw accommodation is just the place for you and your pals (including the four-legged one) to get away from it all and experience the best that Mornington Peninsula has to offer. Ocean Blue Coastal Retreats has pet-friendly accommodations that include Blue Haven in McCrae and Shoreline Hideaway in Tootgarook (offering a seaside cottage dream right near the water), and the resort-style Glen Mor beach house in Rye, perfect for larger groups. All have a fenced outdoor area for puppy playtime. There's a brochure of local dog-friendly spots and off-leash areas - as well as complimentary biodegradable poop-scooping baggies - and a free sample of handmade doggy treats. You won't have to miss the Peninsula wine scene either, with a list of dog-friendly wineries and cellar doors to check out. Holly Lodge, Kalorama Reset, rewind and reinvigorate yourselves at Holly Lodge — one of the best pet-friendly accommodations in Victoria. The garden suite has a private outdoor area for the pup, as well as a bright, modern kitchenette and living space. Wake up in nature - but also with the luxury of your comfy queen-sized bed with gourmet breakfast bits. If you're travelling as a couple, you could book an extra special package with sparkling wine, massages, cheese platter, local spa treatments and dinner at a local restaurant. Or, if you came here to get into the green yonder, head to William Ricketts Sanctuary for the famous sculpture gardens, enjoy the seasonal blooms of the Alfred Nicholas Memorial Gardens, tackle the 1000 steps walk or drive up Mount Dandenong for the sweeping views. Blue Moon Cottages, Rye These rustic-chic cottages in Rye offer idyllic stays right by the sea. The two-bed Shell Croft and one-bed Sandpiper are the perfect weekend base camp to take advantage of the local wineries and picture-perfect seaside towns. Both cottages are decked out in natural timber and neutral tones, with kitchen amenities, a private fenced courtyard and entertaining area as well as a log fire for the all-important hygge. Shell Croft cottage also has a spa bath, for that extra touch of luxe. Bowls, towels and a kennel are provided, and the hosts will guide you towards the leash-free areas and dog-friendly venues nearby. QT, Melbourne At all QT Hotels & Resorts across Australia and New Zealand, your dog can come for a luxurious sleepover with you. The chain's Pup Yeah! fur-friendly stays include a night's accommodation for you and your doggo, an in-room menu specifically made for woofers and a pooch-friendly mini bar offering and designer canine bedding. The doggy food range is overseen by the brand's head of treats, Nic Wood, and might include steak tartare with raw beef, mushrooms and egg yolk; bone marrow risotto with bone broth and crispy pigs ears; and chicken livers and pork necks on wholemeal toast with chicken gravy. Fancy a pupper dessert? There's also a bacon ice cream sandwich, made from bacon ice cream, dried liver and oat biscuits. The team will also help guide you to all the best pet-friendly cafes and bars in the local area. Daysy Hill Country Cottages, Port Campbell Because every pup should have the chance to marvel at the Twelve Apostles. Daysy Hill's pet-friendly cottages and cabins are set amidst delightful gardens and acreage your pooch will adore. The glorious valley and sunset views from the private deck will have you itching to get into nature with your four-legged walking buddy. Set out along the Great Ocean Road or into the hills armed with the helpful Daysy Hill guide to the dog-appropriate areas of the parks and reserves. Fall in love with the simple life in your serene, tucked-away cabin retreat. If you feel like dining instead, Port Campbell is conveniently close by. Must Love Dogs B&B, Rutherglen The dog-friendly hospitality of this restored 1840 hotel goes above and beyond the luxury suite and fenced garden. After all, it's in the name, and they've got the official 5-paw rating to back it up. The Must Love Dogs B&B team help curate your perfect dog-friendly travel experience of the Rutherglen wine region, from doggo-babysitting services right down to pup-loving cellar doors and a 'history and wine tour' you both can enjoy. Start the day with a hearty, home-cooked breakfast in the heritage-listed dining room, then hit Albury for a slice of real country Victoria. If you're going off-the-beaten track, ask your hosts to pack a gourmet picnic and make your bushwalks a little more extra. Goat & Goose B&B, Lakes Entrance This charming guesthouse has offered old-school B&B hospitality to travellers for over 16 years. Expect all the warmth and comfort of a country welcome - scones with jam and cream, anyone? - as well as enviable views over the Bass Strait and Ninety Mile Beach. All rooms at the Goat & Goose are pet-friendly, just keep them on a lead in communal spaces. You can pick a room with a four-poster bed or vintage freestanding bathtub to sink into, or choose the Cosy Cubboodle with a private balcony, or Goose Nest with a skylight window so you can fall asleep stargazing. Awaken to the sound of native birds and a country breakfast before you get out to the nearby towns, beaches and parks. And, if you're heading up this way without your four-legged friend, then check out our list of the best waterfront stays to book in East Gippsland too. The Langham, Melbourne If your critter's within earshot and you're reading this aloud, you'd better whisper — if they hear it, you won't get any peace till you agree to a staycation at The Langham. Four-legged loves staying here get a dedicated Pet Room Service Menu as well as plush beds, signature Langham bowls, gourmet goodies and a pet gift bag on arrival. Reckon you might need a break from your utterly indulged friend? No problem. Pet sitting and walking services are on-hand. It also offers breakfast in bed for both you and your cat or dog (their private dining pet menu is damn impressive). They won't get pampered like this anywhere else, making this a clear front runner for the very best dog-friendly accommodations in Victoria. Sunraysia Resort, Mildura A rural getaway with a difference. Choose from one of Sunraysia Resort's self-contained two-bed or four-bed apartments, rent out the full house or, if your pup is up for it, you can sleep on the Murray River in a houseboat of your very own. Take your accommodation with you as you explore 100km of the Murray. This is no leaky tinnie: you'll be kicking back in a modern three-bed with a kitchen, living area, TV and even a spa. Dine on the top deck or weigh anchor and sail to Mildura for dinner. If you'd rather stay close by, you can hit the resort's poolside bar or bistro for some local wines and sample the best growing produce of the region. There's also tennis courts and mini golf on site – it is a resort, after all. Zagame's House, Melbourne Zagame's is more than just a stylish CBD base. They're a pup-pampering retreat for you and your fur-babies. That's right - Zagames permits not just one, but two doggos per room. You can bring your furry family along for the Melbourne getaway or city staycation you all deserve. You'll pick up a 'Treat yo fur-baby' goodie bag upon arrival - and they treat yo fur-baby OH-so right, with an in-room pet dining menu worthy of any trendy laneway cafe. Then you can hit the buzzing city streets together - or stay in and chill with the 'Furry movie of the month'. Glenview Retreat, Emerald Secluded country elegance awaits you at Glenview Retreat, a mere hour's drive from Melbourne. Unwind and indulge in the privacy of a self-contained cottage amidst serene bushland and wildlife. Relax beside a crackling fireplace or in a private, candlelit spa while the pup plays safely in your private garden. Complimentary wine and chocolates await, plus a self-catered gourmet breakfast. Plant-based? No problemo. They cater for you, too. Let them know you're bringing a four-legged guest and they'll make sure they don't miss out on the treats. It's a 10-minute walk from your cottage to Emerald Lake Park (pup will be thrilled), a 5-minute drive to restaurants and 30 minutes to the Dandenong Ranges. Plus, the nearby Puffing Billy Railway now runs the Puffing Billy Dog Express for pooches and their parents to enjoy this scenic route together. Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips in destinations all over the world. Top images: Zagame's House
If you want to sink bevs at a waterfront venue in the heart of Melbourne, you've come to the right place. Pilgrim is located at the historic Federation Wharf vaults in Melbourne CBD, making it an ideal spot to catch up with your mates while soaking in views of the Yarra River. On the menu you'll find seasonal share plates that are ideal for grazing on in the afternoon sun. For something bite-sized, try the charcuterie board piled high with wild boar salami, noix de jambon, bush chutney and baguette. If you're after something more substantial, there's a lamb rib bush curry with wild mint honey and saltbush and cured gin ocean trout with davidson plum, taro crisps, cream fraiche and sea succulents. The waterfront bar also specialises in gin tea cocktails. For something sweet and spicy, try the cocktail filled with gin and sweet chai spices. There's also an earl grey drink mixed with blood orange and wonderfoam and a refreshing chamomile concoction loaded with tropical fruits.
Dua Bakehouse, situated within the Collingwood Yards precinct, is a bakery that blends Southeast Asian flavours with European pastry techniques. Since opening in early 2025, the understated yet aesthetically pleasing bakery and cafe has garnered a loyal following of locals and visitors seeking out two-toned iced drinks and the famous fluffy shokupan. This is the second venue from chef and artist Raymond Tan, whose first cafe, Raya Bakery, brings Southeast Asian sweets to the CBD. Some of Raya's most popular creations include purple ube banoffee pie, kaya butter toast cake, miso black sesame chiffon cake and a Ribena butterpond cake. Dua Bakehouse welcomes customers with a brightly lit central bar and a spacious, light and airy seating area that feels calm and grounding. The warm space encourages slow mornings, long coffee dates and quiet conversation over a coffee and cake or a more substantial meal. A daily selection of cake slices, breads and pastries greets you when you enter, and may include the likes of chocolate fudge cake, chunky cookies and Scandinavian cakes with a signature Raymond twist. For example, a classic Scandi princess cake is given a Southeast Asian makeover with pandan in everything from the chiffon to the pastry cream and the marzipan. What sets Dua apart from Raya is its specialty breads. Shiopans — buttery, salted bread rolls — come filled with a selection of savoury and sweet options ranging from Chinese pork jerky with pork floss, to miso salmon with wasabi mayo cabbage, and even a take on a croque madame. A small dine-in menu features thick slices of airy shokupan served with butter and preserves, kaya toast with a runny egg, and brûlée french toast. In keeping with the trends, you can find matcha in all forms at Dua, such as a malted matcha strawberry iced drink, a matcha banoffee cream pie, and a doughy white chocolate and matcha cookie. Dua Bakehouse also specialises in heritage cakes and festive specials, such as for the Lunar New Year or the Mid-Autumn festival. Images: Supplied.
What do the Australian comedy scene, YouTube, international festivals, Netflix, wine and picture books all have in common? Aunty Donna have conquered them all. Here's another thing to add to that list: Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves. The Chris Pine (Don't Worry Darling)-, Regé-Jean Page (The Gray Man)-, Michelle Rodriguez (Fast & Furious 9) -and Hugh Grant (Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre)-starring film doesn't just bring of Stranger Things' favourite role-playing game back to cinemas — it does so in Australia with Aunty Donna among the cast. Since forming over a decade ago, the Aussie comedy troupe led by Zachary Ruane, Broden Kelly and Mark Samual Bonanno hasn't stopped making audiences laugh — in-person in Australia, online and around the world; while watching the side-splitting Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun; over a $30 bottle of wine literally called '$30 Bottle of Wine' and while flicking through Always Room for Christmas Pud. Later this year, they'll get folks giggling over their upcoming ABC sitcom Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe, too. But for now, playing corpses revived by Pine, awakening from their eternal slumbers to talk about century-old battles and cats, does the trick first. Aunty Donna are no strangers to Dungeons & Dragons. Back in 2017, on YouTube Channel Insert Coin, they gave D&D an Aunty Donna twist in a now-classic sketch — one that did for owlbears what 'Morning Brown' has for calling your wake-up cup of caffeine "morning brown". And, a couple of years back, they also endeavoured to create their own D&D monsters. How did those comic ties to Dungeons & Dragons lead to Aunty Donna playing undead in Hollywood's latest D&D flick, and the latest movie based on Hasbro's toys and games after the Transformers series, the GI Joe films, Battleship, Power Rangers and more? We chatted to Ruane, Kelly and Bonanno about their new on-screen stint, comedy goals, D&D podcasts, missing out on the first Fast and the Furious movie, visiting cemeteries, flatlining and getting buried alive. So, just a normal Aunty Donna chat, then. ON LIVING THE DUNGEONS & DRAGONS DREAM Zachary Ruane: "We'd talked about it at length. So, when we first got together as a comedy group, we made a list of goals. This was at a Starbucks in…" Broden Kelly: "Melbourne." Mark Samual Bonanno: "Southern Cross Station." Zachary: "We sat down and we had a list of goals. One of them was a comedy festival show. And on that list was 'if Hollywood ever moves towards a more IP-dependent business structure and Paramount teams up with Hasbro to reboot the Dungeons & Dragons franchise, we' — and this is on the list — 'we would like to do voice work for the Australian release of that film'. We didn't think it was going to happen. I'd pretty much given up on that dream. And then, when we got the call from Paramount, I wept." Mark: "You wept for days." Zachary: "I wept for days." Mark: "It was too much." Zachary: "It was a very emotional experience for me, because that was the final thing to cross off the list, you know — so a really big moment for me and for all of us in our careers." ON COMEDY'S FONDNESS FOR DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Broden: "When I started, I'd never played Dungeons & Dragons before. I only knew it as a board game from the 80s. But being in comedy, Dungeons & Dragons is constantly just adjacent to it. There's so many funny people doing podcasts about it. So if you're in the comedy world — I'd never played it but I've been on every podcast about Dungeons & Dragons. And what it is, it seems to be just a community of people who are very warm and welcoming, and it's a world where you can do everything and nothing's wrong, which is just really fun and cool. It nurtures creativity. It nurtures imagination. Even just from doing this, we've seen how warm that community is." Zachary: "I should say, the film isn't just for those fans. It's really for everyone. It's a romp, it's an adventure." Mark: "Well, it's not about people playing D&D, is it? It's a fun…" Zachary: "It's a romp." Mark: "It's a fun romp set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons. Owlbears..." Broden: "I didn't know an owlbear until I did that sketch, and now I feel ashamed that I didn't know an owlbear before." Mark: "Don't be ashamed!" Zachary: "We watched the film with a big Dungeons & Dragons fan, and she was telling us all the little references. She was saying 'oh, they got perfect and that right'. And then I was like 'that's so crazy' because that was her experience, but then for me who hasn't played it that much, I just had a great time. It's really funny and fun." ON HOW AUNTY DONNA CAME TO BE IN A DUNGEONS & DRAGONS MOVIE Broden: "Well." Zachary: "Well." Mark: "Well, they just kept knocking at our door until we said yes. [To Zachary and Broden] How many times did we turn them down?" Zachary: "We were initially offered the part of — Broden was offered the part that Chris Pine plays in the film, I was offered the Michelle Rodriguez part. Which is funny because I was also offered that part in the first Fast and the Furious film, and I turned it down. And if I had known what franchise would become — oh my goodness!" Mark: "Sometimes you just miss your shot with those kinds of things." Zachary: "Yeah, absolutely. [To Mark] And then you were up for which part?" Mark: "For every other part in the film." Zachary: "So it was going to be a three-hander." Mark: "Originally it was going to be a vehicle for Aunty Donna to promote our YouTube channel — and we were just like, 'we're so busy'. We were so busy. [To Zachary and Broden] What did we have on?" Broden: "A birthday party or something." Mark: "Yeah, we had a party, and we were going to do half a run at Edinburgh Fringe. A two-week run at Edinburgh Fringe." Zachary: "And then when they folded in the Dungeons & Dragons layer to it, because originally it was just a sketch series of ours, it just became a little too big for us. And we said 'you know what, I'm going to handball this to the real professionals over at Hollywood'. And you'll see the film, you'll see — you're going to have a great time." ON PREPARING TO PLAY CORPSES REVIVED BY CHRIS PINE Broden: "I went to a lot of cemeteries, and it didn't do the trick. So I went back with a shovel, and someone stopped me — but I was going to get in there and really…" Mark: "That was me. I was like 'Broden, if you start digging up corpses to play this role, for this role, even though I know that's under false pretences...'. [To Broden] Because you love robbing graves, don't you?" Broden: "Yeah. Yeah. You can't go back from that." Zachary: "We call him da Vinci. He loves robbing graves and drawing really intricate drawings of the bodies." Mark: "Oh and of flight machines." Zachary: "Like Leonardo da Vinci. Me, I flatlined. I did some flatlining, like the movie Flatliners starring Kiefer Sutherland. So I stopped my heart until I was through the tunnel, and then I was reanimated. So I was able to experience death and coming out of it. And I think you'll see that with the corpse when I go [groans and gasps loudly]. That's from a real place." Mark: "Perfectly recreated." Zachary: "Yeah." Mark: "Broden and I ended up — I just buried myself in my backyard, Broden came and dug me up. It was kind of like a role play." Zachary: "How apropos." Mark: "How apropos! [To Broden] And then did you get enough out of that Broden, that experience?" Broden: "Yeah, so we do that every Saturday morning now, where we…" Mark: "Chuck on Cheez TV." Broden: "Yeah, I'll bury Mark in a garden with a little straw out for air." Mark: "Yeah." Broden: "And then I'll dig him up." Mark: "It's just for lunch." Broden: "And then we'll go have lunch at a cafe, or…" Mark: "That's what Hollywood is so great for: bringing friends closer together." Zachary: "I don't flatline anymore. I discovered that there's a darkness in the other realm and I realised that I had to stop." Sarah Ward: "Just like the movie." Aunty Donna [in unison]: "Just like the movie." Check out the new Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves trailer below: Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves opens in cinemas Down Under on March 30.
There are few words as adored in Australian children's literature as seven penned by Alison Lester: "at our beach, at our magic beach". On the page, in one of the Aussie author and illustrator's best-known books, that phrase starts different descriptions of how a day by the waves can pan out. Here, swimming in the sparkling sea means seeing wild horses among the waves, however, just as digging in the sand conjures up dragons attacking castles. Gorgeous and transportive drawings both set the scene and take each on its fantastical journey — where rock pools are the entry to the kingdom of fish, stormy days bring treasure, fishing sparks quite a catch and more. Whether discovering it as a kid for the first time, or revisiting it as an adult sharing it with your own children or nieces and nephews, Magic Beach has always felt special, and also rung true in this nation girt by sea. It understands the joys of simply spending a day by the ocean, and the possibilities that doing just that can bring to young hearts and minds. Now, 35 years after initially hitting bookshelves, Magic Beach is also a movie. Making his third family-friendly film after Paper Planes and Blueback — and worlds away from the likes of Balibo, The Dry and Force of Nature: The Dry 2 — director Robert Connolly brings Magic Beach to a new medium as a creative mix of animation and live-action, and as a ten-segment anthology where kids, plus a dog, envision their own beach adventures after reading Lester's tome. Yes, Magic Beach as a movie is fittingly and wonderfully imaginative as ten animators take their cues from the book, then spin inventive stories. And yes, Magic Beach as a movie shot its live-action scenes at Lester's own magic beach. For Australia's first-ever Children's Laureate, that coastal spot is Walkerville South. Lester's own beach house was the base during the production, where the kids would arrive each day. Unsurprisingly, seeing her favourite patch of sand in the film is a source of joy for the author. "It's just a very warm, fuzzy feeling that a place that I've loved for so long, and then written this book about, that it's been turned into a beautiful movie," Lester tells Concrete Playground. What makes this location about two and a half hours out of Melbourne a magic beach? "I think my parents used to go to that beach before I was born, and then I was taken there as a baby. We used to stay at a friend's house for a long time, and then an old house came up for sale and mum bought it, when I think I was eight. And so since then we've always had this place that we go to," Lester continues. "I hardly ever go to other beaches because I always go there. It's just like that's where we're going for summer. I think the whole family has that feeling, that the minute you walk into the house all of worries and tensions drop away — and you're like 'aaah, here we are, we're at this beautiful place'." Even if you haven't ever specifically thought about it, we all have a magic beach or equivalent. "It's interesting, isn't it, your own childhood. I grew up in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney, so I was inland, and so for me there were little rivers that I would swim in. I was not coastal," advises Connelly. "Then we as a family, like a lot of Australian families, would go to the beach and stay in a caravan park. There was Terrigal, north of Sydney. But if I think more significantly in my life, when I was in my late teen years, the more-complicated teenage years when I was finishing school, I used to always get the train down to the Royal National Park south of Sydney, and I'd walk on my own into a little beach called Burning Palms. I'd camp on my own for a couple of days just to decompress, and swim in the ocean down there on my own. So that's probably the closest, if I think of the most-significant one in my life, because was very formative. But not when I was a little kid, because when I was a little kid, I was in the bush." "There's something about water, isn't there? And the threshold of diving into the water when you're little," Connolly also notes. His latest film, which he came to after fellow filmmaker Sarah Watt (My Year Without Sex) was initially set to direct before her death in 2011, deeply understands that feeling. It's committed to heroing what youthful minds dream up, too, and the sensation of being by the shore. We also chatted with Lester and Connolly about how the film came about, and its animated segments; ensuring that the book wasn't just a source of inspiration; their collaboration; giving the picture a wave-like rhythm; why Magic Beach has endured with generations of readers; and much more. On Magic Beach's Journey to Finally Becoming a Film Robert: "Sarah Watt, the amazing filmmaker behind Look Both Ways and My Year Without Sex, was developing it with Alison. And I worked with Sarah, who sadly is not with us anymore, but she introduced me to Alison — and we were collaborating together on it. It's so crazy, isn't it? The gestation period for projects, you can't pick it. Some films happen quickly and some take a long time. But I think my first involvement was over ten years ago. So that's quite a journey." Alison: "Well, it's been a very long journey and a very meandering journey, because when Sarah and I got together, we really loved working together and hanging out together. So a lot of times when we're supposed to be working, we'd just be hanging out and having a nice time. And then when Robert took the project over — and Sarah was in the same boat, they're both so in-demand and so successful that they always had other projects going on so. Robert and I laugh, at every Christmas he used to give me a phone call and say 'oh, hi Alison, can we have it for another year?'. And I go 'yeah, yeah, sure, it'll happen eventually'. I think we all had other things to go on, and Magic Beach was just simmering away in the background. And in a way, probably having that time was a good thing for it to finally turn out the way it did, where it wasn't rushed." Robert: "Yeah, that's true. It took a while to work out the way to tell the story of the film, to find a really unique way to tell that beautiful book as a film. So it didn't come quickly as an approach." On Whether Lester Ever Thought That a Magic Beach Movie Would Happen Back When the Book Was First Published 35 Years Ago Alison: "No, I never imagined it. It didn't cross my radar at all. I would have been happy if it had had a couple of print runs — and that's the other thing, it's still going as a book after all this time, which is really lovely." On Connolly's First Introduction to the Book — and Adding It to His Lineup of Family-Friendly Movies Robert: "I read it to my children. My daughters are 22 and 20 now, but I read Magic Beach and a whole bunch of other books of Alison's to my children when they were really little. And it was interesting, once I had kids, I started broadening my career. I did the film Paper Planes, and that was my first family film and I just fell in love with the idea of making films for younger people. And it was just a really attractive part of my career. The audience for Paper Planes was more primary school, and the audience for Blueback was more high school, but I have this fascination with that early-childhood phase, when I feel like children are the smartest they ever are. It's the most creative, imaginative stage, where they haven't learned any rules yet. And I love that audience, and so it just felt like an inevitable journey, really, for me to go on. Then it took me a while, actually. After we lost Sarah, I found it really hard to come back to the project for a while. I think we were all very sad. But the joyful spirit of Sarah's work and her own creativity is in this film. Her mischievous, cheeky, deeply humanist sensibilities are something that I think Alison and I see in the film that we've made." On Whether Lester Had Any Set Ideas About What the Film Should Be — and How Its Anthology Structure Came About Alison: "No, no, not really. I definitely didn't want it to be a kind of forced narrative where there was an evil developer who was going to build a hotel on the beach and that kind of forced thing. Other than that, I really trusted Sarah and Robert to do what they're so good at." Robert: "It was interesting initially. The animations came first, and so we invited — my producing partner Liz Kearney, who did Memoir of a Snail recently, and Chloe Brugale, who were working with me at the time — we just set on this journey to find ten animators, and invite them to respond to a different one of the kids and the dog, as it turned out in the film, and create their own work. So that was the step, and that's where the film began. So the live-action came second, which is really interesting — because once we have these beautiful animations, you can imagine what it was like when we were getting these beautiful, extraordinary, exquisite creative works delivered to us, it was like 'well, how do we stitch it together? How do we now create an overarching narrative for it? What's that going to look like?'. And that took a while, but we wanted to keep the spirit of what was so special and incredible about the book, and how the book allows young people to fill the blanks — like it really allows it, it doesn't fill everything in. So we needed it to keep that imaginative spirit of the book, which is where that idea of having this documentary footage of children, that then opens up into the magical world of the beach and then into the animation. It's these three layers of the film. So it was a real journey, but I'd love you know I loved? We had no rules — we kept trying new things, even in the edit we had no rules." Alison: "It's like that Spike Milligan thing: 'there's no plan, so nothing can go wrong'." Robert: "That's right. That's exactly right. I love that it's a film for little kids, and it's probably the most rule-breaking film that I've ever done, which is something young kids would really appreciate." On How the Narratives for Each Animated Segment Came About Robert: "I didn't want to restrict them. I wanted them to feel that freedom of childhood and their response to the book, so I gave them almost no rules, except that they had to choose a child and a section of the book, and then create their own work in their own style, which is something that Sarah had been really keen about, and Alison and I discussed. So in some ways it becomes a response — a love letter to the book and to the beach for each of those ten animators in their own style." Alison: "And they all rose to the occasion incredibly, didn't they?" Robert: "Yeah, yeah. You think of the different styles — and they're all very personal to each of the animators. Each of the animators can talk very much about their own response to the beach." On the Importance of the Book Not Just Inspiring the Film, But Being Part of the Film — Including Kids Reading and Responding to It Robert: "That was a real choice that came quite late — and I don't even know if we'd made that decision till after the animations. I think because I didn't quite know how the live-action was going to work. It could have been a story, it could have had more of a narrative structure. And then it was the idea of looking at the animations: 'well, what if we actually take real kids and let the book trigger them to imagine being at the beach as a character in the book, and then the beach itself triggers the imagination of the animation?'. I think actually that idea of them all reading or being exposed to the book in some form came after the animations, actually." Alison: "Quite late, yes. And as the author of the book, for me that is such a buzz just to see the movie built around the book and to have the illustrations up there on the big screen. It's really, really beautiful." On How Lester and Connolly Collaborated on the Movie Robert: "It was fun. We actually made the film on the magic beach. We had a small crew and this beautiful group of kids, and every day we the kids would all turn up at Alison's house, which is in the book as well and looks out over the magic beach — and Alison was staying there at the time, and the kids would turn up and say 'hi, Alison!'. And Bigsy the dog would be walking around. And they'd get in their costumes have breakfast, and then we'd all walk down to the beach and film. And then Alison would come down. I loved the collaboration of that. One of my favourite bits of that is that in one of the beautiful pictures in the book, there's a mobile hanging on the wall, when the kids are in bed, and it's got all different shells and things from the beach — and I just asked Alison if she could make one, and she made one and brought it down, and it wasn't even scripted where we'd use it. And that's the beautiful sequence when Riley, the young deaf girl, wakes up on the beach and touches it. So they're not scripted, but something that between Alison and I and the crew, and all being there on the beach, we improvised into life." On Whether Shooting on Lester's Actual Magic Beach Was Always a Given Robert: "No, actually. We weren't sure. At one point, I wondered if all of the kids' stories should be on a different beach." Alison: "Yeah, I remember that." Robert: "Or I thought maybe 'what if each of the nine kids had their own imagination on a different beach?'. But it felt that way you'd lose the spirit of collaboration. I like that one kid wakes up and they're on the beach and they're like 'where am I?', and then the second kid. And then there's two kids, and then they play together, and then the next kid turns up. So there's this idea that the children build a community. So that at the end, when they're all running down to the water and running across the water, that all of the kids are united together. Also it's so beautiful, it felt like going to the real magic beach would be a real treat for audiences as well, with love of the book, that they can see the film and go 'this is the real magic beach'." Alison: "And it all comes together, I think, too, doesn't it — when there's so many different things going, to have that constant of the beach where you can see quite clearly that it is the same place, even though they're different locations within the beach." Robert: "Yeah." On Giving the Film a Rhythm That Resembles the Waves, Washing in and Out of Each Segment Robert: "I'm so glad you picked that up." Alison: "Yeah, me too." Robert: "Because I remember talking to Maria Papoutsis, who edited it for me, and we talked a lot about that — that idea that you don't necessarily want things to be angular in how they're edited. You want it to feel like you're moving from scene to scene and moment to moment. The thing I love about watching the ocean, it's like watching a fire, a campfire — it's the same but it's infinitely different. I'm glad you picked that up. And also something I talked to Briony Marks about, with the music, she did the overarching composition with percussion. It's all percussion, marimbas and vibraphones. And this idea of not trying to be tight and angular and precise, which is what we get so used to now — highly structured cinema that's highly formed — and wanting it actually to have a rhythm that's a bit surprising. And they're different. The dynamic shape of the film was — actually, a lot of time was spent on trying to work out what order to put the animations. We tested different orders and then played it to kids, and then changed the order a bit, and then played it to kids again." On Why Readers Love Magic Beach So Much, and Have Since the 90s Alison: "I can't remember how I came up with that 'at our beach, at our magic beach', but I think it is a really lovely intro into each. So there's that rhythm of the text, which I think is very gentle and easy to read. And often people are reading those books late at night to their kids or they're tired and it's like 'oh my god, give me something easy to read' — and it does flow really nicely. But I think so many of us love the beach and we understand that experience of just going to beach in a really uncomplicated way, where you just go and see what's there. I think that the thing Robert talked about a little while ago, too, is that there's a lot of room in that book for your own imagination. You see what the kids are doing, but you don't know their names or anything like that, and it's not very specific, so you can easily be part of that book. So I think it's partly that a lot of families would recognise themselves in the book. And just the flukiness of why people like a book. I'm always so chuffed that the creative things I do often resonate with people, and I don't know that you can control that. It's just the luck of the draw really." On What Appeals to Connolly About Jumping Between Family-Friendly Films and the Likes of Balibo and The Dry Movies Robert: "Some filmmakers wonderfully stay in their own lane of genre, and they have become renowned for it — and some of my favourite filmmakers are like that. But there are great inspirations to me, like the Australian filmmaker Peter Weir, who worked in so many different genres across an impressive career. And I feel like, and what I hope, is that each film in some way follows that tradition of cinema almost being a microscope into the human condition. It's like every film looks somewhere into some aspect, like if Magic Beach looks into the deep, profound side of childhood at the beach and the way the natural world inspires creativity, a film like Balibo is very different because it looks into the power of individuals to act ethically and their leadership as a way to lead their country to freedom. So they're very different films, but I hope in some ways that my films always apply that rigour, so if you look at them collectively, I'd like to think that they're a body of humanist cinema about who we are and how we live and how we relate. But it's also fun. It's fun to swing. It was funny, though, when I was trying to finance Paper Planes, it was my first film after Balibo. And one of the investors who turned it down was like 'how in god's name are we going to market the film? Paper Planes, a film for the whole family from the director of Balibo? It's not going to work.' But I did have a kid come up to me with their youngest sibling at one of the screenings we had on the weekend, and the kid was a bit older going 'oh my god, I've seen Paper Planes so many times' — and they were bringing along their three-year old little sibling to see Magic Beach. So I have got a fanbase with young kids as well now, you see." Magic Beach opened in Australian cinemas on Thursday, January 16, 2025.
If you're a perennial re-watcher of the all-timer Christmas classic Love Actually?, you may or may not already be aware of the musical stage adaptation that's getting ready to hit Australia's east coast. After a swathe of nationwide auditions, the production has announced not one but three casts of performers for shows in NSW, VIC and QLD. They've broken past the typical range of stage veterans and hired everything from impressionists and stand-up comedians to musical veterans and internationally touring artists — the producers call it "pure festive chaos". The Sydney cast includes Ellis Dolan (The Rocky Horror Show 50th Anniversary Tour, School of Rock), Tommy James Green (The Fox and the Hunter, Scratch), Hamish Pickering (Hello, Asteroid), Gracie Rowland (Josephine Wants to Dance), Bash Nelson (Once on This Island) and Brittany Morton (Into the Woods). In Melbourne, audiences will see Mitchell Groves (Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical), Belinda Jenkin (Friends! The Musical Parody), Jeremy Harland (A Zoom Group Project: The Musical), Ian Andrew (Midnight: The Cinderella Musical), Sophie Loughran (50 Shades of Grey — The Musical Parody), and Massimo Zuccara (Opera Australia's West Side Story). Brisbane's production features Dylan Hodge (Legally Blonde The Musical), William Kasper (Rate of Decay), Benjamin Hambley (Godspell), Nicole Kaminski (Urinetown), Stephanie Beza (Chicago), and multi-award-winning Gold Coast actor Ashton Simpson (Romeo & Juliet). "This show is like Christmas dinner after a few too many champagnes — loud, ridiculous, and way too much fun," said Associate Producer Ashley Tickell. The show follows nine quirky couples as they chase love across London, sending up the cult 2003 rom-com with tongue-in-cheek songs such as "He's The Prime Minister of Rom Coms" and "Keira Knightley Actually". Written by the creators of Friends! The Musical Parody, the production promises a night of high-energy laughs for audiences aged 15 and up. Love Actually? The Musical Parody first premiered in Australia in 2024 to rave reviews, hailed as "fabulously hilarious and laugh out loud entertainment" (Musicals Reviewed) and "a surefire way to get into the festive spirit" (Toorak Times). With its cheeky humour, catchy songs, and irreverent take on one of the most beloved Christmas films of all time, the show promises to be the ultimate untraditional holiday tradition. As Tickell puts it: "Whether you love Love Actually, love to hate it, or have never even seen it, you will actually love this musical." 'Love Actually? The Musical Parody' will play at Sydney's Darling Quarter Theatre from November 27 to December 23, followed by Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre from December 5–23 and Brisbane Showgrounds from December 11-21. Tickets start at $69 via loveactuallymusicalparody.com.
Humans spend roughly a third of their life sleeping. Aside from the occasional drunken night or camping trip, most of this sleeping is done in a bed. So why, then, are such important objects in our lives often so commonplace and dull? Beds can be used to express our inner self, to represent our deepest loves or simply help us wake up and get going in the morning. Here are 20 of the most creative and eccentric designs that are sure to put a smile on your face. 1. The Stand Up Bed Thanks to this novel bed, which resembles a large vertical bean bag, sleeping while standing is apparently very possible. 2. The Floating Bed This magnetically charged floating bed by Janjaap Ruijssenaars not only looks incredibly chic and contemporary, but also would make it very hard for any monsters to hide underneath it. 3. The Rocking Bed The 'Private Cloud' is a a patented rocking frame designed by Manuel Kloker, which will be sure to lull you into a serene sleep every night. 4. The Sonic Bed Kaffe Matthew's Sonic bed probably isn't exactly designed to provide a good night's sleep, created with 12-channel surround sound speakers encased around the edges to cover every cell of your body with musical beats. 5. The Forest Bed For those who want to have a sense of being out in the wild whilst remaining in the comfort of their own bed, this exotic wooden bed would be the one for you. 6. The Safe Bed This 'Quantum Sleeper' is the ultimate in protection for those paranoid about the threat of natural disasters, terrorist attacks, kidnappers or any variation therein. 7. The Starfish Bed Known as the 'Hold Me Bed', this structure will ensure that you overcome those restless nights of tossing and turning because, well, you won't be able to move a muscle. 8. The Hay Bed Some people have such an affinity for hay they simply want to be surrounded by it when awake and asleep. 9. The Yin and Yang Bed If you believe you've found your absolute soulmate but can't handle sleeping next to them for whatever reason, perhaps this next bed will provide the solution to your problems. 10. The Sandwich Bed You are what you eat, right? 11. The Hammock Bed Everybody loves the tranquil and relaxing sensation induced by the gentle swinging and folding of a hammock. 12. The Pull-Down Bed If you are crammed for space due to a small apartment or want another handy spare bed that doesn't waste the space of a whole room, then this innovative and nifty pull-down bed is the way to go. 13. The Molecular Bed Scientists, sportspeople or ball-lovers will be sure to enjoy this bed made of 120 soft and pleasant balls. 14. The Cinderella Bed Perfectly suited to little princesses with large imaginations and a love for fairytales. 15. The Foetal Position Bed This bed doesn't leave much margin for movement - that is unless you want to end up snuggling up with the floorboards. 16. The Bird Nest Bed This large pit of soft pillows encased in a brown, nest-like structure is a novel way to help kids nod off to sleep. 17. The Geometric Bed If you want to keep the brain cells flowing even when getting some shut-eye, perhaps this bed with a modern geometric structure attached to it is the perfect way to achieve just that. 18. The Brush Bed This bed looks like it would be jabbing uncomfortable protrusions from every angle. 19. The Book Bed Let imaginations soar with this creative life-sized book that also doubles as a bed. 20. The Napping Pod Cure that threethirtyitis by grabbing a quick nap in one of these high-tech napping pods.
Swinging into Melbourne Park or Kooyong this summer? Add a sky-high tennis destination to your plans, as QT Melbourne launches the Rooftop Racquet Club. Running from Thursday, January 8–Sunday, March 1, this sun-soaked vantage point will pair rallying energy with a little rooftop glamour, dovetailing with one of Melbourne's great summer cultural events. As such, the creative crew behind QT Melbourne have transformed the space into something more than a sporting arena. Bringing a fresh twist on the members-only tennis club vibe, guests encounter icy palomas and margaritas poured with Altos Tequila, alongside Mexican-inspired grazing platters loaded with stacked crispy tortilla chips, pico de gallo and tequila-infused avo dip. If you're keen to grab your racquet and crisp whites, a pop-up pickleball court invites would-be champions to compete against their pals or perhaps the table right next door. Plus, the atmosphere ramps up further on Fridays and Saturdays from 6pm–late and Sundays from 3–6pm, with DJs guiding guests to sunset and beyond as you serve up aces. You can also win at the bar; just purchase three event cocktails in one transaction to score a limited-edition Rooftop Racquet Club cap. "Rooftop Racquet Club is about capturing that post-game buzz — the moment where sport turns social and the afternoon stretches effortlessly into night," says QT Melbourne General Manager, Kristen Foat.
Its name might be a playful reference to its Brunswick East location, but that's not stopping long-running locals' haunt The B.East from expanding the family and opening a second outpost, this time in the heart of Fitzroy. Launching this Tuesday, February 18, The B.East of Brunswick Street is the latest venture from hospitality crew Cast of Falcons, who also brought you hits like Section 8, Globe Alley and Radar. It's set to dish up the same burger-heavy food offering and raucous, rock 'n' roll vibes as its sibling, though with a few twists and surprises to suit its new northside home. Taking over the two-storey corner space most recently home to short-lived vegan joint Henry's, this new edition of The B.East will be serving up a hefty lineup of burgers and sides, with plant-based options galore. You'll spy fan favourites like the southern fried chicken-loaded Clint Beastwood and the Filthy — a beef smash patty teamed with cheddar, house-made chilli paste, pickles and jalapeño aioli — alongside a handful of exclusive new creations. Vegan burger fiends can get excited for the likes of the mock fried chicken Bam Bam Buffalo number, and the Ad-Rock, featuring a Moving Mountains patty, maple facon, vegan cheddar, mustard and hickory barbecue sauce. The food is backed by a lineup of craft beers, local wines and fun cocktails. While the OG Lygon Street venue boasts a jam-packed program of live tunes, the music focus at Fitzroy will instead be DJ-driven. Regular crowd-pullers like trivia nights and competitions are also on the cards, with more details to drop later. We're crossing our fingers that new The B.East venue lasts a little longer than its Brunswick Street predecessors — in the space of just a few years, the site has been home to San Churro, US-inspired burger bar Chiquito & Co and Henry's, to name a few. Find The B.East of Brunswick Street at 275 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, from Tuesday, February 18. It'll be open from 11am–11pm daily. It's also kicking things off in style with some hefty opening weekend celebrations from February 20 to 23. Swing by for guest DJs, food and drink specials, giveaways and even a beer pong tournament. Top images: The B.East Brunswick East
When 2019 rolls to a close, more than 550 films will have screened in Australasian cinemas across the entire year. That's a huge amount of movies — enough to send you to your favourite picture palace almost twice a day. But unless watching films is your actual job, you probably don't have the time (or stamina, willpower or eagerness to basically live in a darkened room) to see anywhere near that many flicks. So, you prioritise. And, based on 2019's box office tallies, that means that most folks see all the big titles. This year, it seems that absolutely everyone caught a session of Avengers: Endgame, The Lion King, Captain Marvel, Joker and Aladdin. Plenty of cinemagoers spent some time with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, Yesterday and Alita: Battle Angel, too. Excellent movies such as Us and Hustlers also found a crowd. Terrible flicks like Men in Black: International and The Angry Birds Movie 2 did as well. And, although it actually first hit cinemas at the beginning of November 2018 (and ranked fourth in last year's box office), Bohemian Rhapsody still currently sits 15th in terms of ticket sales in 2019. While you were watching all of the above flicks (or watching Bohemian Rhapsody again, apparently), you might've missed some of 2019's smaller gems. They're the movies that weren't plastered all over billboards, didn't spend weeks and months on every screen around town, and you could've blinked and missed them. Thankfully, they all still exist — and we've compiled a rundown of the films that rank among the year's best, but you might not have seen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMs28A1s1OA BORDER Rarely has a movie felt as unique, engrossing and electrifying as Swedish film Border, the sophomore feature from Iranian-Danish writer/director Ali Abbasi. Based on a short story by Let the Right One In author John Ajvide Lindqvist, this constantly surprising horror- and fantasy-tinged drama sifts through the life of customs agent Tina (a phenomenal Eva Melander), who is especially suited to her job thanks to her special ability: due to a chromosome flaw, she can smell what people are feeling. When the mysterious Vore (Eero Milonoff) passes through her checkpoint, his scent sets her nostrils ablaze with curiousity. This isn't an unconventional meet-cute in a quirky rom-com, though. In a film that saunters into dark genre territory with a purpose, Border savvily draws on myth, sci-fi and body horror to explore societal limits, the concept of otherness and the search for identity that plagues us all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwJ5LDOl2Tc ACUTE MISFORTUNE If Adam Cullen had been any other artist and Erik Jensen any other journalist, Acute Misfortune may not exist. In 2008, the former invited the latter to stay with him, see him at his best and worst, and channel his life story into a biography — and, as dramatised by actor-turned-filmmaker Thomas M. Wright, the results are blistering. Just as Jensen didn't shy away from Cullen's erratic, frequently controversial nature, nor does this stunning drama, which could never be accused of being a straightforward biopic of the Archibald-winning painter. Aided by stellar performances by Daniel Henshall as Cullen and Toby Wallace as Jensen, as well as a script by co-written by the real-life Jensen, this is a warts-and-all portrait that lays bare not only its subject, but Australia's fascination with festering masculinity, and it's a lively and compelling watch from start to finish. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VTFLvLtdYw SKATE KITCHEN Crystal Moselle's first and second films shouldn't share as much in common as they do. With documentary The Wolfpack, the American filmmaker stepped inside a Manhattan apartment inhabited by a homeschooled family, who learned about the wider world by watching and re-enacting movies. With the fictional Skate Kitchen, she glides across New York's streets with the titular all-female skate crew — and it still feels like she's entering a rarely seen realm. That's partly this equally expressive and naturalistic drama's point, as it conveys through the story of 18-year-old Camille (Rachelle Vinberg), a Long Island teen who finds the part of herself she's been missing when she joins Skate Kitchen. A flame-haired Jaden Smith also pops up as one of the boys in the crew's orbit, but this film belongs to its fantastic real-life skater cast, and to the fiercely female perspective it champions. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amB2Ol6wihg HAIL SATAN? Hail Satan? isn't trying to recruit new members to the Satanic Temple, but that might happen anyway. Exploring satanism beyond the usual horror movie trappings, filmmaker Penny Lane crafts engaging and amusing documentary about a controversial group endeavouring to subvert the societal status quo in a broader sense. Yes, goat horns, fetish outfits and heavy metal all feature, but this is primarily a chronicle of concerned citizens speaking out against the the current political climate. They're fighting for true freedom of belief, which doesn't just mean enshrining discriminatory and oppressive conservative Christian values — a topic of particular relevance in Australia at present. They're also battling religious-motivated hate, championing equality and rallying against injustice in general, like any other social activist group. As seen in this sympathetic but illuminating film, that's the kind of satanic panic that many could get onboard with. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTh4uTFWPeg THE THIRD WIFE For her impressive directorial debut, Vietnamese-born filmmaker Ash Mayfair delves into her ancestry. The story: the arranged marriage of a 14-year-old girl to an already twice-wed wealthy landowner, with the late-19th century-set tale drawing its details from Mayfair's own family history. In rural Vietnam, and in the life and experiences of May (Nguyen Phuong Tra My), The Third Wife unpacks the minutiae of a patriarchal system that treats women like property — all as its protagonist is told she must bear her husband a son, and strives to find what little contentment she can in her new life. Favouring lush imagery over dialogue, this is a moving and ravishing film not only aesthetically, but in the simmering emotions clearly felt by May and the other languishing ladies around her. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TslErMXUBp4 HAPPY AS LAZZARO At first, Happy As Lazzaro seems straightforward — venturing to a traditional Italian estate, following the interplay between its tobacco farm workers and the arrogant aristocracy who decide their fates, and doing so in both a poetic and naturalistic manner. The film's eponymous figure, the kindly and caring Lazzaro (Adriano Tardiolo), stands out from his agitated rural brethren by virtue of his good-natured demeanour; however writer/director Alice Rohrwacher appears content to watch him navigate the sometimes ordinary, sometimes exaggerated struggles of feudal life. Then, in a twist that needs to be seen to be believed, this Cannes Best Screenplay winner changes. Making a connection with modern-day life, the wry film cements its status as a parable. Equally surreal and astute, the end product is one of the most distinctive films of this and many other years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zch4VPKGBwU ISLAND OF THE HUNGRY GHOSTS Despite its festive name, Christmas Island has been splashed across Australia's news headlines for all the wrong reasons. For much of the 21st century, it has been one of the places where those fleeing hostilities and seeking asylum have been housed — amid protests, controversies, closures and, this year, the re-opening of its Immigration Reception and Processing Centre. In a potent, haunting blend of fact and recreation that proves far more effective than a straightforward documentary, Australian filmmaker Gabrielle Brady ponders the impact of the site and its purpose on those who call it home. Trauma counsellor Poh Lin Lee draws the film's focus, with her discussions with detained refugees, her daily life, her family, the island's migrating crabs and its history all playing a part in this compassionate, deservedly acclaimed movie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwgUesU1pz4 UNDER THE SILVER LAKE After working horror fans into a frenzy with It Follows, David Robert Mitchell opted for a neo-noir black comedy for his next film. A thematic companion piece to similarly sprawling, spiralling, slacker-focused California-set fare such as Inherent Vice and The Big Lebowski, Under the Silver Lake hones in on aimless 33-year-old Sam (Andrew Garfield), who stumbles upon several mysteries. Murdered pets, his alluring new neighbour (Riley Keough), a missing billionaire and an underground zine series about local neighbourhood legends all rate a mention in this deliriously labyrinthine movie, as do Hollywood history and ominous conspiracies. Mitchell's technical game is pitch-perfect, as evidenced in both the film's vibrant images and intoxicating score, with every element inviting audiences along for a wild and rewarding ride. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLIQABWm2mg FINKE: THERE AND BACK The past few years have been memorable for Dylan River. The Alice Springs filmmaker directed Robbie Hood, the delightful SBS web series; was the cinematographer on rousing Adam Goodes documentary The Australian Dream; and worked as the second unit director on Sweet Country, which was helmed by his father Warwick Thornton. He also wrote, directed and shot Finke: There and Back. While the iconic Finke Desert Race is the kind of event that you're either into or you're not — it's a rough, tough, two-day off-terrain trek through central Australia's dust and dirt via motorbike and car, and it's been known to cause casualties — this insightful documentary is for everyone. Through intimate interviews and striking on-the-ground footage, River follows the competitors before and during the race, telling their tales while exploring a difficult feat from the inside. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=322NzXR3n4o LORDS OF CHAOS According to Euronymous (Rory Culkin), Norway is known for "seal clubbing and a very high suicide rate". If that sounds far from cheery, then this simultaneously dramatic and comic true crime tale won't be for you. Fictionalising a spate of murders and church burnings in the early 90s, Lords of Chaos spends time with the bleak-minded guitarist and his bandmates as they scream and thrash their way through the Norwegian black metal scene, shaping its early days as they go along. History dictates that this is an incredibly dark story, and director Jonas Åkerlund — an ex-Swedish black metal rocker himself — doesn't shy away from its violence. That said, he firmly recognises that he's following wannabe rebels looking for any cause they can find. Åkerlund also made the abysmal straight-to-Netflix John Wick clone Polar, but with Lords of Chaos, he tackles a grim story with both brutal style and weight.
Your brain knows it as well as your stomach: food tastes a certain way after midnight. And that way is generally very good. Something happens to your tastebuds (and appreciation for food) after a night out. One minute, you're happily wandering up Swanston Street on your way to get a tram home, and the next, you're hit with a craving for noodles or dumplings. Or you're suddenly incapacitated in the middle of Lygon Street with a need for pizza or pasta. Instead of doing a futile (and probably ineffective) search through Google Maps when you're after the best Melbourne restaurants and bars for late-night eats, bookmark this page to come back to when hunger strikes. We see you and your late-night food cravings — and give you the best late-night eats in Melbourne. Recommended reads: The Best Restaurants in Melbourne The Best Bars in Melbourne The Best Bars for Dancing in Melbourne The Best Cheap Eats in Melbourne
If you've ever been stateside and tasted real buffalo wings, you've probably gone out of your way to find something similar upon your return to Melbourne. However, finding a restaurant or bar that gets all the flavours exactly on point has proved a difficult task for many wing lovers. Unless you know where to go. Lucky for us, a few Melbourne eateries go above and beyond to prove they make the greatest buffalo wings this side of upstate New York. We've picked out five of the best in the city, which thankfully means you won't need to fly out to the US to feast on them once again — enough for a tram fare will be enough.
For years, French wine has carried a reputation that's both revered and, let's be honest, a little intimidating. Grand Cru? Appellation d'Origine Protégée? It can all feel like a secret language. But beyond the codes and classifications lies a truth worth rediscovering: French wine is less about labels and more about land. And today, a new generation of producers is making that land speak louder — with clarity, purpose and a surprising accessibility that's finally reaching Australian tables. Read on for our guide to French wines, their Aussie lookalikes and what you should be drinking them with. The Loire: Fresh, Crisp and Perfect With Seafood Sauvignon blanc drinkers used to wines from the Adelaide Hills or Marlborough will find familiarity — and perhaps surprise — in the Loire's restrained, mineral expressions. Stretching from the Atlantic coast to the heart of central France, the Loire Valley produces some of the most food-friendly wines. It's one of the country's most diverse and dynamic regions, and one that pairs beautifully with Australia's seasonal, produce-driven cuisine. Sancerre, Reuilly and Pouilly-Fumé offer crisp, flinty sauvignon blancs that elevate seafood, fresh cheeses and vegetables with vibrant acidity. Ordering oysters at a restaurant? Skip the sparkling and go for a Loire sauvignon instead — it'll slice through the brininess with razor-sharp freshness. Quincy adds a floral, zesty touch, ideal with grilled fish or salads. For reds, cabernet franc brings a lighter touch: bright-fruited, low in tannin and full of charm. Pair it with charcuterie, grilled vegetables or a Sunday roast chicken. [caption id="attachment_1018160" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Parker Blain[/caption] Burgundy: Precision Rooted in Exceptional Terroir Pinot noir lovers from Tasmania or the Mornington Peninsula will feel at home, but Burgundy adds a savoury depth that's worth exploring. If Bordeaux built its prestige on boldness, Burgundy built its legacy on nuance. Here, pinot noir and chardonnay are the stars — two grapes Australians already know well, but in Burgundy they show another side. Pinot noir here is savoury, earth-driven and age-worthy. If you love Tasmanian pinot, you'll recognise the elegance but with less fruit and more mushroom, spice and forest floor. It's perfect with duck breast, mushroom risotto or soft cheeses such as brie. Chardonnay shifts depending on its village — from steely and mineral in Chablis (picture it with freshly shucked prawns and grilled fish) to rich and nutty in Meursault (ideal with lobster, roast chicken or creamy pasta). [caption id="attachment_688735" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kristoffer Paulsen[/caption] The Rhône Valley: Warmth, Spice and Balance Fans of Barossa shiraz or GSM blends from McLaren Vale will find Rhône reds comfortingly familiar — but with lifted aromatics and distinctly European restraint. Stretching from Lyon to Avignon, the Rhône produces wines that feel instantly relatable to Australian palates: bold yet balanced, sun-drenched but structured. In the south, grenache-led blends like Châteauneuf-du-Pape offer layers of fruit, spice and silky tannins — perfect with chargrilled lamb or slow-cooked vegetables. In the north, syrah reigns supreme: savoury, peppery and elegant. If you love Barossa shiraz, it will feel like its leaner, spicier cousin. Pair it with beef fillet, venison, roast duck or smoky eggplant dishes. Champagne: Beyond the Big Names Champagne might be the classic aperitif, but in France, it's also a food wine. A glass of brut with oysters or tempura? Perfect. A bottle of rosé champagne alongside salmon, duck or a summer berry dessert? Even better. Vintage champagne, made only in exceptional years, pairs beautifully with richer dishes like lobster, scallops or truffle risotto. Extra brut — bone-dry and precise — cuts through fried chicken or chargrilled seafood with ease. For Australians, the closest comparison is Tasmania's boutique sparkling scene, where grower champagnes offer freshness and complexity without the flash. If you normally reach for prosecco or Tassie fizz, try champagne in its many forms — brut for starters, rosé with mains or vintage for something special. The renewed interest in French wine isn't about prestige — it's about connection. Just as Australians have embraced minimal-intervention wines from regions like the Adelaide Hills or Margaret River, they're now discovering that many French producers follow a similar ethos. While big names still dominate shelves, smaller importers are fuelling the renaissance. One such importer is Aptent Gourmet, a Sydney-based team whose portfolio spans the Loire, Burgundy, Champagne and the Rhône — all chosen for their focus on small-scale, sustainable farming and wines that reflect people as much as place. Ready to trial a French drop at your next dinner? Explore our favourite French restaurants in Melbourne and French restaurants in Sydney. Images: Supplied
If you're a Lorde fan, there's no better news than this: in February 2026, the 'Royals', 'Green Light', 'Solar Power' and 'What Was That' singer-songwriter will hit the stage in Melbourne. The New Zealand star's Ultrasound world tour is bringing its gigs Down Under, heading to four cities in Australia and making dates with arenas at every stop. Ella Yelich-O'Connor last took her Solar Power tour this way in 2023. This time, as part of a run of concerts that begins in September 2025 in the US — and also includes gigs in Canada, the UK and across Europe — she has levelled up venue-wise. In the Victorian capital, Rod Laver Arena is Lorde's destination, playing on Saturday, February 21–Sunday, February 22, 2026. There might be a three-year gap between Yelich-O'Connor's last Down Under shows and her upcoming Ultrasound tour concerts; however, in addition to writing and recording Virgin, she's been busy making a surprise Sydney club appearance back in May 2025 at a Lorde-themed night. The focus of Lorde's 2026 Melbourne gig: 2025 album Virgin, which features the aforementioned 'What Was That' — her first original new track in four years — alongside 'Man of the Year', 'Hammer', 'Favourite Daughter' and 'Shapeshifter', and hit number one in Australia upon debut. Images: Joseph Okpako/WireImage and Thistle Brown.
The Upside Down has arrived in Australia, specifically Sydney, again. When season four of Stranger Things dropped in 2022, a rift to the show's netherworld popped up in Bondi. Three years later, as everyone waits for the Netflix favourite's fifth and final season to stream sometime before 2025 is out, Stranger Things: The Experience has brought a whole host of Stranger Things nods this way — and entering its eerie realm is indeed one of them. Stranger Things: The Experience is making its Aussie debut at Luna Park Sydney courtesy of Vivid Sydney's 2025 program. Between Friday, May 23–Saturday, June 14, wandering into the venue's Crystal Palace means visiting 1986 — and also Hawkins, Indiana, of course — in an interactive stint of Stranger Things-loving fun. Locations from the show are part of the setup, as is a supernatural mystery. And yes, you can expect to feel nostalgic, even if you don't have your own memories of the 80s because you hadn't been born yet. Stranger Things: The Experience isn't just about exploring recreations of settings that you've seen while watching Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown, The Electric State) and the gang, however. The installation features its own storyline, where playing along means trying to save Hawkins from yet another threat, alongside making a date with the Upside Down. Christmas lights in the Byers' living room? Tick. Vecna? Tick again. Scoops Ahoy serving up banana splits and Surfer Boy Pizza offering slices? Keep ticking. The latter pair are found at Mix-Tape, an 80s-themed mall experience — as is the Palace Arcade, where MADMAX's high score begs to be bested, plus the themed cocktail-slinging Upside Bar. It's also where you can grab limited-edition merchandise. This trip into the TV series created by the Duffer Brothers was designed and developed with the duo. In its first-ever journey to Australia — after initially opening in New York in 2022, then enjoying stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Seattle, Toronto, London, Paris and São Paulo since — it falls into the Ideas portion of Vivid's lineup. Luna Park Sydney and immersive experiences based on Netflix shows keep going hand in hand of late; since the end of 2024, the Harbour City tourist attraction has been hosting Squid Game: The Experience, letting small-screen fans dive into another streaming smash. At the time of writing, playing Red Light, Green Light with Young-hee in Luna Park's big top is on the agenda until late June, which is also when the South Korean show's third and final season premieres. Stranger Things: The Experience runs at Luna Park Sydney, 1 Olympic Drive, Milsons Point, Sydney from Friday, May 23–Saturday, June 14,2025. For more information, head to the Luna Park Sydney website. Vivid Sydney 2025 runs from Friday, May 23–Saturday, June 14 across Sydney. Head to the festival website for further information.
The turn of the century was a helluva time. Excitement and a nervous anticipation of a potential apocalypse filled the air. If you, like me, weren't around to see it firsthand, there was concern that computing systems worldwide would flatline at the turn of the century as the dates became impossible to compute. Obviously, that didn't happen. We're still here and, for better or worse, so are the computers. The entire situation left quite a mark on our culture. Now, 23 years later, the notion of Y2K is on the rise once more. As our world once again gets a little bit scary, we need to make every day count and just be ourselves. These are the brands that are bringing Y2K back for... Y23K? We'll workshop the name. PIT VIPER If Y2K is about being unapologetically yourself, Pit Viper gets top marks. There's no piece of eyewear on the market quite as flashy as these beauties. In Pit Viper's own words: "Sunrise to sunset, reef breaks to ridgelines, holeshots to holy sh*t, we build the functional, fun-loving gear that is serious about taking things less seriously". It's hard for an Aussie not to recognise these flashy fluorescent designs, and when you take a spin on the website, you'll be teleported straight back to the 2000s. Once you've adjusted, take a tour through the product range; from the iconic polarised range of 'The Originals' (The 1993 or The Miami Nights) sunnies to the rounded, heavier-duty range of 'The Slammers', there's eyewear of every shape and colour on offer. Pit Viper extends its identity through goggles suitable for dirt and snow, clothes for your head, top and 'power bottom', and even rigs to help keep the glasses on your face. [caption id="attachment_924540" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Oleg Shatilov via Unsplash[/caption] CHAOTIC THREADS While the cultural concept of Gen Z has really only grown in recent years, the generation was quite literally born in the Y2K era, between 1997 and 2012. We might not be able to remember it all physically, but thanks to the internet, its memory is well preserved. The style of Y2K is growing in popularity among Gen Z, and that harmony is plain to see with brands like Chaotic Threads. Chaotic Threads was founded in Melbourne and prides itself on sustainability and style in equal parts. Each piece is created from a single inspiration, meaning every design is limited-run. The upside is every bit of scrap fabric will be reused to create more accessorie. The product range is always shifting, so check the website or Instagram to see what's currently available. [caption id="attachment_924503" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Lilli via iStock[/caption] ACTUAL ANGEL A similarly Gen Z-charged brand (which also happens to be based in Melbourne) is Actual Angel. You might take a shine to these pieces if you have ever had a goth phase. Every design is handmade, ranging from heavy gothic designs to mystical pieces that tread closer to the modern fairy core. Actual Angel's range spans gorgeous stellar earring designs, chokers of all textures and colours and even tote bags made from the likes of velour satin and lace designs. It's all whimsical, comfortable and, most importantly, it's handmade independently. Actual Angel can be found on Instagram, but you can find the entire product range on Depop. [caption id="attachment_924511" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Ivan Martynov via iStock[/caption] THREADHEADS A marker of Y2K fashion is graphic design — as technology and pop culture evolved, the option to print customised designs onto clothing became more accessible. One of the most popular graphic tee brands right now is Threadheads. Quickly achieving viral status thanks to a satirical but stylish approach to designs, this is the ideal brand for anyone with a sense of humour. Design themes cover pop culture, gaming, 80s and 90s, parody, retro, anime and more. Threadheads also loves a collab, with official collections made with Rick and Morty, DC Comics, NASA, Seinfeld, Cobra Kai and others. A new addition to the catalogue is custom tees, a great gift for any lovers of bootleg designs. [caption id="attachment_924502" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] IC Productions via iStock[/caption] DIESEL Diesel predates Y2K, going back to the vintage days of 1978. But as many fashion labels move to the next new and exciting thing, Diesel reflects on all the wonder of the Y2K era with a product range that will take you back to the finest pop videos of the noughties. How so? Diesel's specialty denim line still reigns supreme, but a closer look through the catalogue will reveal the likes of tie-dyed belt bags, futuristic metallic tops, baby tees, frayed high tops and other icons of the era. Ranging across men and women, clothes, accessories, homewares and more, there has to be something for everyone in there. [caption id="attachment_922788" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Millie Savage[/caption] MILLIE SAVAGE The final cornerstone of Y2K fashion for us to discuss is the statement jewellery pieces. Big and bright — there was nothing minimalist about these pieces. A brand that keeps that trend alive is Millie Savage. Yet another fashion label based in Melbourne (though now also boasting a Bali studio), Millie Savage is run by an all-female team of designers that specialises in precious gems, all ethically sourced. Millie Savage has a particular love of opals, mainly sourced from South Australia. Every product has the Millie Savage touch: namely, a lack of playing by the rules. It's especially visible in the one-off beauties collection, where no two pieces are alike in the slightest. Check out the designs across rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets and more. For more information on Pit Viper or its products, visit the website.
If you want to deck yourself out in all your favourite designer brands, but don't quite have the coin to justify not eating for the next week, Mio Tesoro can help you out. The Chapel Street store opened in 2005, and since then founder Elaine Yeow has put to good use years of experience working at Louis Vuitton, where she developed an incredible eye for fashion. Operating as a luxury consignment store, Mio Tesoro helps sellers of exclusive brands find a buyer. Fortunately, this also happens to be your ticket to land a bargain on some rarely seen pieces from the likes of Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Dior. Plus, you're helping the environment by buying less new and fast fashion pieces. Images: Parker Blain.
If you're one of the scores of Aussie teens who devoured smash-hit flick 10 Things I Hate About You when it first came out — and then about a million times on VHS since — prepare to feel positively elderly. The 1999 movie is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Yep, the modern day retelling of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew that had us all swooning over Heath Ledger is a whole two decades old. And what better way to mark that occasion, than a special outdoor screening of the timeless high school tale? Moonlight Cinema has added a special throwback showing of 10 Things I Hate About You to its schedule, set to grace the Royal Botanic Gardens' Central Lawn this Friday, March 15. Prepare to revisit all those late 90s feels, as you catch those classic movie moments, from the cheer-worthy smashing of Joey Donner's car to that pre-formal pregnancy suit. You can pack your own picnic and booze for this BYO session — Ms Perky would definitely recommend bratwurst — or make the most of Moonlight Cinema's food truck and pop-up bar.
Right at the end of 2024, Hotel Esplanade (The Espy) opened a new sun-drenched venue in the former Ichi Ni site, which closed back in February 2024. Walk into the new Espy Sunroom this summer, and you'll see how the 252-person space has been totally transformed. Gone are the bright red drapes, dark wood panelling and Japanese paintings that once adorned Ichi Ni. In their place, there's a far more open and brighter restaurant and bar with a lot less going on — simply decorated with hanging plants, lightly painted concrete walls, and a smattering of high and low tile-topped tables. The interior will certainly get packed in summer, but its openair terrace will have the most sought-after seats — boasting its own retractable roof for when Melbourne's weather isn't behaving. Here, you'll be sipping on spritzes and signature cocktails while eating crowd-pleasing eats that you'll recognise from the neighbouring pub's menu. Get around a huge seafood platter (packed with scallop ceviche, kingfish crudo, king prawns and oysters), pizzas, grilled barramundi, potato cakes with salt and vinegar and a classic chicken parma. As this is part of The Espy, you can also expect a banging live music and entertainment lineup throughout the week. Wednesdays are for trivia run by local Smarty Pints Co, Fridays nights are when live bands and DJs play late into the night, Saturdays see the house DJs accompanied by live musicians, and Sundays are all about funk, house and soul music. The Esoy Sunroom isn't reinventing the wheel in any way, but it is hitting all the right spots for a popular seaside bar and restaurant — serving up summery bevs, crowd-pleasing eats and plenty of good vibes. You'll find the new Espy Sunroom at 11-12 The Esplanade, St Kilda, open every day of the week from midday until late. For more information and to book a spot, you can visit the venue's website.
Looking for an excuse to skip the city this weekend? You could dissolve in mineral springs in Daylesford, get back to nature in Gippsland, or head to Broken Hill for art, stars and country pubs. But, for something totally different, you might consider Jackalope Weekend. From Friday, June 13-Sunday, June 15, the Mornington Peninsula's highly luxe Jackalope Hotel is offering all kinds of adventures — from a whisky tasting by a roaring bonfire to a dinner collaboration with Yugen Dining. And the finale is a long lunch with ALT Pasta Bar in Jackalope's Doot Doot Doot restaurant. The menu promises a collision of Korean brilliance and Italian decadence. Start with snacks of chestnut agnolotti, truffle and duck tea, and wagyu tartare with duck fat kataifi and charcoal mayo. Next up is a scallop crudo entrée with preserved persimmon and dash pearls. Mains include squid ink spaghetti with spanner crab, bisque and pastrami powder, as well as porchetta with Jerusalem artichoke puree, cime di papa and salsa verde. And dessert? Tiramisu with chestnut crème, mascarpone and tonka bean. Tickets for lunch are $130 per person, with matching wines on offer for $85. If you're pretty sure one lunch won't be enough, stay all weekend with an all-inclusive package. They start at $3,099.
Sometimes, when a TV show is a hit, giant dolls pop up by Sydney harbour. At other times, when a movie is a must-see, one of its key locations makes its home on Little Bourke Street in Melbourne. Right now is one of the latter occasions, all to celebrate Everything Everywhere All At Once — aka the multiverse-hopping, mind-bending delight starring the one and only Michelle Yeoh that everyone is rightly talking about at the moment. In the flick, the Crazy Rich Asians, Last Christmas, Boss Level, Gunpowder Milkshake and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings actor plays middle-aged Chinese American woman Evelyn Wang, who runs a laundromat with her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom's Short Round and The Goonies' Data). That might sound straightforward, but the feature was written and directed by the Daniels, aka Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. If you saw Swiss Army Man, which cast Daniel Radcliffe as a farting corpse who doubled as a jetski, you should have some idea of the kind of wild and wacky on-screen chaos the filmmaking duo is capable of conjuring up. For Evelyn in Everything Everywhere All At Once, she takes a trip to her local tax office — and her tale soon goes hurtling through other dimensions from there. The full details are best discovered by watching; however, the end result is exactly what big-screen multiverse-focused fare should look like. While following in Evelyn's footsteps isn't something that anyone can truly do, Roadshow Films has set up a pop-up that'll let you pretend — only if you're in the Melbourne CBD from 1–8pm daily between Friday, April 22–Sunday, April 24. At Corrs Corner at 132–138 Little Bourke Street, you'll find the Everything Everywhere All At Once multiversal laundromat. Step inside, see crucial spots from movie right there before your eyes and feel like you've leapt into the film. While you'll enter a space that, yes, resembles a laundromat, that's just the beginning. From there, you'll find a spliced and angled mirror room as well, and different nods to places and moments in the movie. Having your senses overwhelmed comes with the territory — as it does, at least with your eyes and ears, while watching Everything Everywhere All At Once. Make sure that you peer inside the washing machines onsite, too, as they're designed to spin with a kaleidoscopic array of moving imagery — and make you feel like you're time-travelling between different dimensions. Obviously, taking snaps is a big part of the fun, so that's what you'll be seeing on Instagram all weekend. Find the Everything Everywhere All At Once laundromat at Corrs Corner, 132–138 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne from 1–8pm daily between Friday, April 22–Sunday, April 24. Everything Everywhere All At Once is currently playing in Australian cinemas — read our full review.
Brotherly musician duo and Australian indie legends Lime Cordiale have announced a new initiative that merges music with their passion for environmental conservation and climate action: Lime Green Festival. This new festival, which is headed to Adelaide's Point Malcom Reserve on Saturday, April 18, prioritises not only positive energy in music but also a positive impact on the environment. Organised in partnership with Chugg Music, Lime Green Festival is an experiment in live music, trialling a new model of music festival that doesn't just tick the box for environmental concerns, but puts climate action at the centre of the entire event. The festival will be 100% off the grid, delivering a quality day of live music and providing a community platform for audiences to engage and learn about the sustainable possibilities of live events in the years to come. [caption id="attachment_1065642" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] PASH[/caption] Joining Lime Cordiale on the lineup are Sunshine Coast-native folk rockers The Dreggs, Adelaide's own chart-topping pop star aleksiah and up-and-coming four-piece pop rockers PASH. Lime Cordiale have also put the word out seeking local talent, with spots on the lineup reserved for artists chosen by the duo themselves, triple j Unearthed and event sponsor City of Charles Sturt. Lime Cordiale, real names Oli and Louis Leimbach, said, "From the accelerating loss of polar ice to the devastating algal blooms currently choking the South Australian coast, it is impossible to ignore that our climate is at a breaking point. For the last five years, we've wrestled with a deep, personal dilemma as environmentalists: Is our touring contributing to the problem? Does it still make sense in a world that's hurting? Should we continue to tour at all?" "We've decided that the answer isn't to stop, but to change," the brothers add. "Live music is about the vital connection between people, and we believe that connection is exactly what we need to fuel a new way of doing things. Our aim is to stage the greenest music festival Australia has ever seen—rethinking everything from renewable stage power and transport to how we handle food and human waste." The brothers hope this new model of festivals can find success first in regional SA, then the rest of the country, encouraging Aussie music fans to attend the festival and take part in the experiment for a better future of gigs, saying "We aren't claiming to be perfect; we will make mistakes along the way, but we are trying. We're inviting you to be part of this experiment. Come and hear some incredible Aussie music, but also come to see what a different future looks like. Let's find out what we can achieve, together." Lime Green Festival will take over Adelaide's Point Malcom Reserve on Saturday, April 18. Tickets will go on sale at 9am (AEDT) on Friday, January 23rd. A presale will run from 9am (AEDT) on Wednesday, January 21st – sign up here.
Which Australian city has the best steak joints? Which boasts the top restaurants in general? Which is considered the ideal place to live? May 2024 has delivered new answers to all of these questions (more fuel for interstate rivalries, too), and it has just dropped another handy tidbit: the home of Australia's best bartender for this year. Global bartending competition Diageo World Class shows Aussie talents some love in a couple of ways, including via its Bartender of the Year Australia award — and, after a fierce contest showcasing exceptional mixology, we have a winner. Earning the coveted title this year is Sydney bartender Jake Down from Pleasure Club, one of three Harbour City folks competing in the showdown. In the pool of six bartenders, Perth and Hobart were each represented, too (sorry other Australian cities). Down, Merivale's James Irvine and The Waratah's Tom Opie faced off against each other, and also against Matt Bodycote from State Buildings in Perth, Shirley Yeung from Foxtrot Hospitality Group in Perth and Rohan Massie from Rude Boy in Hobart. Held in Sydney on Monday, May 27, the final stage of the annual drinks competition saw the six Aussie finalists battle it out behind the bar, showing off their skills across three challenges. One had them coming up with new options for traditional whisky serves, working with Johnnie Walker, Talisker and The Singleton. The next involved taking inspiration from their favourite bars while heroing Johnnie Walker Black Ruby. Then, a speed task involving making six classic cocktail serves in six minutes rounded out the contest. Down, whose resume locally and internationally also includes This Must Be the Place, Scout London, Re and Housemade Hospitality, now has a chance to score some more kudos at the global finals in September. He'll shake and stir up a storm alongside 50-plus other international hopefuls in a bid to be named World Class Global Bartender of the Year. "The competition has exposed me to some of the best bartenders in the industry, allowing me to learn and grow alongside incredible talent," said Down about his win. "I'm honoured to be part of our incredible hospitality community and I can't wait to represent Australia in September at the global finals." [caption id="attachment_942593" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Pleasure Club, Parker Blain.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_929495" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Waratah, Jason Loucas.[/caption] For more information about the Diageo World Class Australian Bartender competition and Diageo World Class in general, head to the Diageo Bar Academy website.
For some movies, only the biggest of screens will do. For a literally huge cinemagoing experience in Melbourne, film lovers can head to the city's IMAX in Carlton, then, where both new and classic flicks get the massive treatment. Come November 2025, you'll also have a second option: Village Cinemas Fountain Gate, which is about to give the Victorian capital another IMAX. Launching a second venue in Melbourne comes hot on the heels of two new IMAX cinemas elsewhere around Australia in 2024, after both Canberra and the Gold Coast scored their own sites. They joined not only Carlton's IMAX, but also Sydney's, as part of expansion plans to open 40 new IMAX screens across the country. Village Cinemas Fountain Gate will mark the first partnership between IMAX, Village Cinemas and Scentre Group, the latter of which runs the Westfield Fountain Gate shopping centre. Movie fans can look forward to an auditorium featuring IMAX with Laser, aka a 4k laser-projection system that's designed for bright images, a wide range of colours, deeper contrast and increased resolution. There's no exact launch date yet — only the month — but the timing means that 2025 releases Wicked: For Good and Avatar: Fire and Ash, plus 2026's The Odyssey from Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer), are all set to screen at IMAX at Village Cinemas Fountain Gate. "We're absolutely thrilled to bring IMAX to Fountain Gate. With demand for premium cinema at an all-time high, IMAX represents the next evolution of Village Cinemas' blockbuster experience. Village Cinemas has deep roots in Australian cinema and our mission has always been to deliver world-class experiences to our guests. We can't wait to deliver this incredible new cinema to audiences in Melbourne's southeast," said Village Cinemas CEO Clark Kirby. "This partnership brings a new IMAX location to one of the Australia's top moviegoing locations, underscoring our incredible momentum across network and box office growth in the country," added IMAX Chief Commercial Officer Giovanni Dolci. "It's clear the demand for the IMAX experience is only growing in Australia, one of the world's premiere moviegoing markets, and we look forward to meeting that demand with our expanding roster of world-class partners." IMAX will open at Village Cinemas Fountain Gate, 55 Overland Drive, Narre Warren, sometime in November 2025. Head to the cinema's website for more details. IMAX images: IMAX Pacific Fair and IMAX Queensgate NZ.
There's no shortage of picturesque coastal spots along the Gippsland coastline. But Inverloch is the choice port of call for many, with its beachy vibe and coastal cycling trails making the most of its enviable location. Now the region's tourism sector is getting another boost, as RACV has just unveiled plans for a multi-million-dollar upgrade to its already rather luxe Inverloch Resort. With the region becoming an increasingly popular destination for weekend escapes, the refurb features 36 premium rooms to help the resort meet demand during peak season. In fact, the expansion will allow RACV Inverloch Resort to cater for 20,000 more guests annually, making it easier to stay within touching distance of the region's most captivating scenery. "This is an investment into Inverloch and Gippsland tourism that RACV is tremendously proud to be a part of," says RACV Executive General Manager Leisure, Craig Peachey. "With regional tourism booming post-pandemic, these new premium rooms will help address a significant market gap while elevating Inverloch's status as a premium destination." The major change will welcome the construction of a striking two-level wing, complete with floor-to-ceiling windows that capture panoramic views across Andersons Inlet. Designed by leading architecture practice GHD, guests can expect the new-look resort to harmonise with the coastal landscape through sustainable materials and native vegetation. While the existing resort is often the go-to option for travellers seeking an upmarket stay in the Gippsland region, the expansion will enable the property to reach broader customer segments. The new capacity will make the accommodation more suitable for hosting larger events and conferences, while families will appreciate a greater selection of flexible room configurations. Ready to book? Construction is scheduled for mid-August 2025, with the new wing expected to welcome its first guests by December 2026. So, pencil in your plans for the summer after next — alongside world-class beaches, you'll encounter stellar local cuisine in the Radius Restaurant, plus meaningful support for Inverloch's coastal arts scene. RACV Inverloch Resort's expansion is expected to open for summer 2026 bookings. Head to the website for more information.
Melbourne's skyline is now a little bit greener, following the launch of a new rooftop garden set atop East Melbourne's Treasure Theatre building. The design is a case study for the Green Our Rooftop project, which aims to drastically increase the green infrastructure in our city by 2050. A $2.5 million partnership between the City of Melbourne, the Victorian Government and Melbourne Water, the Treasury Place proof-of-concept hopes to inspire developers, businesses and private owners alike to adopt green spaces citywide. The rooftop garden was designed with low-maintenance, hard-to-kill and climate-resilient plants in mind; think succulents, herbs and native grasses. The space also provides a haven for bees, birds and other urban fauna, as well as reduces energy costs by cooling the building and minimising stormwater runoff. The Green Our Rooftop project highlights the potential of Melbourne's unused rooftops to transform the cityscape by showcasing a retrofit design on an existing building. The program also plans to attract more green spaces on private properties, with owners encouraged to apply for City of Melbourne's matched-funding grants via the Urban Forest Fund. Following the announcement of the project in May 2019, the rooftop underwent several years of planning, research and design before launching in February 2025. As part of the planning, the government worked with industry practitioners and researchers to undergo a thorough assessment of planting mixes, green roof systems, planting installation methods and maintenance inputs. The Treasury Place namesake will be monitored by University of Melbourne researchers, in order to form a better understanding of the most effective methods for designing and building cost-effective, impactful green rooftops going forward. "With massive greening and cooling potential, we hope the Green Our Rooftop project will lay the groundwork for retrofitting existing buildings and integrating green roofs into new developments – following the success seen in cities like New York, Singapore and Munich," says Lord Mayor Nick Reece. The Green Our Rooftop garden is now open at 1 Treasury Place, East Melbourne. For more information, visit the City of Melbourne website. Images: City of Melbourne.
Valerie Fong and Randy Dhamanhuri from Operator Venues (Operator25, Middletown, Makan, Operator Diner and Operator San) know a thing or two about running cafes and nailing Melbourne breakfasts. And James Cornwall from Tenable Dining (Bonny Fitzroy, Young Hearts and Seville Estate) has the after-dark drinking and dining trade sorted. These Melbourne hospo heavy hitters have come together for Ruby Dining, a new all-day brasserie in the CBD. The whole vibe of Ruby Dining is inspired by theatre-district brasseries in London and New York, so you can expect a playful yet still sophisticated venue that's set up for just about anyone to enjoy. For breakfast, you'll find the same contemporary Australian brunch fare that the Operator venues are so loved for, but with more French sensibilities — there's a mean croque madame, a luxe shokupan french toast and brown butter madeleines topped with whipped goat cheese and honey that are baked to order. When lunch and dinner service roll around, Cornwall's cooking takes centre stage. His interpretation of the modern brasserie sees him showcase great technique and top-notch local produce without being overly ostentatious. Dishes aren't overly complicated, devilishly small or overpriced. Nonetheless, he is still having plenty of fun with the menu. You've got classics like steak frites, onion tart, and ricotta and pistachio ravioli, plus more playful eats like the one-bite Caesar salad and his potato cannoli. The aforementioned freshly baked madeleines also feature on the lunch and dinner menu, so there's no need to worry about missing out if you're there after brekkie. You'll be tucking into all of this within chic surrounds designed by We Are Humble (Kaiju Cantina, No. 100 Flinders Lane, CoConspirators Brewpub, Code Black Brunswick and Good Measure). The architects kept some of the building's original features, including the bar, the exposed waffle slab above it and the mirror-panelled walls, while adding splashes of ruby red throughout the dining room and bar. Soft curved frames, Thonet bistro chairs and rich brown upholstery complete the brasserie fitout. When spending time at Ruby, you could easily forget you're in Australia, but perhaps somewhere in London, New York or Paris. But these Melbourne hospo legends have made sure to weave plenty of local touches throughout the whole experience — it still has that Melbourne je ne sais quoi. You'll find Ruby Dining at 189 Queen Street, Melbourne. open for breakfast and lunch every day of the week and for dinner from Wednesday–Saturday. For more information, head to the venue's website. Images: Jana Langhorst and Simpson Chin.
There's been a lot going on this month, so in case you've been living under a rock, are still in that post-New Year's haze, or you've lost a few brain cells due to the insufferable heatwaves, we've rounded up some of January's biggest stories for you. This month saw new restaurants open, old venues close, and big hospo names announce exciting plans for the year ahead. Of course, we were busy covering the Australian Open, from floating tennis courts to exciting activations. There were also pickleball pop-ups, plenty of film festival news, suggestions for how to make the most of the summer, and revamped restaurant guides to get you out and about. Keep scrolling to catch the biggest stories, In Case You Missed It, this January. Recommended reads: The Best Cafes in Melbourne The Best Ice Cream in Melbourne The Best Restaurants in Melbourne The Best Things To Do This Valentine's Day Nobody's Baby Announces its New Chef-in-Residence This January, Nobody's Baby welcomed their next guest chef in residence to its kitchen. From Friday, January 23, Chef Aitor Jeronimo Olive brings Basque Txoko (pronounced "chock-o") to the South Yarra bustling bar. The owners say, "We're so excited to have Aitor at Nobody's Baby for the next three months. A number of cuisines and pop-ups have rotated through our kitchen – from Italian, to Middle Eastern, to the Basque Country –, and no matter the style of food, we love being a vessel for anyone to showcase their cuisine, and our hospitality remains the same – warm, welcoming, and ensuring every guest leaves feeling like they've made a friend in us. The convivial nature of Aitor's rustic Basque cuisine fits so perfectly with what Nobody's Baby is about, and we're stoked to be his first home in Australia." Rooftop Pickle Ball Pops-Up in the CBD Along with plenty of other tennis-related news, this month we covered the return of another racquet-in-hand summer pop-up. Until Saturday, February 28, Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street is serving up rooftop pickleball to budding pros and first-timers alike. Free for hotel guests and the public, this fifth-floor perch has aced the experience both on and off the court. If you head along for a game, you'll encounter a brand-new partnership that elevates the activation in 2026. Teaming up with Mount Franklin, the hotel now has self-serve vending machines stocked with sparkling flavoured water, ready-to-drink cocktails, and refreshing mocktails. Toorak Cellars Celebrates 15 Years with its Barbecue Summer Series Tucked into the backstreets of Armadale, Toorak Cellars is gearing up to celebrate a major milestone, having served the "vinously afflicted", — as co-owner Lyndon Kubis puts it — for the past 15 years. To ring in the anniversary, this go-to wine destination is bringing back its BBQ Summer Series for a second year running, where two star-studded Melbourne chefs team up to take charge of the tongs every Sunday. Of course, the wine won't be a side event. For its birthday month, Toorak Cellars will put the Coravin through its paces, offering a series of by-the-glass feature wines poured in commemorative glassware. Book your spot now to avoid missing out. The Community Rallies to Support Victorian Businesses Following a harrowing bushfire season, Victorian businesses did it tough this January. With community support needed more than ever, we put together a list of ways you can donate to leading bodies, fundraise for devastated businesses or dine and shop with those contributing essential funds to the cause. If you haven't already, check out the ways you can help those in the Victorian community who really need a hand right now. Europa! Film Festival Releases its Full 2026 Program European cinema doesn't get much representation in Australia for most of the year, at least until Europa! Europa rolls around. This January, we brought you news of the full program. Returning this year for its fifth run, the festival will draw on the rich cinematic talent of continental Europe to create a lineup of 43 of the latest and greatest pictures from 22 countries and import them to screens around the country from Thursday, February 19, to early March. Pipi's Kiosk Brings a Taste of the Sea to Fitzroy This month, Beachside beauty Pipi's Kiosk quietly and unassumingly set up its second outpost; however, it's not sticking around for long. Open now until the end of February, Pipi's North is bringing the team's signature seafood offering all the way to Fitzroy. Taking over the former Alta Trattoria site on Brunswick Street, Pipi's North, inspired by the sun-soaked tapas bars of the Basque Coast, is serving snacky bites made for easygoing sharing in a comfortable, relaxed space. Feel the Love With Valentine's Day Just Around the Corner While Valentine's Day might be a heavily commercialised holiday that plays into mass consumerism, we reckon we could all use a little extra love this month, so we put together a guide of the best things to do on the most romantic day of the year. And even if you think V-Day is lame, you're as single as a Pringle, or are planning to spend the day with mates or glamming up for Galentine's Day, these are still pretty great deals worth checking out. Cupid called, and he said spots are filling up fast, so book ahead and score extra brownie points this Valentine's Day. Get Fit Before Feb with Top-Rated Hikes For those looking to get more active in 2026, we covered the best one-hour hikes to get you moving. You now have a convenient list of breathtaking tracks to explore on foot, as go-to hiking and biking app AllTrails has revealed the top-rated one-hour hikes and day trips within touching distance of Melbourne. Topping the list of one-hour loop trails outside Melbourne is the 3.9-kilometre Ker-Bur-Rer Walk. Situated near Mount Martha on the Mornington Peninsula, this easygoing trek pairs gentle hills with stellar views and wildlife encounters, from wallabies to emus. Other highly rated walks were Doncaster's Ruffey Lake Park Circuit, the Albert Park Loop and the Parkdale Beach Walk. Primed for laidback strolls in a convenient location, it's no surprise these walks are considered some of Melbourne's most popular. Collingwood Welcomes a New Wine Specialist This January, Collingwood welcomed Bar Local Drop to the neighbourhood, serving everything from limited and rare drops to barbecue spatchcock, fresh pasta specials, and an impressive selection of over 500 bottles to stock your home cellar. The bar was founded by Jagdev Singh and his wife, Emily Prunty, the founders of The Local Drop, a respected wine business covering retail, events, and bespoke cellars. They chose Collingwood, specifically the design-forward space at 116 Rokeby Street, curated by Studio Y and recognised by the Australian Institute of Architects, to set up their bricks-and-mortar offering. While there is a deep and serious focus on all things wine, Bar Local Drop is also prioritising food, with a Euro-leaning menu championing local growers, including Somerset Farm, Natoora and Day's Walk Farm. Ocean Alley Embarks on a Massive National Tour To go with the sweet sounds of summer, we announced news of a massive national tour kicking off at the end of this month. Ocean Alley is beloved for their brand of sun-soaked psychedelic surf rock, tinged with funky basslines and buttery-smooth lyrics. Now the band is embarking on a massive national tour, taking their sound on a jam-packed road trip that spans beachy regional towns and capital cities. The upcoming tour comes on the back of Ocean Alley's landmark 2025. As for the 2026 tour, Ocean Alley is kicking things off in Melbourne on Saturday, January 24, in Catani Gardens before hitting Brisbane Showgrounds on Friday, January 30. Dates in Sydney, Tasmania, Perth and beyond follow soon after, with the tour wrapping up at Glenelg Beach in South Australia on Saturday, March 21. The CBD Scores a New Place to Scoop Mondo Gelateria on Elizabeth Street is an all-day, late-night spot serving coffee, pastries, gelato, and good vibes, which opened with a bang at the end of January. With flavours inspired by cultures across the globe, expect bold flavours and exciting new combinations that add to Melbourne's already dynamic ice cream scene. The 28 ice cream flavours are influenced by ingredients from all corners of the world, from Italy to Japan, China to America. Hero flavours and mainstays on the menu include salted caramel with kumquats and freeze-dried raspberries, chocolate fudge brownie, lemon cheesecake with almonds, roasted lemon cake, pistachio with crunchy praline and Black Forest with Amarena cherries and chocolate sponge. Feature image: Mondo Gelateria.
Luke Mangan is well known for serving up classic French cuisine in Sydney — with restaurants in the Hilton Hotel Sydney, Kimpton Margot Hotel Sydney and the Pylon Lookout inside the Sydney Harbour Bridge. And his latest venture Bistrot Bisou follows the same tried-and-tested formula. He has set up a contemporary French restaurant in another city hotel — but this time, in Melbourne's Hotel Indigo. Here, you won't find food that challenges or feels particularly playful. Instead, Mangan and his Head Chef Rory Kennedy (Vex Dining and Bar Romantica) have stuck to nailing the classics. You've got your steak tartare, cheese soufflé, confit duck legs, lobster thermidor, tarte tatin and crème brûlée. There might not be any real surprises, but the dishes are executed with great finesse and also showcase top local produce. The flamed-cooked steaks are a standout. These are cooked in the open kitchen over a roaring fire, which fills the room with a slight smokiness that makes the space feel incredibly cosy and welcoming. Those ready to brave the heat can even sit up at the bar and eat while watching the chefs do their thing. "We want this to feel like a second home for guests, whether they're Melbourne locals or visitors wanting a relaxed place to dine after a long day of sightseeing," says Mangan. "The French bistros of Paris have an ambience about them no matter what time of day or night it is, which is what we are creating here." [caption id="attachment_959622" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Glen Percival[/caption] And Mangan has lucked out with the 96-seat dining room, which was only fitted-out a few years ago for the Beso, former Spanish restaurant that once called this space home. The kitchen is mostly the same as it was before, as is the front bar. The space is full of cream and light brown tones, leather banquette seats, brass finishes, and a seperate nook for semi-private dining. At the front bar, which boasts floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Spencer Street, folks can also sit up on a stool while they sip and snack. Tim Davey (French Saloon) has created the impressive cocktail list for Bistrot Bisou, which includes eight martinis, plenty of signature creations, and a hefty list of French aperitifs for those wanting a little pre-dinner sip. As expected, the wine list features a great selection of French and Victorian vinos, while Taittinger Champagne is also available by the glass. If you're a fan of classic French fare (with a slight modern edge), you're in for a real treat at Bistrot Bisou. Bistrot Bisou is located at 575 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, open for dinner from 5.30pm–late, Tuesday–Saturday. For more details and to book a table, visit the venue's website. Images: Jana Langhorst.
Rustica Sourdough, the Melbourne institution and baker of all things sour and delicious, has opened a new bakery and cafe in Melbourne's west. It's the bakery's fifth location — with its original cafe in Fitzroy, shops on Hawthorn's Power Street and in Rialto Towers, and one opening in Melbourne Central earlier this year — and the first out west. It's opened inside Highpoint Shopping Centre, so next time you're out getting groceries — or braving the pre-Christmas crowd — you can snag something sourdough-y. Located on level three of the shopping precinct, the new Rustica is — like its siblings — a cafe-bakery hybrid, with options for those who are looking for a leisurely brunch, a quick bite for lunch, or just a comforting cronut while you navigate the masses. This time, however, they've called in ex-Chin Chin chef Sam Mills to oversee the menu — and dishes have a noticeable mod-Asian lean. Highlights include the okonomiyaki, a savoury Japanese pancake made with cabbage, kewpie mayo, sesame and fried eggs; baba ghanoush with haloumi and poached eggs; and chilli-spiked scrambled eggs on pumpkin seed toast. For something sweet, look to the coconut tapioca with peanut praline and puffed black rice.
What's better than one IMAX in Sydney? Two, obviously, which is a big-screen dream that's about to become a reality. A second IMAX experience is on its way to the Harbour City, setting up shop in an Event Cinemas location. The where and when haven't yet been revealed — but this is still literally massive news. Between 2016 and spring 2023, movie lovers in the New South Wales capital would've been content with just one IMAX, of course, after Sydney's IMAX at Darling Harbour closed down to get demolished and then rebuilt. The venue was originally meant to get its projectors running again in 2019, then in 2021; however, that didn't happen. Thankfully, giant flicks have been back on the agenda since October on one of the biggest cinema screens in the world, which measures 692 square metres. The news of a second Sydney IMAX comes via EVT and IMAX Corporation. The former is the hospitality company behind IMAX Sydney, Event Cinemas, Moonlight Cinema, the Skyline Drive-In and the State Theatre; the arrival of surround-screen viewing Down Under; a heap of bars and restaurants; QT Hotels, Rydges and other hotel chains; plus IMAX venues in Auckland and Queensgate in New Zealand, as well as IMAX Karlsruhe in Germany. The latter is self-explanatory. Together, the duo announced a deal for five new state-of-the-art IMAX setups, but only one in coming to Australia. To check out the other four, you'll need to head to Germany. "Expanding our collaboration with IMAX aligns to our strategy of providing customers with choice on how they want to watch a movie. The right combination of our proprietary cinema experiences such as gold class, boutique and V-Max alongside global premium formats like IMAX is proving to be successful," said EVT CEO Jane Hastings, announcing the news. "IMAX performs exceptionally well at our current locations in Sydney, New Zealand and Germany, and we are thrilled to bring state-of-the-art IMAX with Laser systems to more locations in Australia and Germany in the near future," Hastings continued. "On the heels of the wildly successful debut of IMAX Sydney, we are excited to expand our collaboration with EVT, a partner that transcends exhibition in creating premium experiences that span cinema, hospitality, leisure and more," added IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond. "Australia and Germany are two markets where consumer demand for IMAX vastly outstrips our footprint, and this deal is great for our fans in both countries and our continued network growth worldwide." That Sydney success that Gelfond mentioned? Within mere weeks of opening, the new IMAX Sydney has become IMAX's highest-grossing location outside of the United States and United Kingdom. Wherever the second Sydney IMAX experience pops up, it'll combine Laser by IMAX technology, which means 4K laser projection showing the flicks, plus EVT's range of seating. At Darling Harbour, choices to get comfortable include standard places to sit, as well as getting comfortable in a full recliner, cosying up with your plus one in a couples' recliner and going with a private box for up to four people on an elevated platform. Film fans outside of Sydney, you'll have a second spot to add to your must-visit list when you visit the Harbour City — especially if you're in a city like Brisbane, Adelaide or Perth that doesn't have its own IMAX. IMAX Sydney is now open at Darling Harbour, 1/35 Wheat Road, Sydney, from Wednesday, October 11. Details of the city's second IMAX experience, including where it'll be located and when it will open, are yet to be announced — we'll update you when more information is revealed. Images: IMAX Sydney.
Muggles, something very magical has landed in Melbourne. While the city has already had a wizarding hotel, a Harry Potter escape room, a magical train trip and a potion-filled rooftop bar, it seems our love for The Boy Who Lived is insatiable — because, the country's biggest Harry Potter shop has today swung open its magical doors and started welcoming in wizards, witches, goblins, centaurs and even mere muggles. Located on the basement level of Myer Melbourne on Bourke Street, the 500-square-metre store is home to a Platform 9 3/4 — so you can finally achieve your dream of heading off to Hogwarts, even if you're much older than 11 — and an Ollivanders with over 20 different wands. As the store is a collaboration between Myer and Warner Bros, it's also home to tonnes of official merchandise, homewares, apparel, stationery, toys and more. We're told there's a heap more 'photo opportunities' from The Wizarding World, and Lego, too — so bring your smartphone and a patient mate. JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child theatre production is still playing at Princess Theatre and you'll be able to snag tickets for that here, too, at a dedicated booth. And to celebrate the Harry Potter at Myer store's opening, the play's cast performed hit track 'Wand Dance' on Bourke Street at midday on Friday, October 18. Of course, the opening of the Harry Potter store coincides with the lead-up to another magical event (which is, mind you, only ten weeks away), so we're sure Myer and Warner Bros are hoping to collect a few galleons from muggles doing their Christmas shopping. But, we're not complaining — the more Harry Potter, the better. The Harry Potter at Myer store will be disappearing — evanesco! — in December 2020, so we suggest if you're located interstate, to book in a trip to Melbourne ASAP. Find Harry Potter at Myer at the basement level, Myer Melbourne, 314–336 Bourke Street. It's open Monday–Thursday 9.30am–7pm, Friday 9.30am–9pm, Saturday 9.30am–7pm and Sunday 10am–7pm. Updated on October 18, 2019.
In summer, Brico's sun-dappled courtyard is the place to be. If you've been to former local favourite Little Andorra, you'll be familiar with it — Brico sits in the very same spot. Nestled in an unobtrusive corner spot along Nicholson Street in Fitzroy North, 30-seater Brico is a worthy addition to the coterie of wine bars in Melbourne's inner north. The space was conceived in 2024, by five friends who met in London a decade ago. The service here is underpinned by the owners' collective experience at spots like Embla, Bar Liberty and Carlton Wine Room. The wine list focuses on minimal intervention drops from small local and international producers, while the cocktails lean classic like a house Martini shaken with Four Pillars Olive Leaf Gin, a yuzu-forward Highball and an Italian vermouth Spritz. Created by Simon Ball-Smith, the European-inspired food offering is designed for sharing and stars seasonal produce from small local suppliers. Expect fresh dishes like devilled crab on fried green tomato; vongole steamed with fregola, vermouth, spinach and cream; and rock flathead from Corner Inlet wrapped in fig leaves with a tomatillo chermoula. To finish, the adorably-named choccy pot with blueberry is a decadent end, or opt for a chilled shot of herbal liqueur as a digestif. Images supplied
Magic Mountain Saloon. An otherworldly alliteration with a cowboy twist. Interesting. Hardly surprising that a name like this comes from the team that brought us Cookie, The Toff, Revolver and Boney — all venues with names that both intrigue and totally suit their quirky nature. Like the other members of its family, Magic Mountain is the lofty result of longtime collaborators, owner Camillo Ippoliti, chef Karen Batson and architect Philip Schemnitz. Three levels of wood, brick and Italian steel — with just a hint of a New York warehouse feel — see the space stand tall on Little Collins Street. It's a fully-fledged bar (open 'til 3am every night), and it's also an all-day eatery, open for lunch, dinner, bar snacks and, most notably, breakfast. It's the breakfast menu that really sets Magic Mountain apart from its siblings. As in her other venues, Batson's menu blends Thai flavours with a modern Australian palette. The lunch and dinner menu has a range of appetizers, dishes from the wok, salads, wings, ribs and curry pots — as well as a Thai-inspired wood-fired grill menu. But breakfast is not breakfast as you might expect it. Diners are encouraged to extend their tastes beyond eggs and bacon to a range of fairly substantial Thai options, both sweet and savoury. Enthusiastic staff are quick to demystify the menu. If you are feeling less ambitious there are omelettes, and — as the waitress explained — if you think of the black sticky rice with coconut granola and dried mango granola ($14.50) as porridge and liken the roti bread, almond butter, grilled banana and condensed milk as pancakes, then the choices aren't nearly so confronting. Coddled egg and chicken ball congee ($14.40) is a very popular and traditionally Thai choice, and the daikon hash brown, morning glory, mushrooms, eggplant and ginger blossom relish ($16.50) is a good-sized vegetarian breakfast — complete with a hint of chilli that leaves you with the feeling of goodness coursing through your veins. For something fresh and a little different, the soy milk, coconut pikelets and papaya, while being pretty much exactly what it says, somehow manages to be a whole lot more. House-made soy bean milk, warmed with palm sugar, infused with pandan leaves and served in a little bottle with a carnival straw is comforting and the perfect accompaniment to the sticky coconut pikelets and tropically fresh papaya. Quiet and mellow by day, Magic Mountain Saloon is transformed by night into a restaurant, bar and music venue. With so much to offer and something for everyone, why don't you climb the mountain and discover it for yourself. Images: Letícia Almeida.
Wanting a little romantic indulgence? Make a bee-line straight for Onsen Hot Pools where there aren't even the words to describe how heavenly it is. Located just ten minutes from Queenstown, perched on the cliffs within a stunning mountain range, this onsen gives you a chance to soak in the breathtaking scenery while you soak in warm 38-degree waters. As you recline in the cedar pool with your choice of tipple, the retractable roof will open up to reveal cascading views across the Shotover River by day or the mesmerising star-filled sky by night. It's the epitome of relaxation. Each pool room can accommodate up to four adults, so you can share with family and friends or keep it strictly 'lovers only', just you and bae. For extra indulgence, book in for an onsite massage. We suggest the 120-minute experience which includes a massage and facial followed by herbal teas and raw-pressed refreshments in the lounge. Go on, you deserve it.
Twelve months after State of Grace served its last drinks on Collins Street, shutting up shop along with its secret cellar bar Fall From Grace, the city hot-spot has made a triumphant return. Resurrected in style — and this time sporting a new King Street address — the well-loved venue has made one hell of a comeback. Here, old-world decor meets contemporary flair with a touch of the experimental. Mirrors, marble and chandeliers abound through both the European-style restaurant at street level and the hidden drinking den tucked below. Like the original, the latter is accessed through a bookshelf, though it's swapped the soaring ceilings for an intimate den, scattered with lounges and vintage knick-knacks. From the kitchen comes a share-friendly, modern Australian offering with a European edge. It's a modern take on bistro fare, sporting dishes like Aylesbury duck breast with crispy duck leg, rhubarb and freekah ($36); gnocchi with sage and black garlic purée ($28); and scallops teamed with apple, black pudding and candied bacon ($23). An extensive selection of grazing bites is sure to prove a hit with the after-work crowds, featuring bites like freshly shucked oysters ($5 each), prawn and prosciutto croquettes ($14), and a chicken liver pâté matched with jammy orange curd and brioche ($17). Behind the bar, classic cocktails sit alongside clever signatures, like the Little Hell ($19) — a blend of gin, Campari, apple and blood orange with a hint of rosemary — a Charged Negroni ($24), with dark rum and coffee, and the Saving Grace ($19), a salted caramel-spiked espresso martini. Late last year, the newly reopened (and relocated) State of Grace added to Melbourne's burgeoning rooftop bar scene, launching its own sky-high drinking hole. With impressive views across the city, the rooftop is serving up a succinct lineup of snacks — including grilled haloumi, chicken liver pâté and cured meats — and classic and untraditional pizzas (think cheeseburger and fried chicken toppings for the latter).
For a country that's girt by sea, as our national anthem reminds us, Australia has become rather obsessed with waves of the artificial kind in the past few years. Melbourne has its own Urbnsurf surf park, Sydney is set to score one this year, and the brand is looking to set up shop in Brisbane and Perth as well — while Melbourne also boasts a theme park with a wave pool, and other different man-made spots have also been earmarked for Sydney's north and the Gold Coast. Oh, and Kelly Slater is meant to be opening a surf ranch on the Sunshine Coast, too. Indeed, "who needs real beaches?" seems to be the current line of thinking — and it's also behind Surf Lakes, a regional Queensland surf park that's been up and running for a few years, but only for testing. Now the operation has been given the go-ahead to develop its Yeppoon site by both the Queensland Government and the Livingston Shire Council, which puts it on-track to add facilities for the public. Yes, that means that within 12–18 months, it'll ideally be welcoming in anyone and everyone to live out their Point Break dreams beyond the ocean. The Capricorn Coast venue was built as a prototype facility designed to give a new kind of technology a whirl, and uses a central mechanism that sends waves from the middle of its 200-metre by 150-metre lake towards the edge. With the water lapping over eight distinctive breaks, it produces more than 2000 surfable waves per hour, including some measuring more than two metres in height. When it launched in Yeppoon, Surf Lakes also had some high-profile support, with Aussie surfers Mark Occhilupo and Barton Lynch the park's two ambassadors. But opening to the public was always floated as part of the venue's overall mission — and, depending on timing when it does open its doors to everyone, it might make it the first operational surf lake in the world. Wannabe Johnny Utahs (because we all want to be Keanu, admit it) can expect a spot that'll cater for beginners and pros alike, covering folks who've never hopped on a board before — including via learn-to-surf lessons — plus those well-experienced at hanging ten. The site is also set to include shops, places to nab food and drinks, and other outdoor and fitness activities around the lake. And, for those making the trip north for a holiday, there'll be glamping-style accommodation as well. Announcing the news, Surf Lakes International Chief Executive Officer Aaron Trevis said "our long-term aim has always been to take our wave-making technology to the world, allowing people from all walks of life to be able to experience the joys of a surfing life in a safe environment. We hope the Yeppoon site can be one of, if not the first Surf Lake open to the public." Surf Lakes is aiming to open its Yeppoon site at 662 Yeppoon Road, Mulara to the public within 12–18 months — we'll update you with further details when they're announced, and you can head to the company's website for more information in the interim.
Give your Easter a lift this year with a Piccolina Gelateria Uovo di Pasqua Easter egg. While we're not so precious as to turn our noses up at standard, mass-produced milk chocolate creations, these gelato-filled treats have returned to elevate this favourite holiday tradition. Riffing on Italian-style Easter eggs, which are often elaborately decorated or filled with edible surprises or small toys, Piccolina is filling each egg with its legendary gelato. The creations offer an Aussie-inspired twist on the age-old treat, with three nostalgic flavours designed to get your tastebuds moving and shaking. So, what flavours are on offer? The Milo Egg features rich Milo gelato dotted with crunchy homemade Milo rocks and a Milo ganache centre. Coated in smooth milk chocolate and topped with a white chocolate drizzle, this creation will have you reminiscing about devouring spoonfuls of Milo straight from the tin. There's also a Rocky Road Egg, packed with milk chocolate gelato which is layered with homemade raspberry jellies, raspberry marshmallow and toasted peanuts. Featuring a milk chocolate ganache centre, coated in dark chocolate and topped with a pink chocolate drizzle, this classic confectionery has been reimagined for your Easter pleasure. Finally, Piccolina's Golden Gaytime Egg sets its sights on redefining an Australian icon. Here, honeycomb gelato is elevated with chocolate malt crumble and infused with a caramel ganache centre before being coated with caramelised white chocolate and topped with a dark chocolate drizzle. Expect this fascinating take on a cherished taste and texture to evoke more than a few childhood memories. "Easter is about nostalgia, but it's also about wonder," says Piccolina Gelateria founder, Sandra Foti. "We wanted to create something that feels familiar, but is also like nothing you've ever tasted before." Keen to get your hands on these Uovo di Pasqua before Easter arrives? Piccolina Gelateria's Easter collection is available at all locations, from Collingwood to Chadstone, for $39 each. Yet with these handcrafted delights only available for a limited time, placing an order ahead of the holiday is the best way to avoid missing out. Piccolina Gelateria's limited-edition Uovo di Pasqua Easter eggs are now available for online pre-order and in-store purchase at Collingwood, Hawthorn, Richmond, St Kilda, Chadstone and two Melbourne CBD locations, until sold out. Head to the Piccoliona website for more information.
Family feuds are a deadly business in Bad Sisters, Apple TV+'s latest must-see. Just don't believe the first word in its title for a second. Starring, co-written and co-developed by Sharon Horgan, as Catastrophe was before it, this ten-part streaming series focuses on the Garvey girls, a quintet of Irish siblings who became bonded by more than blood when they were orphaned years earlier. Horgan's Eva took on the matriarch role and has doted on her siblings Grace (Anne-Marie Duff, Sex Education), Ursula (Eva Birthistle, The Last Kingdom), Bibi (Sarah Greene, Normal People) and Becka (Eve Hewson, Behind Her Eyes) ever since, even now that they range from their late twenties through to their forties. Used to doing whatever they must for each other, there's nothing bad about their sisterly devotion — but it just might include killing Grace's husband. A pitch-black comedy, a murder-mystery and a family drama all in one — an Irish riff on Big Little Lies, too, although it's actually adapted from Belgian TV's Clan from back in 2012 — Bad Sisters ponders two questions. Firstly, it wonders what lengths loyal siblings would truly go to to protect one of their own. Secondly, it contemplates what comeuppance women pushed to their limits will exact upon the source of their misery. Indeed, it's a darkly funny revenge fantasy as well, and a puzzle to compulsively sleuth along with. Do the Garveys get their wish? How will they try to make their dream a reality? Will their various murder plots work? What'll go wrong next? These queries also keep coming, and unfurling the answers makes for equally riveting, entertaining, empathetic and amusing viewing. Bad Sisters begins on the day of a funeral, farewelling John Paul Williams (Claes Bang, The Northman) after Grace makes sure that his erection won't be noticed first. Her dead husband has long been nicknamed 'The Prick' anyway, with his four sisters-in-law all thoroughly unimpressed, to say the least, about the toxic way he openly treated his dutiful wife. They're all sick of the underhanded abuse he also directed towards each of them, as well as anyone he didn't like, and the unearned air of superiority that always came with it. Calling him manipulative, callous, misogynistic, racist, narcissistic, spiteful, vicious, pitiless, ruthless, flat-out intolerable — they all fit. When a guest offers condolences at JP's wake, Eva's response is: "I'm just glad the suffering's over". When she's then asked if he was ill, she replies with a blunt and loaded "no". Relief lingers during JP's sendoff, but so does tension. Eva, Ursula, Bibi and Becka long wanted The Prick dead and, as flashbacks show, had been planning to bring about that very end. Complicating matters: two insurance agents, aka half-brothers Thomas (Brian Gleeson, Death of a Ladies' Man) and Matthew Claffin (Daryl McCormack, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande), who start nosing around as John Paul is being laid to rest. Their family-run outfit is meant to pay out on his life insurance policy, but it's a hefty amount of cash and will bankrupt the firm. And with Thomas' wife Theresa (Seána Kerslake, My Salinger Year) heavily pregnant and on bed rest, the Claffins already have their own share of family stresses. As brought to Apple TV+ by Horgan with United States of Tara, New Girl and 30 Rock's Brett Baer and Dave Finkel, Bad Sisters uses that insurance investigation to justify its jumps backwards — and it's a savvy tactic. In its weekly instalments, the series works through JP's awfulness and the Garveys' campaign of vengeance in two directions, contrasting the sisters' motivations in the months leading up to their brother-in-law's death with the aftermath. That said, exactly how Grace ends up a widow, who's responsible and which of the siblings knows what all drive the show's whodunnit angle, sharply and entertainingly so. Bad Sisters teases out the precise reasons that Eva, Ursula, Bibi and Becka can't stand JP, too, because The Prick's abysmal behaviour made enemies out of everyone around him over and over. Boasting a devilish setup is just one of Bad Sisters' drawcards. What a premise it is, though. The whole 'offing your arsehole brother-in-law' idea may seem obvious at the outset, but this is a series with both bite and warmth as it unpacks what happens when women don't have any other options but potentially breaking bad — and sticking together. The pervasive feeling: wish fulfilment and catharsis, as Grace's siblings attempt to make everyone's lives better, even if it requires one of the most drastic moves there is. Just as Horgan inhabits her part with fierce affection, as characters played by the This Way Up star tend to sport, the entire ten-episode run bubbles with unfailing determination. It's dedicated to seeing the horrors of coercive control and the harrowing ordeal that is life with someone like JP, but it's as devoted to maintaining hope in the Garveys' sense of sorority. Bad Sisters is also unflinching about perfecting the right balance between twisted, heartfelt, weighty, amusing, sincere and audacious — as resolute as it is about filling its frames with scenic Irish sights. The show's roster of writers and directors, which includes Dearbhla Walsh (Tales From the Loop), Rebecca Gatward (The Spanish Princess) and Josephine Bornebusch (Love Me) behind the lens, ensure four outcomes: lapping up every twist and turn; wishing you're a Garvey yourself; planning a getaway to Ireland; and feeling seen if you've ever been treated terribly by someone you love or even someone you know, be it a relative, friend, neighbour, boss, colleague or acquaintance of an acquaintance. There's no doubting the impact of Bad Sisters' on-screen talents in making it such an instantly addictive Irish delight, however. It isn't merely the central murder-mystery that lures viewers in — and the comic way the series cycles through the Garveys' schemes — but also the show's wonderful leading ladies. From Horgan through to Hewson, the eponymous sisters are exceptionally well-cast, with all five actors conveying the clan's strengths, flaws, differences, fights and camaraderie, including at an individual level and together. Duff is especially heartbreaking as the spouse who has convinced herself that her husband's exploitation and cruelty is normal, while the Bang ensures that the potently odious, easily despised JP is abhorrent on every level but never cartoonish. They're all ably supported by the charmingly bumbling Gleeson and just charmingly charming McCormack, who help reinforce that every family has its ups and downs — including when no one is contemplating homicide. Check out the trailer for Bad Sisters below: Bad Sisters streams via Apple TV+.
