There's no doubt Melbourne's hospitality scene is one of those doing it particularly tough right now, with restrictions halting all dine-in trade since late March (apart from that brief window back in June) and the latest lockdown extended beyond what was originally anticipated. What's more, the Victorian Government's roadmap to reopening — which it unveiled on Sunday, September 6 — suggests that Melburnians are still over a month away from being able to sit down to a meal at an actual restaurant. According to the timeline, hospitality venues will be allowed to reopen from Monday, October 26 at the earliest. And, even then, it'll be for predominantly outdoor table service and with density limits in place. More recently, the government announced some good news: a $187 million in support packages to help boost outdoor dining across the city and the City of Melbourne shared some more details about what that might look like over the weekend. Here, we chat to the staff at six local venues about what the next few months (and years) could look like for them. ELLIE WOODRUFF, FUNCTIONS MANAGER, RICE PAPER SCISSORS (FITZROY) AND RICE PAPER SISTER (CBD) For Ellie Woodruff of modern Southeast Asian restaurants Rice Paper Scissors and Rice Paper Sister, the timeline spelt out on the roadmap was "a tough blow". "We miss serving our guests," Woodruff told Concrete Playground. And, while the team's keen to open as soon as it's safe to do so, it knows there'll be limitations to navigate. "It's still unclear whether the October date will mean anything for us," Woodruff says. "If the density quotient... is kept, and we are only allowed to seat diners in our outdoor areas, it would mean eight-to-ten guests per restaurant, which doesn't make it feasible for us to open." Plus, the costs involved in reopening — think, new contactless ordering systems, staff retraining, stock etc — leave little room for second chances. "Last time we did all this and only stayed open for four weeks before going back into lockdown," Woodruff explains. "It was crushing for morale. This time, it is absolutely critical that when we open, we remain open." Desperate to get their staff back into work and with these cash flow issues looming, that opening date can't come quick enough. "Our profitability is nothing compared to when we are open, so there's really only so long we can remain in this situation before we reach a breaking point," Woodruff says. In the meantime, like so many, Rice Paper Scissors has even extended free delivery on its new Weekender Boxes, which contain everything you need to whip up your choice of five signature dishes, plus a cheeky breakfast creation, for $50. GERRY NASS, OWNER, THE ROBERT BURNS HOTEL (COLLINGWOOD) Another owner who's concerned about the lack of clarity in the government's reopening timeline is the Robert Burns Hotel's Gerry Nass. "It's not a roadmap. It's a 'what if'," he says. As with most, the struggle to stay afloat has been tough for his venue and team. "We are open, but seeing only about ten percent of sales with home delivery and takeaway," explains Nass. "Everyone is working on limited hours and all our casuals are driving deliveries." He made the decision to steer clear of third-party services and has kept his operations local, right through Melbourne's latest stretch of restrictions. Looking ahead, Nass says he's happy to cop any necessary venue density limits as long as he gets to open those doors. "We are already good at managing a regulated industry. We can deal with opening at a limited capacity," he says, remembering the three brief, but busy weeks the pub enjoyed when restricted dine-ins were allowed back in June. "The seats were limited, yes, and everyone had to follow new rules, but it worked. We also only opened five days to keep the wages down so staff would only work four days a week. Everyone was taking less, but all were well rested which is something hospitality is not used to. And the mood was great and there was hope." While the pub is waiting to make a proper return to those days of old, it continues dishing up the goods for its regulars with a menu of home-delivered pub classics, bottled cocktails and tap beer. LUKE STEPSYS, OWNER, FEAST OF MERIT (RICHMOND) AND PANAMA DINING ROOM (FITZROY) As the owner of two very different venues, Feast of Merit and Panama Dining Room, Luke Stepsys admits the roadmap has made any planning difficult. "Like any business currently closed, it would be foolish to develop or implement any type of plan for reopening," he says, adding that the government's firm approach and strict timeline "gives us absolutely no certainty for the future." While Stepsys supports keeping lockdowns in place until the state starts clocking more manageable case numbers, he's also wary about the targets its required to meet. "I fear this benchmark will be the death of small businesses in Melbourne, including the hospitality industry," he explains. "I look towards NSW, and feel so much envy." When Concrete Playground talked to the venue owner prior to the Victorian Government unveiling its new outdoor hospitality support package this week, he was unsure about the viability of a move to predominantly outdoor service. "The outside dining plan sounds wonderful in theory, but reality says it won't work in Melbourne for most operators," Stepsys predicts, outlining issues like the city's sketchy weather and limiting contact between diners passing foot traffic. While he suggests that closing streets and creating pop-up outdoor dining precincts could work in certain areas, he's aware that some venues — like his own third-storey Fitzroy warehouse eatery — have very few options for al fresco service. So, Stepsys is holding tight and waiting for the government's green light. If that was pushed out to the end of November, both of Stepsys' venues would have been closed for 29 weeks this year, still racking up overheads of $10,000 to $15,000 per week. He admits he's lucky to be in a position to bounce back from this, with close to 100 weddings and events already booked for Panama Dining Room next year. "But I really feel for the state of my industry," he says. "I know of so many owners who are really struggling financially and mentally." FUMI TAMURA, CO-OWNER, TAMURA SAKE BAR (FITZROY) At Fitzroy's Tamura Sake Bar, owners Fumi and Takako Tamura had largely accepted there'd be a lengthy wait on the return of normal dine-in trade, but say they still feel the pinch of the roadmap and its targets. Fumi admits his initial reaction was simply, "shiiiiiiiiit". As a Japanese venue that usually operates with a large portion of Japanese staff, they're looking at some additional staffing challenges. "We'll be in the difficult situation [of finding] chefs and front staff who are aware of Japanese authenticity, with food and sake knowledge," explains Fumi. "Most Japanese students and working holiday visa holders left the country and they won't be able to come back in." Like many, Tamura has had to change its offerings, shifting from a craft sake bar to a takeaway eatery focused on sushi, sashimi and other Japanese deli-style fare that can be enjoyed fresh at home. But while the takeaway and delivery is working a treat during lockdown, and looks set to stick around even after reopening, Fumi admits he's itching to see the venue return to its true calling. "It will be hard to keep our motivation to work in this situation if we are only trading as a takeaway business. It is more about the culture and connection with our customers through our food, sake and music," he says. "We still feel love coming straight back from our customers during these lockdown takeaway trades, but we can easily lose the passion if we can't see our near future being back as it was, [with] happy customers around our bar counter." If an October 26 reopening gets the green light, Tamura Sake Bar fans can look forward to being greeted by all that passion, along with a new seasonal menu and a revamped dining concept making the most of outdoor service. DAVID BARTL, CO-OWNER, THE ASCOT LOT (ASCOT VALE) AND YET-TO-LAUNCH HOLMES HALL (MOONEE PONDS) Dave Bartl calls the government's roadmap "heartbreaking", as his food truck park sits shuttered since April and his new venture has waited over seven months to host its own grand opening. While Bartl and his co-owners are hoping that the largely outdoors Ascot Lot will be able to meet any density requirements and open up from October 26, there's likely to be a much bigger wait on the launch of the new 400-seat Holmes Hall, unless enough adjacent footpaths and car parks can be converted into dining spaces. "As much as we can't wait to start trading, it's really important to us that after almost two years of dreaming, we don't settle for something that isn't anywhere near what we've been working towards," Bartl explains. "So we'll be patient." Bartl predicts the challenges after reopening will be similar for many: "finding the balance between a COVID-safe environment that is also financially viable." There are plenty of extra costs involved in simultaneously delivering table service and meeting new health requirements, too — and then there's Melbourne's sketchy weather. "The outdoor dining option, whilst sending a ray of hope, is always a little scary as we've found from operating The Ascot Lot," he explains. "It is often hard to build a stable and consistent trade in a very weather dependent venue. Hopefully Melburnians just remember that we need their support and they brave the slightly colder days to get out and about anyway. I'm confident they will after being locked up inside for months this year." [caption id="attachment_783653" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brad Hammond by Simon Shiff[/caption] BRAD HAMMOND, GENERAL MANAGER, THE ALBERT PARK HOTEL (ALBERT PARK) The pandemic's timing has been especially unfortunate for owners of the newly revamped Albert Park Hotel, which had barely opened its doors before the industry started to shut down back in autumn. General Manager Brad Hammond says that while he knows the timeline is necessary, it's disappointing after so much time already spent locked down. And he suspects things will be even tougher should venues be restricted to only outside dining at the start. "There is another six weeks before we can trade and even then to not have anyone through the doors [would be] a hard pill to swallow," admits Hammond. "That said, we are lucky to have a decent outside space to make the most of the restrictions thereafter." The pub's main challenges have been retaining its staff, many of whom are on visas and have little other support during lockdown. "We were particularly unlucky with the timing of our launch and it means only a fraction of our team were eligible for Jobkeeper," he says. "The longer it goes, the more fallout we see." A takeaway and delivery service has helped keep some of the staff in work, though there'll still be plenty of rebuilding required when things pick up again. While Hammond knows the financial implications of these extended lockdowns are grim, the venue's also fortunate to be in a position to bounce back when the time comes. "We're lucky to be a part of a great community and the people of Albert Park and the surrounding areas have really been behind us," he says. "Whenever we do come out the other side it's going to be one hell of a party." Top image: Tamura Sake Bar by Kate Shanasy
Melbourne scored its first Five Guys outpost back in 2022, with the cult-favourite US burger chain making Southbank its home. And now, on Monday, October 14, it's set to open its second Melbourne venue, bringing its famed burger combos to the CBD. Setting up shop at 228 Lonsdale Street, the new store will sit on the perimeter of the CBD's QV shopping centre, seat 68 burger lovers and — unsurprisingly — sport Five Guys' red-and-white colour scheme. On the menu: burgers, fries, hotdogs, sandwiches and shakes, aka Five Guys' usual range. If you're wondering why the brand has built up such a following across the world, the fact that its made-to-order burgers skew in the classic direction is one good reason. These burgs come with two hand-formed patties on toasted buns, with your choice of free toppings (including pickles, grilled mushrooms and jalapeños). Five Guys also does bacon cheeseburgers that add two strips of bacon and two slices of Kraft American cheese. It's simple and incredibly effective. Prefer hotdogs, sandwiches (in veggie, cheese or BLT varieties), hand-cut fries (with or without Cajun spices) and vanilla milkshakes? They're all on the menu as well. Don't go thinking that the latter are boring, though — you can add bacon, bananas, peanut butter, salted caramel and even Biscoff pieces to your design-your-own beverage. As anyone with allergies should note, though, Five Guys only cooks its fries in peanut oil. The popular chain already has more than 1900 stores to its name across America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia since starting back in 1986 in the Washington, DC area — and has amassed quite the reputation in the process. Even given the number of big-name US burger chains with hefty followings, such as Shake Shack and In-N-Out, it stands out. Consider yourself a die-hard Five Guys fan, and are keen to try some of the new venue's first burgers? Be sure to get down at (or before) 10.30am on Monday, October 14, to be one of the first 100 customers — for the Five Guys team is giving away a stack of limited-edition merchandise to the first 100 punters. Find Five Guys' second Melbourne store at QV Melbourne, 228 Lonsdale Street, from Monday, October 14 — open from 11am–10pm daily. For more details, you can visit the venue's website.
While it might have four walls, proper tables, and a more substantive food and drink offering, Frankie's Tortas and Tacos on Johnston Street has the same vibrant energy and bold flavour offering as its initial hole-in-the-wall set up on Smith Street. When it opened in 2019, the unassuming Mexican venue took up the space of a former kebab joint in a tiny car park kiosk. With its chain-link fencing, charming, low-key vibe, and undeniably tasty food, it attracted a loyal following, despite seating only about 15 diners. So, it was only about time that Frankie's Tortas and Tacos set up a proper brick-and-mortar location. In 2021, Frankie's found a new home on Johnston Street. With more space, the owners were able to push their food and drinks offerings even further. With a selection of imported Mexican beers, refreshing cocktails and a dedicated backbar of mezcal and tequila, if you're into agave, this is the place to drink. With some of the rarest and highest-quality tequilas and mezcals on offer, Frankie's has even launched an agave club to help educate and showcase premium agave spirits. And while snacking on chicharron and fries, you can all too easily make your way through plenty of new additions and old favourites. Tortas (or Mexican sandwiches), on soft white Vietnamese-style rolls, are a drawcard. The fish torta, with fried blue grenadier, lettuce, pickled onion and carrot, jalapeño mayo and salsa verde, is a hard-to-beat lunch option on a warm day. The classic al pastor version, with marinated, grilled pork, is bursting with Oaxacan cheese, refried beans and Frankie's Red Hot Sauce. Eggplant and mushroom options make this a great spot for vegos, too. Simple tacos, topped with minimal fill-ins like onion, coriander and a dollop of salsa, are loved from far and wide. Grilled chicken tacos are topped with mango-habanero salsa, and the pork variety is adorned with a slice of pineapple. Add a squeeze of lime and a dash of hot sauce for a flavour explosion. In case you couldn't get your fix at lunch or dinner, Frankie's is now serving up a bold breakfast menu, including a breakfast torta with fried eggs, hash browns, avocado verde, white onion, and coriander, with the option to add chorizo or mushrooms. Order a cold brew with a little horchata, and you'll be set for the day. Images: Supplied.
Once those temperatures drop and the icy snows of winter set in, Victoria's alpine resorts have skiers and snowboarders flocking from all over, keen to make the most of their powder-topped slopes and crisp mountain air. But just because those classic snow sports aren't your jam, doesn't mean you can't still embrace the wintery white magic of it all. Whether you fancy swapping the skis for a soak in a Japanese-style onsen, or taking a break from the board in favour of a mountain-top glamping adventure, there are plenty of alternative ways to embrace the snow season, alpine-style. Rug up and check out these eight Victorian snow experiences that aren't just skiing or snowboarding. In keeping with current COVID-19 restrictions, the Victorian snow season is set to kick off a little later than usual, on June 22. Stricter social distancing and hygiene requirements will mean this year's season will look a little different to others, with reduced staff numbers and restrictions on venue capacity. The ski industry is currently working with the government on a new set of snow season guidelines designed to help minimise the spread of COVID-19. [caption id="attachment_771542" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Toshi Pander[/caption] GLAMP ATOP A SNOW-COVERED MOUNTAIN If there's one way to really level-up your snow game, it's a unique mountain sleepover, which will see you sleeping under the stars and surrounded by pristine, snow-dusted bushland. And yes, that's a thing. Located at Mt Hotham, Alpine Nature Experience's sustainably-built 'snowdome' tents are available to book for an overnight stay on top of its regular snowshoe, fondue and dinner package. The Igloo to Skidoo experience will see you spend a cosy night glamping on snow in the wilderness, enjoying the creature comforts of plush bedding and a private wood fire heater while those stars twinkle through the tent's see-through roof. A hearty mountain-top breakfast kicks things off the next morning, before a scenic snowmobile ride back to the car park. It'll set you back about $289 for the whole shebang, depending how many people you book for. [caption id="attachment_771551" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Howling Huskies Tour[/caption] TRAVEL THE SLOPES BY SLED DOG Swap those skis for some propulsion of the furry, four-legged variety, whipping across the slopes on a sled dog tour. One of these scenic snow adventures will see you travelling in style, pulled by a team of very good boys (and girls). The Howling Huskies crew offers a range of dog-powered tours out of Dinner Plain, Mt Baw Baw and Mt Hotham, all with plenty of opportunity for post-ride pats and selfies. These tours start from $185 for a 30-minute ride for two and go up to $1250 for a five-hour adventure. Meanwhile, the long-running Australian Sleddog Tours is based at Mt Buller, hosting daily rides, starting from $120 a person, through the winter season with its team of mostly rescued huskies. If you're lucky, you could score a visit with legendary crew member Dusty, the Australian Kelpie. HIT THE SNOW ON A FAT BIKE Thought mountain biking was just a summer thing? Grab that helmet and think again — cycling through powder might be your new winter calling. Fat bikes are specialised off-road cruisers with extra wide tires that are primed for handling snow-covered trails. And you can take one for a spin across a whole network of fat bike tracks winding through the slopes of Falls Creek. The groomed trails are rideable whenever the temperature's below 0 degrees, though your muscles will thank you for sticking to the areas of hard-packed snow. If you're without a fat bike of your own, you can hire a suitable whip from Snowrider Rentals, located within Falls Creek Hotel. SNOWSHOE THROUGH THE ALPINE WILDERNESS If hiking is your preferred method of mountain appreciation, you can opt to keep both feet firmly on the ground with a rugged snowshoeing adventure. Ditch the skis or board in favour of a budget-friendly pair of rental snowshoes and trek your way across those slopes instead. Mt Buller's guided one-hour Yeti Snowshoe Tours run daily, clocking in at just $35 per person with shoe hire included. They can even be tailored to suit different skill levels, ranging from a newbie-friendly stroll around the village, through to a more strenuous summit climb. The stunning wintery surrounds of Mt Stirling can also be enjoyed on foot, either on a self-led snowshoe mission, or with a guided Saturday afternoon tour. There are two signposted trails to explore here, weaving through dense mountain ash forest and offering some top-notch views while you wander. WHIP AROUND THE MOUNTAIN ON A SNOWMOBILE To soak up maximum snow-covered mountain views, for minimal effort, rug up and jump aboard a snowmobile tour. You'll get to zip across the slopes taking in the best of all that winter scenery, while enjoying the advantages of a cushioned seat and some horsepower. Mt Hotham's Back Country Sled Tours runs a range of bush-bashing alpine jaunts on a custom-built, four-person sled pulled behind a long-tracked snowmobile. They vary from quick ten-minute treks ($90 for four), through to half-day overland adventures with lunch included (for $350). Or, if you prefer to take the reins, try a guided snowmobile tour of the rugged Bogong High Plains, running out of Falls Creek. You can drive yourself, or kick back and play passenger, as your group whizzes through mountain terrain overlooking Mt McKay, The Summit and more. [caption id="attachment_771557" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rob Blackburn for Visit Victoria[/caption] APRES-SKI, AUSSIE-STYLE Australia might not have the level of apres-ski scene made famous overseas, but you'll still find plenty of ways to keep the snow party going long after the final chair lift is closed for the day. At Mt Hotham, Euro-style Zirky's Bar proves a popular choice for live tunes and warming serves of Austrian glühwein, while the always buzzy Bird is slinging crafty brews and snack specials, just metres from the Summit Chair Lift. Over in Mt Buller, you'll find classic pub grub and a wide-ranging drinks list at the newly revamped Kooroora Hotel. And at Falls Creek, punters can luxe up their night with a visit to intimate cocktail bar Apartment 3, where boutique gin reigns supreme. GET PAMPERED AT AN ONSEN Whether you're battling achy post-ski legs or not, a little on-snow pampering is always a good idea. And handily, Onsen Retreat and Spa boasts a luxurious set-up in the heart of Dinner Plain, where you can experience some alpine magic without having to brave the elements or chair lift queues. Here, you can soak away your stress levels in a Japanese-style outdoor onsen that's heated to a toasty 38 degrees. Or, perhaps, settle into a soothing sauna session, back-ended with a volcanic hot stone massage and herbal exfoliation. Whatever your spa vibe, you're sure to find something to suit among this venue's extensive menu of facial therapies, body treatments and packages. Post mountain glow, sorted. [caption id="attachment_771555" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mark Watson for Visit Victoria[/caption] TAKE TO THE SLOPES IN A GIANT TUBE If there's an acceptable method of descending the slopes on your butt, then you can bet we're here for it. And, with the added bonus of requiring minimal coordination, snow tubing ticks plenty of boxes. Victoria's got many spots where you can take a downhill snow slide in an inflated tube, including Falls Creek's ever-popular dedicated snow tubing park. This one's aimed at big and little kids alike, open daily from 2–6pm down in the Village Bowl. Meanwhile, Lake Mountain has its own 100-metre-long tube run kicking all year-round, and the Snow Park at Dinner Plain offers hours of easygoing snow play for lo-fi types. Top image: Howling Huskies
Spotify Wrapped, the biggest day of the year for admitting to music tastes, has returned. It's the sacred day when we crack open the statistics and see what we've been listening to by the numbers. Here's hoping we've moved on from the pink pilates princess era. For Wrapped Day 2025, Spotify is taking the fun out of your Instagram stories with a series of in-person activations. Celebrating some of the biggest bands in the game, Spotify is taking over Melbourne Central Mall today with a pop-up of personalised goodies for only the most dedicated of listeners. Some Spotify users are ashamed of their hours — but this is a place to celebrate the impressive numbers. If you're a chronic listener, the dedicated office DJ, a driver who won't go a kilometre without a song or someone who just needs white noise — this is your moment. Head to Melbourne Central Mall and look for the Spotify stand near the Optus shop, and show off your hours to the staff, and you'll walk away with one of six limited edition keyrings with your listening hours engraved on the back. It's a special way to remember the year gone by, and you'll have from 10.00am to 6.00pm to visit and secure your goodies, but don't wait as they'll sell out in no time.
Horn Please has passed through a few different owners' and chefs' hands throughout the years. It was originally run by Jessi Singh until he sold it in 2015, to work over in New York. Amar and Raj Singh then took over until Jessi returned in 2018 to work as a consultant and chef for Horn Please. Nowadays, each of these chefs and restaurateurs plays apart in making Horn Please one of the very best Indian restaurants in Melbourne. It's definitely worth a visit — for a few reasons. Jessi grew up in a humble, North Indian kitchen, and his love of food and traditional cooking methods is evident by just looking at the menu. The 'Street' menu includes a beetroot paneer tikka, generously marinated in curd cheese and charred in the tandoor oven, as well as Colonel Tso's cauliflower, served with a tomato chilli sauce. If you're hanging out for a curry then it's all here, including mouth-watering favourites like free-range butter chicken, marinated in yogurt, tomato and fenugreek, as well as classic village dishes such as Punjabi kadhi. This dish consists of spinach fritters with turmeric and slow cooked sour yoghurt. There's even a cheeky sweets menu to close out the night, including classics such as Indian donuts and mango lassis. Horn Please is no longer BYO, but there's a good reason for that. They've invested a generous pour of time and effort into creating a drinks menu on par with the food menu. Standouts include the salted caramel espresso martini and the dirty lassi. There are Indian beers to compliment the curries and a range of whiskies including Paul John, a sumptuous sing-malt from Goa. The wine list is eclectic with a focus on Australian and European drops. Top images: Peter Tarasiuk
Elton John summed it up perfectly: when Marilyn Monroe died in 1962, her candle burned out long before her legend ever would. Six decades since her passing, the actor remains a Hollywood icon. Like Elvis, she may as well be mononymic. Her face is instantly recognisable, and still everywhere. Ana de Armas just received an Oscar nomination for playing her, after Michelle Williams earned one back in 2012 for also stepping into her shoes. And, the Some Like It Hot, Gentleman Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire star is also the subject of a sizeable exhibition heading to Australia for the first time: Marilyn: The Woman Behind the Icon. This Marilyn celebration will make its Aussie premiere at Sydney Town Hall, in the Lower Town Hall, from Saturday, July 1–Sunday, September 24. On display: more than 200 artefacts spanning Monroe's life, including handwritten notes, personal letters and other possessions. This is the largest Marilyn collection of its kind. Indeed, the objects set to grace the showcase stem from Ted Stampfer, owner the world's largest range of Marilyn items. With Marilyn: The Woman Behind the Icon, he's aiming to share insights into Monroe as a person, not just a celebrity — spanning her time in the spotlight, of course, but also back when she was Norma Jeane Mortenson. [caption id="attachment_905881" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Joseph Jasgur, Ted Stampfer[/caption] Stampfer will be on hand on opening day providing a curator's tour, as part of an events program accompanying the three-month memorabilia exhibition. Friday-night sessions will feature music and entertainment, and film screenings will also be part of the lineup, letting attendees experience Marilyn's movie magic for themselves. As it celebrates the woman who scaled the heights of fame, became a household name, but received horrific scrutiny for her sex-symbol status and her love life — focusing on her hard work, not the stories spun about her — this'll be the only time that Marilyn: The Woman Behind the Icon will open to the public in this form. [caption id="attachment_905878" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ted Stampfer[/caption]
International hotel brands that ooze that cool industrial aesthetic naturally choose to set up shop in Melbourne before other Australian cities. We just got the first Australian StandardX in Fitzroy, and now The Hoxton has announced it will launch in Melbourne sometime in 2027. It's still a long while away, but The Hoxton will take up residence within Cremorne's Matchworks Precinct and have the same open-door lobby atmosphere that the group has become well known for. The original hotel in London's Shoreditch has always been a thriving hub for creatives and start-ups, with the lobby regularly packed out with folks working and networking late into the night. The Hoxton team will endeavour to emulate that in Melbourne by setting up a whole host of drinking and dining destinations, including an all-day diner, cafe, bar and restaurant. [caption id="attachment_930497" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Hoxton Williamsburg[/caption] Beyond that, there'll be a generous 198 rooms spread out over several floors, ranging in size and amenities. There'll also be a special events space called The Apartment, which is centred around a communal pantry. Setting up in Cremorne also make a lot of sense for the brand, as the warehouse-laden suburb is booming right now, with offices, wine bars and galleries popping up all over the place. The Founder and Co-CEO of Ennismore Sharan Pasricha shared, "We are delighted to bring The Hoxton to Australia for the first time. As free-spirited as it is sophisticated, Melbourne has been in our sights for a long time for The Hoxton, and Cremorne is a perfect fit for the brand. "Our guests and brand followers have long been asking for a Hoxton in Australia, and we're thrilled to finally make it happen in a brilliant building steeped in history and started life as a matchstick factory. We look forward to making our guests feel at home while discovering the very best of our new neighbourhood." [caption id="attachment_903148" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Hoxton Shoreditch[/caption] The Hoxton Melbourne is slated to open in 2027, and will be found at 560 Church Street, Cremorne. For more information, you can visit the group's website.
The sun is dying, and only a mission to space can potentially save life on earth and all of humanity. Sound familiar? If you've watched Sunshine from 28 Years Later duo Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, then it should. This one should ring a bell, too, if you caught The Martian: an everyman character gets stranded solo well beyond the third rock from the sun. Combine elements of two excellent sci-fi films from years gone by and you have Project Hail Mary — at least based on the just-dropped first trailer for the 2026 release. It isn't by accident that The Martian pops to mind, either. American novelist Andy Weir wrote the book that 2015 feature was based on. A decade later, the same applies, this time telling a tale about a science teacher who becomes an astronaut — and the planet's only hope. Ryan Gosling (The Fall Guy) plays Ryland Grace, who usually teaches the sixth grade. In parts of the Project Hail Mary's debut sneak peek, he stresses that he's putting the "not" in "astronaut" — and he's both sceptical and reluctant about the task being asked of him. In other moments in the film's first trailer, he's 11.9 light years from home, all alone, and uncertain why after waking up with no memory about what he's doing in space. Also included: attempting to discover why the sun is dying, using his science skills in a manner far beyond what he'd ever expected and making friends while soaring through the heavens. Audiences Down Under can make a date with the end result in March 2026 — and watch Gosling tackle space again after portraying Neil Armstrong in 2018's First Man, as part of a cast that spans Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), Lionel Boyce (The Bear), Ken Leung (Industry) and Milana Vayntrub (Going Dutch), too. Project Hail Mary also marks the first picture directed by filmmakers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller in more than a decade, when the pair had both The Lego Movie and 22 Jump Street in cinemas in 2014. In the years since, they've been busy, however — such as initially being slated to helm Solo: A Star Wars Story, then getting replaced by Ron Howard (Jim Henson Idea Man), and producing everything from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its sequel to the very different Brigsby Bear and Cocaine Bear. Check out the first trailer for Project Hail Mary below: Project Hail Mary opens in Australian cinemas in March 2026.
Just opposite the MCG on Wellington Parade, The Cliveden Bar & Dining has opened its doors as the latest part of Pullman Melbourne on The Park's $6 million makeover. Steeped in history, the new all-day operation sits at the East Melbourne address made famous in the '80s and '90s by The Cliveden Room — a fine dining icon and one-time haunt of the A-listers of the era, like Barry Humphries and Bert Newton. Today's iteration has a culinary focus that's equally sophisticated yet thoroughly modern, as executive chef John Ross showcases "a new way to buffet" centred around artisan produce. Within an enormous, 202-seat restaurant space, diners are invited to enjoy five unique buffet menus, running from a European and Mediterranean dinner offering spanning dishes like Spanish chicken pie and confit duck, through to a seafood-heavy Sunday brunch buffet complete with egg station. That's in addition to a lineup of share plates, charcuterie and a soon-to-launch high tea selection. Meanwhile, the bar situation is an exciting proposition in itself, not least of all for the 116-seat designer lounge area. Headlining the drinks list is a range of buzzworthy signature cocktails like the Bloody Aussie Negroni, which is crafted on Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin, Red Økar Amaro from South Australia and Maidenii sweet vermouth. The wine list tips its hat to top Victorian talent from across The Yarra Valley and Mornington and Bellarine Peninsulas, backed by a curation of European varietals and a solid selection of craft beer and cider.
Australia's much-loved cook, author, restaurateur and The Great Australian Bake Off host Maggie Beer is helping you become a culinary whiz while you're spending more time at home. So, next time you're reaching for the instant noodles, do yourself a favour and turn to Maggie. Dubbed Cooking with Maggie, the series features the cooking legend whipping up delicious dishes in her Barossa home. She'll be putting up a new video every day via Instagram or Facebook, showing you how to make an easy rustic-style dish in under 20 minutes. From eggplant and eggs to a caramelised onion and Persian feta side dish and Maggie's take on a panzanella salad, every recipe uses simple ingredients, which you probably already have most of sitting in your pantry. Otherwise, a quick trip to your local grocer — or your garden if you've a green thumb like Maggie — will sort you out. But perhaps best of all is watching Maggie in her own kitchen, offering up little wisdoms. Her enthusiasm and charm is undeniable and will warm your soul. So, even if you're not looking for dinner inspiration, you may want to watch the affable cook anyway. Because, we're all in need of a little comfort — food or otherwise — right now. https://www.facebook.com/OfficialMaggieBeer/videos/242070486919378/
An escape to Aotearoa New Zealand can cater to all your holiday desires, whatever they may be. Whether your idea of a perfect getaway is to be gazing out at incredible scenery, absorbing it all on a hike, bike, paddle, swim or walk, or being pampered into a state of utter relaxation, New Zealand will take your breath away. Make where you stay part of your holiday too, rather than simply a place to rest your head after an experience-packed day. From camping out under the stars beneath one of the darkest skies on Earth to retreating into luxury residences next to vineyards and cellar doors, or even going completely off-grid, the getaways you'll find in New Zealand are uniquely extraordinary. Although New Zealand beckons for a holiday year-round, the seasons will shape your sojourn too. Revel in the charm of changing landscapes in autumn, catch your breath on alpine walks and in hot springs in winter, or experience the energy of spring as native wildlife and vegetation start afresh. No matter when you visit, you'll be welcomed with manaakitanga, a Maōri value encompassing a deep sense of connection and welcome, for a holiday you'll wish never had to end. We've partnered with 100% Pure New Zealand to curate some of our favourite stays in New Zealand, including which season they're best experienced in, to help you plan an unforgettable trip. Flick the switch for incredible getaway venues in autumn, winter and spring. Jump to switcher
If you've ever walked around a gallery eavesdropping on people discussing art, and felt that pang of intimidation, you'll know that talking about art is actually kind of hard. Sure there's the 'if I was rich would I hang it in my house?' test or the 'could I do that?' questioning session, but there's much more to art appreciation than that. In order to save you from awkwardly lurking behind a tour group, taking notes on the important-sounding things the guide says so you can later impress your friends, we've done the lurking for you. Here's our list of the top five talking points of this year's Archibald Prize so you can rest assured that those shifty weirdos who are listening in on your conversations will think you know what you're talking about — though we'd suggest you make no judgements because that was you not so long ago. [caption id="attachment_631052" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Archibald Prize 2017 winner Mitch Cairns: Agatha Gothe-Snape.[/caption] MITCH CAIRNS' PORTRAIT WIN It wouldn't be the Archibald without a little art world controversy, and this year is no exception. Prize winner Mitch Cairns, whose work has been hung in the prestigious prize on four occasions, even hinted at the potential throwdown saying, "I composed this portrait with love in the full knowledge of its inevitable and palpable quake." Cairns' work, a beguiling portrait of his partner and fellow artistic powerhouse, Agatha Gothe-Snape, has seen its audience divided and heads tilted, which begs the question: do the judges strive to make a choice every year that will incite debate and stir conversation? Gallery curator Anne Ryan said of the contentious decision, "It came down to two works in the end, but the judges voted for Cairns' work because of its success in revealing the character of its sitter, and its excellence as a contemporary painting." There's no doubt the work is striking, and the composition and finish are immaculate — and surely a painting that results in gallery-goers debating its merits long after they've departed counts for something? [caption id="attachment_636773" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Archibald Prize 2017 finalist what: Robert Forster.[/caption] THE ROBERT FORSTER PAINTING BY 'WHAT' Let's face it, standing in the corner of a crowded gallery googling "Australian artist what" or "identity of what" will result in you looking like the ultimate creeper. Spoiler alert: there are 12 million results and hardly any of them are remotely helpful, which is why we're here to help. The son of a truck driver, the mysterious artist what, was born in Queensland and grew up in Western Sydney, graduating from the National Art School in 1992. His practice spans sculpture, painting, installation and performance, drawing from his own life, politics, religion and culture. A portrait of Go Between's frontman Robert Forster, what's work is unlike the majority of the paintings in the gallery. With a light-hearted poem accompanying the portrait rather than paragraphs of explanation, his approach definitely incites some consideration of what it means to have your art speak for itself, without being tainted by an artist's identity. [caption id="attachment_637078" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Archibald Prize 2017 finalist Tjungkara Ken: Kungkarangkalpa tjukurpa (Seven Sisters dreaming), a self-portrait.[/caption] SELF PORTRAITS — THE CONFIDENCE TO PAINT YOURSELF FOR THE PRIZE According to the rules of the Archibald Prize, all entries must be "painted from life, with the subject known to the artist, aware of the artist's intentions and having at least one live sitting with the artist." And every year there are a handful of self portraits featured in the Archibald. So do these entries actually pass the criteria? AGNSW curator Anne Ryan suggests that they indeed do. "A self portrait gives an insight into the character of an artist that comes from deep within," explains Ryan. "It can lay bare their self-perception, presenting themselves to the world in a way that can sometimes be very brave, very raw or alternatively, how the artist wishes the world to see them." Another point in the entry criteria is that the subject should be, "of some man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics". Often people will debate whether choosing to paint yourself is conceited, but there's something so bold about an artist who, casting off those pesky shackles of imposter syndrome, decides to say, "you know what? I've been doing this art thing for a while and I'm great at it, so I deserve to be here." [caption id="attachment_636775" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Archibald Prize 2017 finalist Vincent Namatjira: Self portrait on Friday.[/caption] GRANDSON OF A LEGEND, VINCENT NAMATJIRA Whether you're a fan or not, there's no doubt that Vincent Namatjira's work, Self portrait on Friday, is one of the few pieces in the Archibald that immediately makes people smile. The painterly style is bold and honest, the no nonsense title is self explanatory and the work elicits an immediate sense of warmth. Vincent Namatjira has developed his own unique artistic style, but it's worth noting that he is the grandson of Australian art master, Albert Namatjira. Albert Namatjira is no stranger to the Archibald. He's appeared in the prize a number of times both as an artist and a subject. In 1944, his work Gorge, MacDonnell Range was included in the Wynne Prize, and he has been depicted in either paint or sculpture in the exhibition by artists Rex Battarbee, Sylvia Connick and William Dargie. Most recently, Imants Tillers won the Wynne prize with an ode to Namatjira in 2013. Namatjira is now honoured in every major art institution in Australia, but that wasn't always the case. In the 1960s, he fell victim to a curator's 'funny' prank when the artist's work was hung next to the ladies' toilet with a vase of gladioli. Thankfully, curators have developed an actual sense of humour since then. [caption id="attachment_634781" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Archibald Prize 2017 finalist Andrew Lloyd Greensmith: The inner stillness of Eileen Kramer.[/caption] ANDREW LLOYD GREENSMITH'S PORTRAIT OF EILEEN KRAMER There's probably only one thing more impressive than the recent ex-chief of the Melbourne Royal Children's Hospital's Department of Craniofacial Surgery being accepted into the Archibald after he decided to "pursue painting seriously". And that more impressive thing is his subject, Eileen Kramer. At 102 years old, Eileen is the world's oldest working choreographer and dancer, as well as a costume designer, artist and poet. Born in 1914, she's seen the whole world, having lived in Paris, New York, London and India. She only returned to Australia recently — at the ripe age of 99 — to continue her artistic practice. The illustrious careers of both Eileen Kramer and plastic surgeon Andrew Lloyd Greensmith are pretty much all the proof you need that you can achieve pretty much anything you set your mind to — provided you're already incredibly talented and live for over 100 years. The 2017 Archibald Prize will wrap up soon, so if you haven't already, get yourself to AGNSW before Sunday, October 22. You can also catch the exhibition along with some mid-week laughs and live music at one of the Archibald After Hours events, every Wednesday until 10pm. Images: AGNSW.
Being so close to the continent means Australians are absolutely spoilt for choice when it comes to Asian cuisine. From Sydney's famous Chinatown to Melbourne's bustling Koreatown in Healey Lane, simply head out your front door in any major city, and you can find venues that capture the bold flavour of Asian dining. Sydney cafe, Dutch Smuggler, is one of these venues. Located behind 200 George Street in the heart of the CBD, Dutch Smuggler serves toasties and Indonesian specialty coffee to busy city workers. But it's not just locals who pilgrimage to the Circular Quay cafe. [caption id="attachment_1075260" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dutch Smuggler[/caption] Tourists and Sydneysiders head to Dutch Smuggler to try their famous mie goreng toastie. The dish is exactly as it sounds — a blend of the deliciously spicy noodles and a fried egg, encased in melted gruyere cheese on fresh white bread. Blending Western and Indonesian comfort food has worked well for the cafe, which offers a range of flavourful fusion dishes including a kimchi toastie (combined with ssamjang sauce and cheese), and a beef rendang-inspired toastie. [caption id="attachment_1075262" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dutch Smuggler[/caption] Executive Chef, Irenne Winata, describes the cafe as "fast-paced" and "flavour-driven". Born in West Borneo, Irenne is constantly inspired by the flavours of her home. "As an Indonesian, it's like coming back home." When asked to sum up Indonesian cuisine in three words, Irenne describes it as "Bold, emotional and unapologetic", which rings true for Dutch Smugglers' small yet mighty menu. Indonesian Flavours To Try Outside of the mie goreng noodles (toasted or otherwise) we all know and love, there are other Indonesian flavours Irenne recommends if you're trying to expand your palate. First on the list is rendang. "I think it's one of the most complex but also comforting dishes in Indo," says the chef. "We call it nasi padang. There are a lot of spices. Then we reduce the sauce until it's like a dried curry. It's super layered." The curry is traditionally cooked for six hours, adding a "smoky depth" to the meal. "You get the warmth from the spices, sweetness from the coconut, savoriness from the beef, and the slightly smoky depth from the long process of cooking it," says Irenne. Another flavour (that Irenne makes herself in the cafe) is balado, a hot and spicy paste originating from West Sumatra, Indonesia. "It's spicy, it's tangy, it's flavorful, as per usual. We normally cook it with soft-boiled egg or deep-fried boiled egg." Irenne also recommends soto, a traditional Indonesian aromatic soup. "It's a vermicelli noodle soup with shredded chicken on top. There's a beef version of it, too." Alongside the Indonesian fusion meals, Dutch Smuggler is Sydney's destination for Indonesian coffee. The venue is a specialty roaster that showcases Indonesian coffee. "I think in Indonesia, the coffee is bolder," says Irenne. "I think it's more full body and more earthy." [caption id="attachment_1075263" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dutch Smuggler[/caption] The team at Dutch Smuggler work alongside farmers from different regions of Indonesia to source the best in single origin beans and brew the coffee to accentuate the rich and bold flavours the country is known for. Whether they're offering a new coffee style to the people of Sydney or upgrading the humble toastie, Dutch Smuggler, with its Indonesian heritage, is a flavoursome staple and comfort food destination among the city's run-of-the-mill CBD cafes.
Listen up and mark your calendars: Melbourne Food & Wine Festival has announced a stellar lineup of over 200 events and experiences for the 2026 program, which will run from Friday, March 20 to Sunday, March 29. The ten-day program includes events across regional Victoria, features famous international chefs through a Global Dining Series, and, as always, showcases Victorian restaurants, chefs, growers and makers. One of the big-ticket items announced for this year is the CAKE PICNIC, a global sensation hailing from San Francisco, which makes its southern hemisphere debut as part of the 2026 program. The proposition is simple: bring a cake, and eat a lot of cake. Fouder, Elisa Sunga, says, "I am so excited to bring CAKE PICNIC to Melbourne. I am looking forward to seeing what flavours and styles Australia's bakers bring to the table. I've heard only great things about Melbourne's food scene, so my excitement is at a high." The CAKE PICNIC will be held at Kings Domain on Saturday, March 21, however, you'll need to get in quick. The last San Francisco event sold out its 2000 tickets in under a minute. Another headline event, which has been running since 1993, is the annual World's Longest Lunch, set to capitalise on the wave of reinvigorated Greek dining that has swept across Melbourne over the last few years. The three-course meal, offered to 1600 guests, will be served by author Ella Mittas, Alex Xinis from Yarraville sensation Tzaki, and the crew from CBD hotspot Kafeneion. The Greek-themed lunch will be held at Kings Domain on Friday, March 20. "Here, try this. A Greek-themed World's Longest Lunch! The global sensation that is CAKE PICNIC! And everyone's favourite author and baker Helen Goh. There is so much to be excited by in the 2026 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival," says Anthea Loucas Bosha, CEO of Food + Drink Victoria. "I'm thrilled that the…program features an incredible Special Events program with 170 events across Melbourne, alongside our Regional Special Events program…bringing 26 events to towns and regions across Victoria. [The] Global Dining Series, presented by Polestar, is back, with chefs from all corners of the globe heading to Melbourne to collaborate with our best restaurants. And our final weekend has us back at Fed Square, where Melbourne's best bakers and patissiers will be on show at our fourth and supersized Baker's Dozen, presented by McKenzie's. For 10 days in March, there will be nowhere better to eat and drink in the world. I'm looking forward to sharing a slice of cake with you in March". The Global Dining Series will showcase an incredible array of international talent, including a collaboration between Bridges, one of New York's most renowned restaurants, and Melbourne's beloved Cutler, an Italian social media star serving street fare at Sunhands, and the chef behind the viral Dubai chocolate popping up at Fable. "We've got guests making their way to Melbourne from Mexico City, Manila, Chiang Rai, Valetta, London, New York City, Singapore, Paris and beyond cooking food from Bundjalung, Shenyang, Larrakia, Abruzzese, Samoan, Maltese, Māori, Filipino, Malaysian and Finnish traditions, to name just a few," says Melbourne Food & Wine Creative Director Pat Nourse. "They're cooking in fine-dining restaurants and in pubs, serving food on china plates on damask cloths, and straight out of restaurant windows, doing it savoury, sweet, spicy and everywhere in between — if you're looking for flavour, it's right here in Victoria this March, and there's plenty of it." Of course, the festival would not be complete without the beloved Baker's Dozen that will feature guests from interstate and overseas, including Ottolenghi sweets boss Helen Goh. It's been a big year for bakeries in Melbourne, and your favourites from across town will make an appearance, including Amann Patisserie, Butter Days, Iris, Monforte Viennoiserie, Raya, Sebby's Scrolls, To Be Frank, and so many more. "The Melbourne Food & Wine Festival once again shows why we are the nation's food and wine capital and the 2026 program is sure to attract visitors from near and far — boosting local businesses and jobs," said Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos. Further events have been announced for this year's massive program. As part of the Global Dining Series and Special Events, diners can expect limited-edition menus, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, exciting collaborations, and rare pairings. "We're thrilled to welcome some of the world's most exciting hospitality talent to Melbourne for 2026," said Anthea Loucas Bosha, CEO of Food + Drink Victoria. "From Phil Khoury's plant-based croissants at Lune to Nat Thaipun's bold collaboration with Andy Hearnden and James Lowe's take on pizza, these events highlight the creativity, skill and diversity that make this Festival so special. There's truly something for every diner to discover." If you want a fiery festive evening, head to Smoke, Skewers and Som Tum: Grilling with Nat Thaipun and Andy Hearnden, which celebrates the universality of cooking over fire. "Andy and I both learned to cook over fire from our families," says Thaipun. "Getting to do this together, outside, with smoke in the air and a crowd with us, feels like it's going to be a good time. Come on down." For the first time ever, Lune goes vegan in collaboration with acclaimed pastry chef Phil Khoury, showcasing an olive oil-powdered croissant in a ticketed Lune Lab-style evening at the new Lonsdale Street mega store. These are just a few of the more than 200 events across Melbourne and regional Victoria scheduled for the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival this year, so get your tickets now. The final ticketed event of the MFWF is shaping up to be one of the most exciting on this year's schedule. On Sunday, March 29, two culinary stars collide for the Wine Terrace Fiesta. Pt. Leo Estate's Culinary Director Josep Espuga, and Chin Chin's Executive Chef Benjamin Cooper are joining forces to present a high-energy, vineyard celebration of food, art and wine. Think Paella cooked over open flame, estate wines, and a DJ set, all set amongst breathtaking views of the sculpture park and vines. The Wine Terrace Fiesta is the final chance to experience the collab, with two other events already sold out. The Defining Peninsula Collaboration between Pt. Leo Restaurant and Chin Chin, as well as the Refined Four Hands Experience, which will see the two culinary giants produce an intimate, refined degustation experience, are both fully booked, but if you get in quick, you might still be lucky to score a spot at the Fiesta. Images: Supplied. Tickets for the 2026 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival go on sale at 10am on Thursday, November 27, with pre-sale tickets available from 10am Monday, November 24, for subscribers. If you miss out on tickets to the Greek Longest Lunch, you can still try the best Greek restaurants in town using our handy guide.
The crew who brought us some of Melbourne's most influential cafes (Higher Ground, Top Paddock and The Kettle Black) opened Token in early 2024, a 150-seat Japanese restaurant on Toorak Road in South Yarra, which is strongly inspired by the delightfully chaotic beer-and-bar snack culture of Japanese izakayas. Said to be "crafted by fire and chilled on ice," the experience at Token is layered and distinctly Melbourne, a place where tradition is carefully dissected and rebuilt with consideration. Coal-fired grilled meats are contrasted with freshly cut, clean sashimi, and wok-tossed noodles are juxtaposed against seafood served raw on ice. Snack on Tokyo street corn with kombu butter, crispy eggplant with miso caramel, and prawn and scallop toast with kosho mayo. Savour raw dishes such as kingfish with sesame dressing, tuna tataki with spring onion ponzu, beef tartare with shiso chimichurri and shucked oysters with tosazu. Move slowly into mains with a round of dim sums, such as pork gyoza and chilli prawn wontons, and a selection of specialty handrolls for the table. Go for the Firecracker with spicy tuna and chilli crisp, or the wagyu surf and turf with aburi wagyu and crispy prawns. For mains, you must sample the delights of the charcoal grill, such as charcoal chicken with red yuzu kosho, crispy pork belly with yakiniku glaze, or miso lamb shoulder with smashed cucumbers. Don't miss the furikake fries with curried mayonnaise on the side. The signature set menus are a great option for groups, with the Token Taste menu starting at just $45 per person. Take advantage of Token's tempting lunchtime offering, Token Sushi Club, which features bottomless premium sushi. For just $59 per person, join the Sushi Club and make your way through the chef-selected rotating menu, including signature rolls, fresh temaki and premium nigiri. Take things up a notch with the bottomless drinks package featuring cocktails, sake spritzes, beer and selected wines (for an additional $29 per person).
Taking a large-scale event to the next level just got easier, as The Timber Yard has just completed a top-to-bottom $3 million makeover. Tucked away in the backstreets of Port Melbourne, this sprawling warehouse venue is designed for versatility, with its sleek, blackout aesthetic providing event hosts an ultra-modern blank canvas to shape an attention-grabbing showcase. But don't think the venue's upgrade begins and ends with mere design. It now features a state-of-the-art audiovisual setup and full-scale climate control, making larger and more ambitious events a reality. Already a choice destination for automotive launches, charity galas and premium expos, expect The Timber Yard's event schedule to get even more high-end. While Melbourne is no stranger to massive events, finding a suitable venue to host can be a challenging prospect. Yet the improved Timber Yard offers an unlikely combo of scale, character and versatility, making its expansive industrial site an appealing choice. Now with upgraded architectural lighting and customisable layouts, the venue is ripe for just about any brief. Delving into the details, the audiovisual advancements shouldn't be underestimated. Priced at an eye-watering $1.5 million, events are elevated with 100 moving spot and wash fixtures, primed for larger-than-life lighting. Meanwhile, there's a nine-metre-wide high-res adjustable LED screen, d&b Audiotechnik distributed audio and plug-and-play technical infrastructure. "We are constantly striving to improve every aspect of the venue so that our clients and their guests have impactful and unique experiences, whether they are coming to the venue for the first or tenth time," says The Timber Yard owner and director, Adam McKenzie. Conceived as a multi-functional landmark, The Timber Yard has hosted its fair share of memorable moments in recent years. Even before the renovation, iconic carmakers like Ferrari and Lamborghini had launched full-throttle supercars at the venue, while contrasting events, such as the Wine & Cheese Fest and Ministry of Sound, proved its flexible credentials. The Timber Yard is now open at 351 Plummer St, Port Melbourne. Head to the website for more information.
The role of Andie Whitford, the lead part in High Country, was written for Leah Purcell. It's easy to understand why. There's a quiet resolve to the character — a been-there-seen-that air to weathering tumult, too, and to knowing that she'll always have to fight hard for what she wants — that's long been a part of the Indigenous Australian star's acting toolkit across a three-decade career. Purcell first appeared on-screen in 90s TV shows such as GP, Police Rescue and Water Rats. In the past year before High Country, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart and Shayda also popped onto her resume. In-between, the 2000s brought Lantana, Somersault, The Proposition and Jindabyne — and the 2010s added Redfern Now, Last Cab to Darwin, Janet King and Black Comedy. Across three formats, as a play, a book and a movie, she also interrogated and reimagined Henry Lawson's The Drover's Wife in blistering fashion, and while writing, acting and directing. It's thanks to Wentworth that High Country came Purcell's way, however. Creators Marcia Gardner and John Ridley worked with her there, then made this the trio's next shared project. The nuts and bolts of the series are solid anyway, but it joins the ranks of Aussie detective and mystery tales made all the better due to their main talent. Mystery Road, which High Country co-star Aaron Pedersen (High Ground) has led in films and on TV, was the same. Jack Irish, featuring Guy Pearce (The Clearing) as its namesake and also Pedersen as his righthand man, equally fits. So does The Dry and its sequel Force of Nature: The Dry 2, both with Eric Bana (Blueback) — the latter of which also used Victoria's alpine region as a backdrop, as does High Country. Andie is a seasoned police detective who takes a job back in uniform overseeing the town of Broken Ridge, which is located in the mountainous Victorian spot that gives the show its moniker. While High Country might be the second Aussie effort in 2024's early months to embrace this part of the nation — among a small but growing wave of rural-set Down Under movies and programs that aren't traversing red earth, such as the Tasmanian-set Deadloch, The Gloaming and The Kettering Incident, too — it's no mere rehash there, or anywhere. High Country's framework, down to its character types, is easily recognisable. Gardner and Ridley know what everyone does, though: that a great story can make any whodunnit-driven procedural feel different, as can excellent casting. A big reason for Andie's move: stability and work-life balance, aka relocating for the sake of her personal life with spouse Helen Hartley (Sara Wiseman, Under the Vines) and daughter Kirra (Pez Warner, making her TV debut). An existence-resetting tree change is meant to be on the cards, then, in a place where leafy vantages stretch over mountains and down into valleys as far as the eye can see. But her arrival, especially being installed as the new police chief, doesn't earn the sunniest of welcomes. Then there's the missing-person cases that swiftly start piling up, some old, some new, some previously explained by pointing fingers in specific directions. An absent doctor (Francis Greenslade, Irreverent) and the car he leaves behind is Andie's entry point, but that isn't the beginning or the end of the tale. Also key to the series are Andie's retiring predecessor Sam Dryson (Ian McElhinney, The Boys in the Boat), who is fixated on the past disappearance of a young boy — and former teacher Damien Stark (Henry Nixon, The PM's Daughter), who he's certain is responsible, has become the town outcast as a result and contends that he's psychic. Andie is soon perched between them. She values Sam's advice, yet spies how fixated he is in his vendetta (one wall in his house is right out of the obsessed-cop playbook). At the same time, she enlists Damien as a consultant to help on active cases, hoping that he'll accidentally reveal his involvement in the process. Ranger Owen Cooper (Pedersen) is one of the few other Indigenous faces in town; his teenage son Ben (Pedrea Jackson, Sweet As) quickly befriends Kirra. Throw in Rose De Vigny, the financially challenged proprietor (Linda Cropper, How to Stay Married) of a haven for artists, plus cop colleagues of varying help and loyalty (Romance at the Vineyard's Matt Domingo and Wyrmwood: Apocalypse's Luke McKenzie), and Broken Ridge doesn't lack in players. Rabble-rousing siblings (Boy Swallows Universe's Nathaniel Dean and The Clearing's Jamie Timony), town bigwigs (Geoff Morrell, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) — the list goes on. Crucially, no matter how many of High Country's characters feel as if they could've walked in from fellow Aussie fare, where the show takes them is always its own journey. The same is true of Andie, and not just within a homegrown context; Jodie Foster (Nyad) in True Detective: Night Country and Kate Winslet (The Regime) in Mare of Easttown have charted comparable paths, but never this exact route. Pivotal to giving High Country its own flavour is its sense of place — not merely as a source of picturesque sights, which Andie often takes in as a newcomer to these parts, but in getting entrenched in the ragtag Broken Ridge community. When Sam reflects early that disappearances and deaths are just what happens here, Andie is horrified. Digging into the motivation behind his words becomes another of her missions, and the series'. With a wealth of fellow Wentworth alum behind the camera — Kevin Carlin (Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries) and Beck Cole (Deadloch) direct; Craig Barden (The Rooster) and Darrell Martin (White Fever) are High Country's cinematographers — this is a probing affair. The surroundings that make us, and also hide our secrets, prove a canvas, a minefield and a map. Discovering what they contain in this small-town thriller makes for addictive viewing, unsurprisingly. And in Purcell as Andie, High Country has a discerning and determined guide to fuel not just one season and its mysteries, but hopefully much more to follow. Check out the trailer for High Country below: High Country streams via Binge. Read our interview with Leah Purcell Images: Sarah Enticknap / Narelle Portanier.
Turns out it's not just you who's had a spring cut and colour recently. The Forum Theatre in Melbourne has had a bit of a makeover too. Emerging from a whole year's worth of renovations, the theatre on the corner of Flinders and Russell Streets is now looking fancy fresh – or as fancy fresh as a heritage-listed building can. The building is owned by the Marriner Group, who also own the Princess, Regent and Comedy Theatres. But the Forum is arguably their most unique venue, with its Greek/Roman statues dotted here and there, and starry night sky feature inside. First opening in 1929 and long the site of gigs, comedy shows and your late night selfies with the statues, its eccentric vibes have been maintained, but plenty else has changed. That carpet you've been treading your grubby boots over for years in the entrance foyer has been lifted, revealing a tiled mosaic made up of 200,000 tiles. There's also three new bars, a marble staircase, and new booths throughout the theatre. Adjustable-height flooring and a car-accommodating elevator will make the whole shebang more versatile, and a little more James Bond-y. Bands out there will also be happy to hear there are new green rooms, lighting and sound situations, and hungry people will be chuffed with the addition of catering services now offered at the venue. Jason Marriner, CEO and co-owner of Marriner Group, says it's all been a long time coming. "The Forum renovation is 21 years in the making," said Marriner. "Having lived and experienced the space for a long time, when it came to undertaking the work we knew exactly what we wanted to achieve." Ultimately, it's still the venue you know and love. But you'll certainly notice the floor a little more on your way out.
Twice a year, in February and November, a striking phenomenon descends over Melbourne. As the sun rises or sets in perfect alignment with the east-west corridors of the CBD grid, its glowing orb moves neatly in between the skyscrapers to create a rare spectacle that's been dubbed Melbhenge. We chatted to Sara Webb, Postdoctoral Researcher in Astrophysics at Swinburne University of Technology, to learn how it all works. "What people sometimes don't realise is that the sun doesn't always set directly in the east and in the west — it actually changes throughout the year and that's because our earth is on a slight tilt," explains Webb. "So it's constantly setting in a slightly different position every day of the year." Throw in an east-to-west city grid like that of Melbourne's CBD and you've got the perfect angles and conditions to create an annual sunset spectacular. "Because we do have the Hoddle Grid, that's pretty much the whole length of the CBD you can see down. There are two times a year when the sun lines up perfectly with that position," she says. For those playing along at home, the sunrise alignment occurs every February, while the sunset version happens in early November. [caption id="attachment_829240" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Captured by Gabriele Marini @gabryxx7[/caption] Melbhenge is next set to grace us with its presence on November 2, 3 and 4 this year, when the sun sets at around 7.55pm at the exact angle of 250 degrees and ends up being framed perfectly by the CBD buildings. To cop the best possible view, nab yourself a spot looking west along the likes of Bourke, Lonsdale and Collins Streets. Hot tip: the steps of Parliament House are a favourite for photographers looking to capture the moment on film. You've probably heard of a similar 'henge' effect happening in other similarly laid-out cities, like New York's famed Manhattanhenge. And of course, there's the OG Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, which was built around 2500BC to align exactly with the sunrise on the summer solstice. But as it turns out, Melbhenge might not be the first and only of its kind in Victoria. "[Indigenous Australians] actually had what we think was some type of 'henge', made out of these stone structures, where the equinox hit in a specific section — so with the winter and the summer solstice," explains Webb. Known as Wurdi Youang, the egg-shaped stone arrangement is located at Mount Rothwell near Little River, and is thought to be anywhere between 200 and 20,000 years old. Yep — it could be even older than Stonehenge itself. Melbhenge is visible at sunset from November 2 to 4, with one of those days set to be more perfectly aligned than the other two. You'll be able to catch it at sunrise in early February next year, too. Top Image: Melbhenge captured in 2018 by Daryl Teo @lookaboutstreet
In the near future, Australians will be able to send emoji-filled messages featuring boomerangs, the Aboriginal flag and other visual representations of the country's Indigenous culture. Developed for both Android and iOS platforms, Ingenous Studios has created a set of Indigenous images that'll be rolled out across both platforms this year, marking the first such collection of emojis that celebrate the nation's first peoples. Called Indigemoji, the 19-emoji set was developed on Arrernte land in Mparntwe, aka Alice Springs, by Central Australia's young Aboriginal people. The Northern Territory residents were asked to design new emojis that were relevant to their culture and lives, with symbols that feature the Aboriginal flag on crowns, hands, cups and hearts all included, alongside animals, vehicles and a starry image of Uluru by night. https://www.facebook.com/ingeousstudios/photos/a.130308987038833/2242845069118537/?type=3&theater Announcing the set on Facebook, Ingenous hasn't yet revealed a specific release date; however the emojis will be made available for free via an app this year. They won't officially feature in your phone's inbuilt emoji keyboard, but you'll be able to use them in messages and posts by copying and pasting from the Indigemoji app. For further details, visit the Indigemoji website or Facebook page. Image: Ingeous Studios.
Soaring 55 storeys above Melbourne's CBD in the Rialto building, Vue de Monde does what it says on the tin — and that's offer world-class views. But you'd be wrong to think the vistas are the drawcard. Headed up by celebrated Australian chef Shannon Bennett, Vue de Monde is one of the top restaurants in the country and known for its theatrical approach to fine dining. First up, the interiors, designed by local architecture firm Elenberg Fraser, are inspired by the Australian landscape — think black basalt bars, bespoke kangaroo fur chairs and corrugated iron walls. The Australiana theme carries through to the food, with its Chef's Tasting Menu championing native Australian ingredients thanks to Executive Chef Hugh Allen. The menu changes regularly but, to give you an idea, you could be sitting down to dishes like oysters with native citrus, Western Australian marron curry, and cantaloupe and green ants. It's one of the finest degustations in town — and one that'll set you back $310 per person. If you're keen to hit up the famed fine diner but without the commitment to the pricey degustation, head to Lui Bar. The Lui Bar menu takes the concept of drinking snacks to new heights, showcasing clever technique as it reimagines classic Aussie flavours. Think, seafood rolls, handmade beef sausage rolls with a spicy ketchup and the chocolate lamington filled with raspberry gel. Alongside some exceptional cocktails, a standout wine list and incredible views, no less.
No matter who you are, the need for a nice, long holiday is real. And, while far-flung adventures on the Mediterranean may not be in your cards, you can find a wealth of sensational coastal destinations right here in your own backyard. The stretch of the Mornington Peninsula offers sandy beaches, untouched bushland and award-winning wineries, all less than two hours south of Melbourne's CBD. You can find luxury retreats peppered throughout the region, ranging from plush waterfront hideaways to peaceful farm escapes. Get into holiday mode and start scrolling for some of the most luxurious stays you can book on the Mornington Peninsula. Because if ever there was a time to treat yourself to a taste of the high life, it's now. Recommended reads: A 48-Hour Guide to the Mornington Peninsula The Best Hotels in Melbourne The Best Summer Day Trips From Melbourne The Best Places to Go Glamping in Victoria Monterey Stud, Shoreham Set among rolling green hills, this designer farmhouse boasts both good looks and a tranquil setting. Plus, a stunning wraparound deck for sunset drinking sessions. Sleeps eight, from $900 a night. Barefoot, Blairgowrie A stylish holiday pad with a breezy indoor-outdoor flow, nestled right on the beach. This spacious beauty has loads of modern features and a solar-heated pool. Sleeps nine, from $775 a night. Bay Crest Manor, Mount Eliza Perched on top of the cul-de-sac of the Morning Peninsula, this manor resembling an ancient Greek temple boasts an unbeatable bay view. Watch the sun set in the infinity pool or take on your friends in life-sized lawn chess. Sleeps eight, from $1023 a night. Hart's Farm Retreat, Shoreham This smartly appointed farm stay makes for an idyllic couples' retreat, featuring high-end furnishings, a sun-drenched private deck and a magical outlook over olive groves and vineyards. Sleeps two, from $650 a night. Coastal Bush Retreat, St Andrews Beach Unwind in style at this quiet, leafy beach escape which boasts modern interiors, a chic coastal style and a roomy deck primed for sunset drinks. Sleeps four, from $250 a night. The Red Hill Barn, Main Ridge This charming barn has been reworked into a stylish couples' studio, featuring a bright, breezy fit-out and secluded setting in the heart of wine country. Sleeps two, from $470 a night. Crown Cove Villa, Safety Beach A luxury waterfront stunner with open-plan indoor-outdoor living that'll take your breath away. Enjoy the private jetty, dedicated dining room and spectacular heated pool. Sleeps 12, from $1590 a night. Coastal Luxe, St Andrews Beach Decked out in soothing natural tones, this designer beach pad is a dreamy home away from home. Spa, pool table and incredible outdoor living, all included. Sleeps 12, from $836 a night. Portsea Dairy, Portsea This lovingly restored farmhouse will win you over with its modern features, sun-drenched yard and spacious deck complete with an outdoor spa. Sleeps four, from $329 a night. Sunset Coastal Retreat, Mount Martha 180-degree views of Port Phillip Bay await you in this modern abode tucked away on Mount Martha. Enjoy the solar-heated pool, unwind in the spa, or take in the stunning city skyline from the expansive balcony. Sleeps nine, from $1219 a night. Images: Airbnb FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
Peanut butter and whiskey may not be your first choice of flavour combinations. But once you take that first sip, you'll realise it opens up a whole different way to drink. Skrewball is the first brand to blend American whiskey with peanut butter, which has lead to a nutty sweet creation with just enough salt to keep things balanced. This innovative whiskey has incited a flavour revolution globally and opened up endless possibilities for creative cocktail variations. But unlike most novelty spirits, it doesn't need a full bar setup to be useful. You can drink it straight, mix it with one ingredient or take it a step further. Here are five ways to give it a proper go, starting simple, then building up from there. Let's dive in. The Salty Nuts Shot This one's as simple as it gets: just pour a shot of Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey in a salt-rimmed glass. It's probably the best way to taste the whisky on its own and the salt helps bring out the roasted flavour and tone down the sweetness. It's not subtle, but it is fun. And once you try it, it'll probably make more sense why this whisky has taken off. Get the recipe Nutty Cola Whiskey and cola has always been a classic, and Skrewball slides into the combo pretty comfortably. The caramel in the cola blends with the peanut butter flavour to give you something sweet, a little nutty and very easy to drink. Add a squeeze of lime if you like it sharp. This one's good for people who want to try something different without overthinking it. Get the recipe Nutty Transfusion This is where things start to get a bit more interesting. Known as the Nutty Transfusion, this combo pairs Skrewball with grapefruit juice, lime juice and a splash of ginger ale. It's bright and bitter, which cuts through the richness of the whiskey. It's also easy to adjust to your taste. Just add more grapefruit for extra bite, more ginger ale for fizz, or more Skrewball if you're into the sweeter side. Get the recipe Skrewball Ice Cream Less cocktail, more dessert in disguise. To nail this recipe, all you have to do is drop a scoop of coffee ice cream into a glass of Skrewball, add a couple of coffee-infused ice cubes and call it a day. It's cold, creamy and just boozy enough. If you're craving an affogato after dinner, this will do the trick. Get the recipe Try it With… Basically Anything Once you've had a taste of peanut butter whiskey, it's not hard to start experimenting. Skrewball works surprisingly well with ingredients you might already have on hand, like soda water, coconut milk, sour mix, iced coffee, and other flavoured liqueurs. It doesn't always need to be complicated, sometimes it's just about swapping it in where you'd usually use a regular whiskey, and seeing what happens. Get more ideas Whether you're a whiskey fanatic or just want to mix something that tastes good and impresses your guests, now you've got five excuses to try that bottle. Just don't be surprised if it ends up being your new favourite. Explore more Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey recipes on the website.
Though one of the smallest, Brother Baba Budan has to be one of the most frequented coffee shops in the CBD. The Little Bourke Street cafe has just 15 seats inside, so if you're heading in at coffee peak hour, you'll have to be lucky to snag a spot. Even getting a take away cup tends to be a cosy experience. But it's worth it for an expertly made Seven Seeds brew, either as an espresso, filter or nitro brew. A small selection of pastries and cakes are available on the counter as well. Appears in: The Best Coffee Shops in Melbourne's CBD
Before Union House was Union House, it was neighbourhood favourite Union Dining. As with many good things, it came to an end, and in February this year Nicky Riemer and Adam Cash closed the doors to the Swan Street space. But now the crew from Marquis of Lorne has Fitzroy moved in. It can be daunting taking over a venue that was already a favourite. But the re-fit has been done tastefully and the food and drink offerings are so good, Union House looks set to become one in its own right. What about the old adage that you can't please all the people all the time? Yeah, nah — out the window at Union House. This place has drawcards coming out its ears. First and foremost it's a pub — so if you're after a couple of pints of local craft beer and a burger, you can get some great versions of those. The rockling burger ($19) is made up of a well-crumbed rockling (a saltwater fish, for the uninitiated), chilli and cos on a brioche bun. It's the perfect size to get your mouth around and fills a sizeable gap. If you're after more bistro-style fare, they have that too — snacks, starters, mains and steaks. The only reason you'll be frowning here is because choosing is hard. Will you have the roast chicken breast and confit leg ($29)? Or the grilled pork loin with braised beans and gravy ($26)? Vegetarians are well catered for as well, with several interesting options. The smoked eggplant with tahini labneh ($14) has a lovely lemon twist and it's melt-in-your-mouth delicious, especially when scooped up with toasted flatbread. Combining healthy and tasty, the ricotta and semolina dumplings in broccoli broth ($22) are a lighter, smoother take on traditional gnocchi. As well as beer, there's a beautiful French-inflected wine list. If there are a few of you, and you're in for the long haul, there's a menu just for magnums and they're available in fizz, pink, orange and red. Depending on your mood, and the weather, you can enjoy the open bar area downstairs — with its booths and high tables — or head up the stairs to the dining room made cosy by the Cheminees Philippe fireplace. For sunny days, or just because you like rooftops, there's an upstairs terrace with a bar, lots of wooden furniture and plants. Union House is casual and unpretentious. You can wheel in your pram and park it next to a booth, bring a date here on a Friday night or meet up with some friends and work your way through a magnum and the menu. Images: Letícia Almeida.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas across the country. After months spent empty, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, Australian picture palaces are back in business — spanning both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, comedies, music documentaries, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0UbkJD2KDY FRENCH EXIT "My plan was to die before the money ran out, but I kept and keep not dying — and here I am." When asked about her strategy as she faces financial ruin, that's Manhattan socialite Frances Price's (Michelle Pfeiffer, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) frank response. Her fortune has dwindled, the banks are about to repossess everything she owns and she doesn't know what her now-precarious future holds; however, she's most annoyed about having to answer her financial advisor's exasperated questions. Conveying Frances' reply with little else but spikiness otherwise, Pfeiffer turns this early French Exit scene into a deadpan masterclass. The character's candour, irritation and sharp edges are all personality traits, rather than specific reactions to her current predicament, and Pfeiffer makes it clear that she'd still be spitting out acerbic retorts with the same poker face if Frances had been queried about absolutely anything else. She frequently does just that afterwards, in fact, and she's a caustic delight in this wry exploration of a familiar topic: weathering life's many disappointments. Widowed for a decade, and happy to keep cultivating an eccentric reputation as the years go on, Frances hasn't dedicated even a second to tangibly preparing for her present lack of funds. That said, she soon has another plan. Surreptitiously selling off her belongings as her accountant advises — and viciously haggling over commission rates in the process — she rustles up what cash she can and absconds to Paris, where a friend's empty apartment awaits rent-free. There, she reverts to her old approach. Once her remaining money has been frittered away on wine, coffee, and oversized tips to anyone and everyone, she doesn't see the point of going on. But her dysfunctionally codependent relationship with her twentysomething son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges, Waves), his on-and-off romance with his secret fiancée Susan (Imogen Poots, Black Christmas), and a new friendship with the lonely and besotted Madame Reynard (Valerie Mahaffey, Dead to Me) all add unexpected chaos to Frances' scheme, as does a cruise ship fortune teller (Danielle Macdonald, Unbelievable) and a runaway cat who just might be her reincarnated husband. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP2MlPwflX4 SAINT MAUD If humanity ever managed to cure or circumvent death — or even just stop being despairingly afraid of our own mortality — the horror genre would immediately feel the difference. Lives are frequently in peril in films that are meant to spook and frighten. Fears of dying underscore everything from serial killer thrillers and body horror flicks to stories of zombies, ghosts and vampires, too. Indeed, if a scary movie isn't pondering the fact that our days are inescapably finite, it's often contemplating our easily damaged and destroyed anatomy. Or, it's recognising that our species' darkest urges can bring about brutal and fatal repercussions, or noting that the desperation to avoid our expiration dates can even spark our demise. Accordingly, Saint Maud's obsession with death isn't a rarity in an ever-growing genre that routinely serves it up, muses on it and makes audiences do the same whether they always realise it or not. In an immensely crowded realm, this striking, instantly unsettling feature debut by British writer/director Rose Glass definitely stands out, though. Bumps, jumps, shocks and scares come in all manner of shapes and sizes, as do worries and anxieties about the end that awaits us all. In Saint Maud, they're a matter of faith. The eponymous in-home nurse (Dracula and His Dark Materials' Morfydd Clark) has it. She has enough to share, actually, which she's keen to do daily. Maud is devoted to three things: Christianity, helping those in her care physically and saving them spiritually. Alas, her latest cancer-stricken patient doesn't hold the same convictions, or appreciate them. Amanda (Jennifer Ehle, Vox Lux) isn't fond of Maud's fixation on her salvation or her strict judgements about her lifestyle. She knows her time is waning, her body is failing and that she needs Maud's help, but the celebrated ex-dancer and choreographer does not want to go gently or faithfully in that good night. Instead, she'd much prefer the solace that sex and alcohol brings over her palliative care nurse's intensely devout zeal. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=794vlC_wKJQ WHITE RIOT In 2020, as the world faced a crisis unlike any other in living memory, Gal Gadot led a bunch of fellow celebrities in an Instagram sing-along to John Lennon's 'Imagine'. The aim: to inspire a planet full of people grappling with suddenly living under lockdown. As no one could avoid (especially when we all had so little else to do and spent so much time glued to the news), the result was actually awkward and cringe-inducing. Perhaps punk rockers should've been trying to lift our spirits instead. Or, they could've used their talents and instruments to draw attention to a plethora of worthy causes — as Rock Against Racism did in the mid-to-late 70s. When right-wing views began to spread across Britain, a group of music lovers including Red Saunders, Roger Huddle, Jo Wreford and Pete Bruno decided to take action, waging a campaign to battle prejudice and discrimination. They didn't just choose to fight back via their favourite art form as an excuse to host gigs, though. From Eric Clapton to Rod Stewart, many of the country's music megastars of the era had all offered support to extremist views, and publicly. So, corralling a lineup of bands to help counter anti-immigration rhetoric became RAR's number one task, with the aim of bringing music fans together and discouraging them from adopting racist attitudes. Combining contemporary interviews, archival chats, a lively soundtrack, and a wealth of footage and photographs of its efforts in action nearly half a century ago, documentary White Riot chronicles RAR from its formation through to its 100,000-attendee 1978 national carnival — where The Clash, Tom Robinson Band, X-Ray Spex and Steel Pulse all played. Despite the movement's name, everything from reggae and soul to jazz and funk was also welcome. Britain's music lovers responded in a big way, travelling across the country to attend its gatherings and show their support for RAR's inclusive anti-hate message. Fluidly directed by first-time feature helmer Rubika Shah, White Riot steps through the grim reality of life in Britain at the time, to provide context to RAR's emphatic response. The film shows the abhorrent viewpoints uttered by politicians and their proponents, and the way in which Nazi imagery was worked into the far-right National Front party. Dense with detail, it also demonstrates how standing up to fascism was an almost-revolutionary act. If the footage had allowed it, Shah and co-writer Ed Gibbs could've made an entire docuseries about RAR and would've kept viewers glued to every second. In just 80 minutes, however, White Riot delivers a vital history lesson on a crucial piece of activism — as well as a reminder that inflammatory rhetoric always demands a response. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQaIf-Erj94 CRISIS Crisis examines America's opioid epidemic by piecing together three individual, occasionally overlapping tales. It also hits cinemas two decades to the month that the film it strongly resembles took home four Oscars. At the turn of the 21st century, Steven Soderbergh's Traffic focused on illegal narcotics rather than prescription pills, but the similarities between it and this pensive thriller from Arbitrage director Nicholas Jarecki are both striking and inescapable. Here, undercover DEA agent Jake Kelly (Armie Hammer, Rebecca) has been working to bring down a fentanyl smuggling operation. His sister Emmie (Lily-Rose Depp, The King) is an addict, so yes, it's personal. Also struggling is architect Claire Reimann (Evangeline Lilly, Avengers: Endgame), who has been hooked on oxycodone since an accident, attends support meetings but finds herself tested when her teenage son goes missing. Then there's Dr Tyrone Brower (Gary Oldman, Mank), a university professor who funds his research by testing new products for pharmaceutical companies. After his colleagues let his lab's trial of a new, supposedly non-addictive painkiller run a few days longer than asked, they discover that it can be fatal in mice — which company employee Dr Bill Simons (Luke Evans, Angel of Mine) is eager to keep quiet. Michelle Rodriguez (She Dies Tomorrow) also plays Jake's boss, Greg Kinnear (Misbehaviour) gives Tyrone a hard time as his disapproving college dean and Kid Cudi (Bill & Ted Face the Music) pops up an FDA employee on the latter's side — with Crisis lacking in neither stars nor good intentions. Writer/director Jarecki can't shake the familiar feeling that lingers throughout the film, though. Viewers have seen everything peddled here before, and with far more surprises and subtlety. If you've paid any attention to news headlines over the past few decades, you'll already know how insidious opioid use has become, and how ruthless and destructive the industry behind it is, too. Still, as well as evoking a been-there, seen-that sensation, Crisis often hits its emotional marks. A movie can connect easy-to-spot dots, hit obvious points vehemently and repetitively, and follow a predictable narrative — or narratives, in this case — and still offer up stirring moments and engaging performances. No one will be mentioning Crisis in another 20 years if another crime-thriller attempts to follow in Traffic's footsteps, but as 2021's take on the topic, it's watchable albeit unshakeably generic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hfUomtqljs THE GRIZZLIES When newly graduated teacher Russ Shepherd (Ben Schnetzer, Saint Judy) is sent to Kugluktuk, in the frosty Nunavut in Canada's north, he has two self-serving aims. By working in a remote area as part of a program that rewards anyone willing to take such postings, he's able to to pay back his school tuition fees. He's also hoping to use his time to secure a permanent spot at a prestigious private school down south. But Russ is still unsettled when he realises how few of his students are eager to engage in his lessons. Principal Janace (Tantoo Cardinal, Stumptown) doesn't enforce attendance, in fact, knowing that the school's pupils have chores to complete at home, families to provide for and traditional ways to uphold. She doesn't like to push the teens out of their comfort zones either, with the town's youth suicide rate the highest in North America, and dealing with intergenerational trauma also part of life in the community. Already a lacrosse devotee, Russ decides to try to start a school club to get his students motivated — a task he's instantly told will fail. But while the popular Zach (Paul Nutarariaq, Iqaluit) is initially apprehensive, as is hunter Adam (feature first-timer Ricky Marty-Pahtaykan) and the reserved Kyle (Booboo Stewart, Let Him Go), their involvement in the sport has an impact. Directed by feature debutant Miranda de Pencier, and scripted by Moira Walley-Beckett (Anne with an E) and Graham Yost (Justified), The Grizzlies draws upon the the true story of the team that gives the film its name. While steeped in reality, it also leans heavily upon the inspirational sports underdog playbook — but this rousing movie is never weighed down by its tropes or predictability. Strong, complicated performances from Nutarariaq, Marty-Pahtaykanv, Stewart and Emerald MacDonald, who plays the school's most conscientious student, all help immensely. Their characters wade through familiar beats, but they're never one-note. Indeed, The Grizzlies doesn't shy away from complexity on multiple levels, including in depicting the lack of hope blighting Kugluktuk's teenagers, as well as the path their lacrosse journey takes. And, while the role of Russ could've played into white saviour cliches, the film stresses his naiveté, his mistakes and the fact that he has as much to learn, if not more, from his students and the broader community. Icily scenic cinematography that roves over the area's arresting but harsh terrain, and a sensitive yet never mawkish approach also add texture to feature that earns its heart, spirit and warmth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c85aXHth_uQ&feature=youtu.be UNSOUND In Unsound, Finn (feature first-timer Yiana Pandelis) and Noah (Reece Noi, When They See Us) meet by chance. When the latter wanders into the club for Sydneysiders with hearing impairments that the former runs in the city's northern beaches, a connection springs, although both enter the relationship with other things on their mind. Attendance at the neighbourhood centre has been waning, and the locals complain about Finn's weekly dance parties. Tucking his long hair up under a cap while he stands behind the DJ decks by night and helps children learn Auslan by day, Finn is also slowly taking steps to cement his identity as a transgender man. As for the British-accented Noah, he's just arrived in Australia after touring the UK with his pop singer mentor Moniqua (Christine Anu), and his mother Angela (Paula Duncan, Neighbours) has hardly given him a warm welcome. So, Unsound follows Finn and Noah's romance, but that's just one of the things the film is interested in. While both lead characters receive ample screen time, Finn's experiences as a person who is deaf and with his transition are frequently thrust to the fore. That's a welcome move — not because Noah's efforts to step out of his absent father's shadow, take his career seriously and cope with his often-dismissive mum don't deserve attention, but because inclusive movies about trans men and people who are hearing impaired are rarely this thoughtful (and rarely exist at all, really). Directed by TV veteran Ian Watson (Heartbreak High, Home and Away) and penned by Ally Burnham (Nice Package), Unsound might bring both 52 Tuesdays and Sound of Metal to mind, which are excellent movies to even remotely resemble; however, this small feature with big ambitions and a heartfelt impact is always its own film. Absent touristy Sydney shots that constantly remind you where it's set, and favouring a low-key, lived-in aesthetic instead, it dedicates its running time to plunging into Finn's life and portraying it authentically, a task that it doesn't lose sight of even for a minute. The texture and detail in Burnham's script, especially in fleshing out the movie's characters, isn't just admirable but essential. It's little wonder, then, that Pandelis always makes Finn feel as if he could walk off the screen — although the performer also deserves ample credit. Noi also more than does his part justice, in a well-cast film all-round (see also: scene-stealer Olivia Beasley as one of Finn's colleagues, and a grounded turn from The Boy From Oz star Todd McKenney as Finn's father). And, the use of sound to convey the joy that Finn and his friends feel at their Saturday night dance parties is one of the picture's many astutely calibrated touches. Unsound opened in Sydney and Brisbane cinemas on March 18, after screening in Melbourne from February 11. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on January 1, January 7, January 14, January 21 and January 28; February 4, February 11, February 18 and February 25; and March 4. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Nomadland, Pieces of a Woman, The Dry, Promising Young Woman, Summerland, Ammonite, The Dig, The White Tiger, Only the Animals, Malcolm & Marie, News of the World, High Ground, Earwig and the Witch, The Nest, Assassins, Synchronic, Another Round, Minari, Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra, The Truffle Hunters, The Little Things, Chaos Walking, Raya and the Last Dragon, Max Richter's Sleep, Judas and the Black Messiah and Girls Can't Surf.
Sure, sometimes you're worried about paying rent, whether your car needs a service, whether you'll get that promotion or if your cat secretly hates you. But, on weekends, you want to forget about all of that for a while. And one way to do that is by heading somewhere that's peaceful as hell. So peaceful that you'll be unironically exclaiming "how's the serenity?". Camping is the outdoor adventure for you if all you want to do sit on a foldout chair, nurse a tinnie and stare at real trees wondering why you don't do this more often. Plus, you can get handy and impress your other half or mates with your survival skills like making sticks sharp enough to put a marshmallow on the end — you know, important life hacks. Drive two hours southwest of Melbourne and you'll be delivered into Cumberland River Holiday Park. Positioned right on the mouth of Cumberland River, this popular holiday destination is primed for an overnight escape from the city. There are two- and three-bedroom cabins available if you don't want to rough it, but if you're wanting to get cosy in a tent, you have the choice of river and garden camping grounds. From here, you're within proximity of coastal and bushland walking tracks, private beaches and more.
It was once a thriving hospitality empire with giant doughnuts on seemingly every corner, pink-hued ice cream parlours slinging hip hop-themed desserts, over-the-top cakes tempting tastebuds, and everything from luxe hotels to cruisy bars lining the streets (and sometimes the same block) of Brisbane. And, as far as those round, doughy iced sweet treats were concerned, Damian Griffiths' footprints spread right throughout Sydney and Melbourne too. Now, however, the mogul's string of businesses have faltered. Given how prominent Doughnut Time's heaving presence proved across the east coast — rapidly expanding to 30 locations in the three years between 2015 and 2017, plus its own food truck at one point — the brand's demise has been impossible to miss. After a tumultuous few months, where its pastel green-coloured hole-in-the-wall outlets once littered Brissie, Sydney and Melbourne's streets, empty stores painted stark white now sit. But Doughnut Time is just the tip of the iceberg — Griffiths has been caught up in bankruptcy proceedings, liquidation, attempted sales and more since late 2017. Hundreds have lost their jobs (some reportedly without payment) and there's been a huge cloud of uncertainty around what this means for the slew of venues that operate under Griffiths' name, particularly in Brisbane. If you're wondering what the situation means for some of your former favourites, here's a rundown. DOUGHNUT TIME The doughnut chain has been splashed across the headlines in recent weeks, and for good reason. Reports include failing to pay staff, breaching rental contracts and racking up huge debts, which ultimately led to a potential sale to former Doughnut Time CEO Dan Strachotta. When that fell through, the company went into liquidation and promptly closed all of its stores. There's now no salvaging the business — as reported by the ABC, liquidator Michael Caspaney has noted that "there is no money anywhere". Staff owed backpay and superannuation can seek compensation through the Australian Government's Fair Entitlements Guarantee, but only if they're an Australian citizen or permanent resident. MISTER FITZ While Doughnut Time has monopolised attention of late, Mister Fitz's apparent demise has flown under the radar — but visit one of its three former Brisbane sites and you'll find empty stores. Indeed, East Brisbane has been closed for at least a month, pre-dating the shuttering of Doughnut Time next door. Over at South Bank, where it also shared space with Doughnut Time, a sign advises "our lease has ended and we are planning bigger and better things." And, at the original Mister Fitz site in the Valley, a sign states "we are taking a little holiday while we undergo renovations" — with the confusing addition of "but don't worry, you can still find us at South Bank". LES BUBBLES Opening in 2015, Les Bubbles courted controversy from the outset. When you launch a bar and steakhouse in a site that was once Bubbles Bathhouse, a seedy underground casino and 'massage parlour' back in the late 80s, then you're clearly asking for attention. The Wickham Street joint got it — not just via its neon sign announcing "we regret to inform you we are no longer a brothel", but courtesy of a wind-up application from the ATO in November 2017, then administration this year. At present, it's still trading, after being sold to a business owned by Strachotta last year. CHESTER STREET BAKERY Les Bubbles wasn't the only Griffiths business in trouble in 2017. Around the same time that the ATO was pursuing the Valley joint, Chester Street Bakery was collapsing. The Griffiths-owned KTG Bakeries went under in November, with CSB's once-bustling Newstead store now sitting empty — with not a towering, rainbow-coloured piece of cake in sight. THE LIMES The original jewel in Griffith's hospitality crown, The Limes is up for sale, under the instruction of the receivers charged with managing the business at present. Expressions of interest close in April, but this isn't the first time it's been in this position, with an attempted sell-off in 2015 failing to come to fruition. The Limes is currently still taking bookings. ALFRED & CONSTANCE Alfred & Constance is also up for sale — separately from The Limes, but under the same instructions — with expressions of interest also closing in April. The Valley hangout has also garnered news headlines in the past few months after unexpectedly shutting up shop over the Christmas period, and failing to open for a planned New Year's Eve party, despite selling tickets (and not even bothering to notify patrons). Amidst questions about the venue's future given Griffiths' situation, it reopened in February and continues to trade. On-site restaurants Kwan Bros and Alf's Place remain closed, however. A&C and Kwan Bros have also been put up for sale previously, back in 2016.
Tucked inside the entrance to Port Phillip Bay on the Bellarine Peninsula are the seaside towns of Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale — just a 90-minute drive southwest of Melbourne. Queenscliff is home to grand 19th-century architecture, old-fashioned piers, sandy stretches and sweeping water views, while Point Lonsdale is where the calm waters of Port Phillip Bay meet the wild Bass Strait. In just one weekend, you can tour one of Australia's few remaining lighthouses with a light keeper, stroll along the rocky coast, ride an old steam train (possibly with live blues music), see art in a church and eat local seafood by the water. We've handpicked some of the best spots to eat, stay and play in the area. [caption id="attachment_1024459" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image credit: Supplied[/caption] Do Start with an art fix at one of many local galleries. For contemporary works, visit Salt and Seaview Gallery. Then, at Queenscliff Gallery, housed in an old church, you'll find paintings, sculptures, wood engravings and linocuts from Australian artists. There are plenty more arts and crafts, plus local produce at Point Lonsdale Market, held every second Sunday of the month. A trip to Queenscliff without a ride on one of Bellarine Railway's steam trains would be remiss. Take a 45-minute trip along Swan Bay or a three-hour return journey to Drysdale, or, on a Saturday night, climb aboard the Blues Train for live music. Another place to step back in time is Point Lonsdale Lighthouse, one of the only lighthouses in Australia that still has a lightkeeper. On a half-hour tour, you'll hear all about the lighthouse's history and climb up the steep, spiral staircase to take in panoramic views. Plus, there's a maritime museum and an escape room. And, for even more history and views, you can swing by Fort Queenscliff. [caption id="attachment_1024461" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image credit: Visit Victoria [/caption] Once you've immersed yourself in the Bellarine's art and history, you'll be ready to get outdoors. Stretch your legs on a walking trail, be it a 500-metre-long stroll through foreshore reserve on the Ferry to Pier Trail, a 2.3-kilometre-long stride along Point Lonsdale Promenade, or the more adventurous Lovers Walk among coastal woodland. Then, jump on a cycling tour to go food and wine tasting, before jumping into the sea to swim with wild dolphins. Eat and Drink A spectacular brekkie or lunch by the water is on the cards at 360Q. Perched on Queenscliff Harbour in a glass-walled building, this one's big with locals and visitors alike. Give yourself a kick-start first thing with the ricotta hotcakes piled with berries and vanilla ice cream. Then, head back later for a two- or three-course feast, starring coconut-lime kingfish ceviche, lemon pepper calamari, flash-fried baby snapper with herby salad, and more. Just 300 metres away, on the beachfront, you'll find Tarra. Here, the seasonal menu offers share plates and classics, from braised duck leg with quince and mustard, to linguine marinara powered by local seafood. And, 15 minutes' drive north, there's Basil's Farm, a dreamy rural property with a restaurant serving classics like lamb rump, chicken ballotine and pork belly alongside veggies grown in the kitchen garden. [caption id="attachment_1024468" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image credit: C McConville[/caption] Pre- or post-dinner drinks should start at a friendly local pub, like the newly renovated Esplanade — or, for a fancier tipple, head to the grand, Paris-inspired cocktail lounge at The Royal. Is wine your thing? Drop by Noble Rot Wine Store and Bar, where owner Jordan Berry will talk you through his extensive selection of local and international drops. [caption id="attachment_722223" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nikola Ramsay[/caption] Stay Ready to dissolve into some cool but cosy bliss? Book in at Lon Retreat and Spa. Your unique, nature-inspired suite comes on 200 acres of land surrounded by magnificent coastal views. At the onsite spa, soak in a hot tub filled with healing mineral waters while gazing at the ocean — then relax into a ritual, be it the 'Body Odyssey' or the 'Detox and Revival'. Alternatively, get snug at The Nest, a series of architect-designed, solar-powered pods by the water, each with a king-sized bed, private deck and an outdoor spa bath. To transport yourself to the 19th century in period drama-worthy guesthouse, try Benambra, Seaview House and Point Lonsdale Guesthouse. Or for a home all to yourself, book the Japanese-influenced Swans' Reach, the magical Lonsdale Palms or this 100-year-old barn. Written in partnership with the Borough of Queenscliffe, Tourism Greater Geelong and The Bellarine. To discover even more, head to the Visit Geelong Bellarine website. Top image: Queenscliff Wharf, courtesy of Visit Victoria.
Melbourne's music scene spreads far and wide, but at least for those north of the river, Brunswick is the epicentre of all things loud and lyrical. Returning for its 38th edition, the festival — and the neighbourhood — looks more than a little different than when this musical showcase began. Nowadays, historic venues like The Retreat, Hotel Railway, and the Brunswick Mechanics Institute dovetail with relative newcomers like Waxflower and Joey Smalls, offering options for music-obsessed fans of all stripes. But from Sunday, March 1–Sunday, March 8, the community new and old comes together for the year's biggest celebration of local tunes. Kicking off with the Sydney Road Street Party, this tone-setting experience transforms the suburb's main drag with four stages. Running from 12–6pm, expect South African jazz, Turkish classical and youth Pasifika harmonies, alongside roving performances, pop-up acoustic sets and show-stopping snacks every step of the way. All told, over 100 artists will take to stages both on the street and within local venues, with just a couple of highlights to check out including Quality Used Cars, The Meanies and Public House. Between sets, you'll find 160 vendors showcasing Brunswick's most diverse flavours, as well as an eclectic mix of fashion, homewares and accessories stalls. Seeking a little quiet? Counihan Gallery and the Mechanics Institute are hosting family-friendly performances and cultural storytelling. Yet the Sydney Road Street Party is just the beginning for the Brunswick Music Festival. Over the next seven days, a MzRizk-curated program will span incredible sights and sounds. Paying respect to the suburb's contribution to local live music, catch folk tradition and electronic experimentation at Brunswick Ballroom, the worldly disco selections of François K and a close-out Sunday session beneath the trees at Gilpin Park, with loads more to groove to. Images: Simon Fazio.
Victoria's alpine region is only a few hours' drive from Melbourne, making it ideal for a quick getaway. Its craggy mountains, sprawling vineyards and countless bushwalking trails offer stunning scenery to take in year-round. But it's not all about the natural landscape. From Bright and Beechworth to Mansfield and Mount Buller, the mountainous region boasts phenomenal wineries, pubs, cafes and farm-to-table fine diners. So, if you consider yourself a foodie, it's time to start planning your next food-fuelled adventure. Don't know where to start? To help point you in the right direction, we've partnered with Victoria's High Country to bring you eight road-trip worthy dining and drinking spots. [caption id="attachment_805160" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visit Victoria / Roberto Seba[/caption] PROVENANCE Set in a former Bank of Australasia building, Provenance Restaurant is a cult favourite for both Beechworth locals and visitors to the old gold rush town. Here, foraged and locally grown produce is used to create an 18-dish, four-course set menu of Japanese-influenced fare, priced at $150 per person. So, you'll want to come hungry. While the menu often changes, you can expect dishes like oysters with cherry blossom dressing, asparagus tempura with fish eggs, grilled beef with smoked miso butter and a candied grapefruit and green tea mousse dessert. To drink, pick from co-owner Jeanette Henderson's fine sake and wine list. You can also drop by the Provenance Grocer to pick up house-made sauces, jams, pickled vegetables and jerky. [caption id="attachment_805171" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visit Victoria / Rob Blackburn[/caption] TOMAHAWKS At Bright's much-loved Tomahawks, the ambience is as vibrant and punchy as the menu, which features flavour-bombs like sticky lamb ribs served with gochujang caramel; prawn and ginger dumplings; cauliflower and mozzarella fritters; and selection of burgers. End your meal on a sugar high and order the decadent white chocolate blondie with salted caramel and ice cream, too. If you're just stopping in for a tipple you won't be disappointed on that front either. The drinks list is a love letter to local breweries and wineries, and the bar always has a few surprises on rotation, so things don't get boring for the regular bar flies. The Tomahawks team has just opened up a pizza shop in town, too, if you were in search of cheesy slices. [caption id="attachment_805174" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visit Victoria / Georgie James Photography[/caption] TERRACE RESTAURANT One thing you'll notice in Victoria's High Country is that there's no shortage of fine diners. With that said, the award-winning Terrace Restaurant, just outside Rutherglen, is one of the spots we can't pass up when talking about the region's finer food offerings. Located on the All Saints Estate in a 19th century castle-like building overlooking vineyards and stately gardens, the restaurant certainly impresses. Food-wise, expect European-inspired indulgence from Chef Simon Arkless's menu, jam-packed with seasonal produce. The menu changes weekly, but you can always expect lamb, pork and fresh eggs sourced from the on-site farm. It's open for lunch every Wednesday to Sunday, with a feed starting from $65 per head for a two-course meal. MANSFIELD COFFEE MERCHANT Melbourne's coffee culture has spread to the North East with go-to cafe Mansfield Coffee Merchant. Owner Mat Picone took his bean roasting skills from the city to the country around six years ago and has been caffeinating locals ever since. Try one of the in-house roasted single origins or blends for a cup of joe or, if you're more of a tea person, the cafe also offers a selection of brews from local company Mad Hatter Tea Co. Breakfast here is also a good shout, with classics like pancakes with mixed berries; chorizo and feta omelettes; and porchetta eggs hitting the spot on a cold autumn morning. [caption id="attachment_807305" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Beechworth Photographers[/caption] PROJECT FORTY NINE Project Forty Nine, located in historic Beechworth, is a boutique grocer and cafe that champions goods from the region's small-scale producers and farmers. So, like many High Country foodie havens, seasonal produce is the hero here. Over at the deli counter, you'll find top-quality charcuterie, stinky cheeses and many tasty-looking baked goods. Plus, it also stocks oils, pastas, preserves and other pantry staples. But, really, you're here for its impressive wine selection of local drops. If you don't have time to pop by, you can also have one of Project Forty Nine's platters — which showcase some of the store's favourite items — delivered straight to your doorstep. [caption id="attachment_805161" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visit Victoria / Rob Blackburn[/caption] DAL ZOTTO Nothing can prepare you for the positive energy that comes with a visit to the prosecco pioneers of King Valley. Established in 1987 by Otto and Elena Dal Zotto, Dal Zotto Wines is a full-on family affair that has a penchant for the simple things in life. Start at the cellar door to sip glasses of prosecco. Then, kick back in the sun in the dog-friendly garden complete with picnic tables and wooden wine barrels substituting high tables. And be sure to check out Elena's veggie garden. You'll want to book a table in at the winery's trattoria, too, which serves up everything from antipasto boards to fresh homemade pasta and pizzas. [caption id="attachment_805167" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visit Victoria / Rob Blackburn[/caption] SIXPENCE COFFEE Sixpence Coffee is the small giant of the High Country's bean scene. Located in the alpine foothills of Bright, the family-owned and -run venue shares Reed & Co Distillery's airy warehouse-style space. So, on a rainy day, you could easily spend a few hours at the coffee bar before moving on to something stronger. Make sure to try Sixpence's popular 3741 blend, which is roasted in small batches on site and has a reputation that precedes itself not only in Bright but also much further afield. TEMPLAR LODGE Surrounded by cattle farms and overlooking Victoria's highest peak, Mount Bogong, Templar Lodge is an unexpected gem in Tawonga. Chef-Owner Emma Handley has transformed the former 1950s Masonic Hall into an intimate paddock-to-plate restaurant. The contemporary Australian menu makes use of top-notch local produce — including fruits and veggies grown on Handley's farm — and changes with the seasons. To give an idea of what you'll be tucking in to, though, expect warming dishes like smoked eel rillette, house-made gnocchi, grilled ribeye and tonkotsu ramen. If it's not too chilly, nab a spot on the wide verandah for epic alpine views. Discover more and plan your next food-fuelled adventure at Victoria's High Country. Top image: Sixpence Coffee, Visit Victoria / Rob Blackburn
Melbourne loves a dessert trend, be it shaved ice bingsu bowls, decadent doughnuts, mochi balls or cronuts. But what's next? The new Glenferrie Road dessert shop Joli is hoping it's coconut jelly desserts. Inspired by Southeast Asian desserts, these sweet treats are even said to be healthy — well, a whole lot better for you than your usual dessert options. The team uses plant-based konjac, a vegan alternative to gelatin (that's said to possess its own set of health benefits), to which the team adds Thai coconut. The classic jelly is all about coconut, but other options include Milo, coffee, Biscoff, fresh mango and ube. The Joli Kyoto is a really fun one, too, combining coconut jelly with red bean paste, mochi and matcha. Like most frozen yoghurt bars, you can also add stacks of different toppings when visiting. The Joli team is trying to be environmentally conscious as well, serving all its desserts in recyclable glass jars or coconut shells. If you drop by enough, and return ten of these glass jars, you'll even get a free tub of original Joli. Let's just wait and see if these coconut jellies can compete with all the desserts Melbourne sweet tooths are already stanning. You'll find Joli at 645 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn, open every day of the week. For more information, you can visit the venue's website.
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.
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.
Before the pandemic, when a new-release movie started playing in cinemas, audiences couldn't watch it on streaming, video on demand, DVD or blu-ray for a few months. But with the past few years forcing film industry to make quite a few changes — widespread movie theatre closures will do that, and so will plenty of people staying home because they aren't well — that's no longer always the case. Maybe you haven't had time to make it to your local cinema lately. Perhaps you've been under the weather. Given the hefty amount of titles now releasing each week, maybe you simply missed something. Film distributors have been fast-tracking some of their new releases from cinemas to streaming recently — movies that might still be playing in theatres in some parts of the country, too. In preparation for your next couch session, here are ten that you can watch right now at home. BARBIE No one plays with a Barbie too hard when the Mattel product is fresh out of the box. As that new doll smell lingers, and the toy's synthetic limbs gleam and locks glisten, so does a child's sense of wonder. The more that the world-famous mass-produced figurine is trotted through DreamHouses, slipped into convertibles and decked out in different outfits, though — then given non-standard makeovers — the more that playing with the plastic fashion model becomes fantastical. Like globally beloved item, like live-action movie bearing its name. Barbie, the film, starts with glowing aesthetic perfection. It's almost instantly a pink-hued paradise for the eyes, and it's also a cleverly funny flick from its 2001: A Space Odyssey-riffing outset. The longer that it continues, however, the harder and wilder that Lady Bird and Little Women director Greta Gerwig goes, as does her Babylon and Amsterdam star lead-slash-producer Margot Robbie as Barbie. In Barbie's Barbie Land, life is utopian. Robbie's Stereotypical Barbie and her fellow dolls (including The Gray Man's Ryan Gosling as Stereotypical Ken) genuinely believe that their rosy beachside suburban excellence is infectious, too. And, they're certain that this female-championing realm — and the Barbies being female champions of all skills, talents and appearances — has changed the real world inhabited by humans. But there's a Weird Barbie living in a misshapen abode. While she isn't Barbie's villain, not for a second, her nonconformist look and attitude says everything about Barbie at its most delightful. Sporting cropped hair, a scribbled-on face and legs akimbo, she's brought to life by Saturday Night Live great Kate McKinnon having a blast, and explained as the outcome of a kid somewhere playing too eagerly. Meet Gerwig's spirit animal; when she lets Weird Barbie's vibe rain down like a shower of glitter, covering everything and everyone in sight both in Barbie Land and in reality, the always-intelligent, amusing and dazzling Barbie is at its brightest and most brilliant. Barbie is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. TALK TO ME An embalmed hand can't click its fingers, not even when it's the spirit-conducing appendage at the heart of Talk to Me. This is an absolute finger snap of a horror film, however, and a fist pump of a debut by Australian twins Danny and Michael Philippou. As RackaRacka, the Adelaide-born pair have racked up six-million-plus subscribers on YouTube via viral comedy, horror and action combos. As feature filmmakers, they're just as energetic, eager and assured, not to mention intense about giving their all. Talk to Me opens with a party that's soon blighted by both a stabbing and a suicide. It segues swiftly into a Sia sing-along, then the violent loss of one half of the Aussie coat of arms. A breakout hit at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where it sparked a distribution bidding war won by indie favourite A24, it's constantly clicking, snapping and ensuring that viewers are paying attention — with terror-inducing imagery, a savvy sense of humour, both nerve and the keenness to unnerve, and a helluva scary-movie premise that's exceptionally well-executed. The picture's outstretched mitt is the Philippous' Ouija board. That withered and scribbled-on paw is also a wildly unconventional way to get high. In a screenplay penned by Danny with fellow first-timer Bill Hinzman, but based on Bluey and Content executive producer Daley Pearson's short-film concept — yes, that Bluey — shaking hands with the distinctive meat hook is a party trick and dare as well. When the living are palm to palm with this dead duke, in flows a conjuring. A candle is lit, "talk to me" must be uttered, then "I let you in". Once heads are kicking back and the voices start, no one should grasp on for more than 90 seconds, as Hayley (Zoe Terakes, Nine Perfect Strangers) and Joss (Chris Alosio, Millie Lies Low) explain. But, as she navigates the anniversary of her mother's death, Mia (Sophie Wilde, The Portable Door) is up for going as far as she can. Here, being consumed by sinister spirits, not consuming booze, is an escape. That, and filming whatever twisted chaos happens when you connect with the otherworldly. It isn't all fun and frights and games, though; when her best friend Jade's (Alexandra Jensen, Joe vs Carole) 14-year-old brother Riley (Joe Bird, First Day) takes part, traumatic consequences spring. Talk to Me is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Danny Philippou. THE NEW BOY Warwick Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Deborah Mailman, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis: name a better Australian quintet. The director of Samson & Delilah and Sweet Country, the two-time Oscar-winner and recent Tár tour de force, the local screen mainstay, and the Bad Seeds bandmates and seasoned film composers all combine not for the ultimate Aussie dinner party, but for The New Boy. None are debuting in their jobs. All are exceptional. They're each made better, however, by the luminous and entrancing Aswan Reid. As well as playing the titular part, the 11-year-old first-time actor lives it among such a wealth of acclaimed and experienced talent — and he's such a find in such excellent company, while saying little in words but everything in every other way, that Thornton's third fictional feature owes him as much of a debt as its applauded and awarded household names. There's a spark to Reid from the moment that he's first spied grappling with outback law enforcement under blazing rays as Cave and Ellis' (This Much I Know to Be True) latest rousing score plays. His sun-bleached hair couldn't be more fitting, or symbolic, but it's the confident way in which he holds himself as New Boy, plus the determined look on his face, that sears. Wily and wiry, the feature's eponymous figure is toppled by a boomerang, then bagged up and transported to the remote Catholic orphanage doted on by Sister Eileen (Blanchett, Nightmare Alley) in the 1940s. The cop doing the escorting notes that the kid is a bolter, but the nun is just as fast in her kindness. She sees what Thornton wants his audience to see: a boy that beams with his presence and through his sense of self, even though he's been snatched up, taken from his Country and forced into a Christian institution against his will. Sister Eileen is as drawn to him as the movie, but — and not just due to the red wine she likes sipping and the subterfuge she's keeping up about the resident father's absence — she isn't as certain about what to do. The New Boy is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Warwick Thornton. RED WHITE & BRASS Watch Red, White & Brass and you'll never see the pre-game or half-time entertainment at a big sporting match the same way again. Of course, if Rihanna, or Beyoncé with Destiny's Child, or a heap of hip hop and rap legends are taking to the stage at the Super Bowl, you won't question it — but if there's a community band on the turf, you might start wondering when they first picked up their instruments, why and if it was only four weeks ago to make it to this very gig. Are they just out there because they were that desperate to see their team play? And, because they missed out on expensive and instantly sold-out tickets? Were they so eager, in fact, that they bluffed their way into a gig by claiming to already be a musical group, then had to speedily do anything and everything to learn how to get melodic, and obviously not embarrass themselves, in a passion-fuelled whirlwind of pretence and practice? A band solely forming to score access to a rugby game sounds like pure screenwriting confection. Often enough, though, when tales like that make it to the silver screen, it's because they're so wild that they can only be true. Such is the case with Red, White & Brass' premise, as it notes at the outset, with co-writer Halaifonua (Nua) Finau scripting the story with first-time feature director Damon Fepulea'i from his very own experiences. Back in 2011, New Zealand hosted the Rugby World Cup, which was a source of particular excitement to Aotearoa's Tongan population, and especially to avid aficionados at a Wellington church. The kind of fans that were showing their devotion by decking out their homes in the Tongan flag top to bottom, hitching the red-and-white cloth to every free space on their cars and carrying around the symbol on their phone cases, they were determined to see Tonga play France in their own home city, and willing to whatever it takes to do so — wholesomely, in the type of underdog story about fervour, ingenuity, self-belief and luck that engagingly makes for an easy and warm-hearted cinema crowd-pleaser. Red, White & Brass is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with John-Paul Foliaki and Damon Fepulea'i. CARMEN Breaking down a classic tale best known as an opera, rebuilding it as a lovers-on-the-run drama set across the US–Mexico border and making every moment burst with emotion, Benjamin Millepied's Carmen is a movie that moves. While its director is a feature debutant, his background as a dancer and choreographer — he did both on Black Swan, the latter on Vox Lux as well, then designed the latest Dune films' sandwalk — perhaps means that the former New York City Ballet principal and Paris Opera Ballet Director of Dance was fated to helm rhythmic, fluid and rousing cinema. His loose take on Georges Bizet's singing-driven show and Prosper Mérimée's novella before it, plus Alexander Pushkin's poem The Gypsies that the first is thought to be based on, is evocative and sensual. It's sumptuous and a swirl of feelings, too, as aided in no small part by its penchant for dance. And, it pirouettes with swoon-inducing strength with help from its stunningly cast leads: Scream queen and In the Heights star Melissa Barrera, plus Normal People breakout and Aftersun Oscar-nominee Paul Mescal. When Mescal earned the world's attention in streaming's initial Sally Rooney adaptation, he had viewers dreaming of fleeing somewhere — Ireland or anywhere — with him. Carmen's namesake (Barrera) absconds first, then has PTSD-afflicted Marine Aidan (Mescal) join her attempt to escape to Los Angeles. Carmen runs after her mother Zilah (flamenco dancer Marina Tamayo) greets the cartel with thunderous footwork, but can't stave off their violence. Aidan enters the story once Carmen is smuggled stateside, where he's a reluctant volunteer border guard in Texas alongside the trigger-happy Mike (Benedict Hardie, The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson). As the picture's central pair soon hurtle towards California, to Zilah's lifelong friend Masilda's (Rossy de Palma, Parallel Mothers) bar, they try to fly to whatever safety and security they can find. That may be fleeting, however, and might also be in each other's arms. Carmen is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Benjamin Millepied. HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE Every story is built upon cause and effect. One thing happens, then another as a result, and so a narrative springs. Inspired by Andreas Malm's non-fiction book of the same name, How to Blow Up a Pipeline isn't just strung together by causality — it's firmly, actively and overtly about starting points, consequences and the connections between. Here's one source for this impassioned tale about determined and drastic environmental activism: the warming world. Here's an originator for that, too: fossil fuels, humanity's reliance upon them and the profits reaped from that status quo. Now, a few outcomes: pollution, catastrophic weather changes, terminal illnesses, stolen and seized land, corporate interests prioritised over ecological necessities, and a growing group that's driven to act because existence is at stake. Turning a text subtitled Learning to Fight in a World on Fire into a fictional feature, How to Blow Up a Pipeline joins all of the above, stressing links like it is looping string from pin to pin, and clue to clue, on a detective's corkboard. In his second feature after 2018's smart and effective camgirl horror Cam, writer/director Daniel Goldhaber isn't trying to be subtle about what dovetails in where. With co-screenwriters Jordan Sjol (a story editor on Cam) and Ariela Barer (also one of How to Blow Up a Pipeline's stars), he isn't attempting to rein in the film's agenda or complexity. This movie tells the tale that's right there in its name, as eight people from across America congregate in Texas' west with a plan — an octet of folks who mostly would've remained loosely connected, some strangers and others lovers and friends, if they weren't desperate to send a message that genuinely garners attention. Goldhaber's latest is explosive in its potency and thrills, and startling in its urgency, as it focuses on a decision of last resort, the preparation and the individual rationales before that. How to blow up hedging bets on-screen? That's also this tightly wound, instantly gripping, always rage-dripping picture. How to Blow Up a Pipeline is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. SISU Lean, mean and a Nazi-killing machine: that's Sisu and its handy-with-a-hunting-knife (and pickaxe) protagonist alike. This stunningly choreographed Finnish action film's title doesn't have a literal equivalent in English, but writer/director Jalmari Helander's (Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale) latest effort means stoic, tenacious, resolute, brave and gritty all in that four-letter term; again, both the movie and the man at its centre fit the description. Former soldier Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila, also Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale) has one aim. After he strikes gold and plenty of it in Lapland's far reaches, he's keen to cash in. For someone who has already lost everyone and everything to World War II, that requires transporting his haul; however, the year is 1944 and German troops still lurk even as the combat winds down. Accordingly, getting those gleaming nuggets from the wilderness to a bank means facing a greedy and unrelenting platoon led by Helldorf (Aksel Hennie, The Cloverfield Paradox), who can spy a payday and an exit strategy for himself. Before anything yellow shimmers, Nazi-filled tanks are sighted, a single shot is fired or a blow swung, Sisu explains its moniker as "a white-knuckled form of courage and unimaginable determination". Text on-screen also advises that "sisu manifests itself when all hope is lost." As a film, Sisu may as well be shorthand for John Wick meets Inglourious Basterds meets Django, the iconic 1966 spaghetti western that Quentin Tarantino riffed on with Django Unchained, too — plus all of that meets the work of legendary spaghetti western director Sergio Leone as well. The carnage is that balletic. The Nazi offings are that brutal, roguish and inventive. And valuing deeds over dialogue as a lone figure dispatches with nefarious forces against an unforgiving landscape, and no matter what they throw at him, is firmly the setup. Sisu is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY Old hat, new whip. No, that isn't Dr Henry Walton 'Indiana' Jones' shopping list, but a description of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. While the fifth film about the eponymous archaeologist is as familiar as Indy films come, it's kept somewhat snapping by the returning Harrison Ford's on-screen partnership with Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge. When this 15-years-later sequel to 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull begins — swinging into cinemas after 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, too — Indy's trademark fedora and strip of leather have already enjoyed ample action. So has the George Lucas-created franchise's basic storyline. If you've seen one Indy outing in the past 42 years, you've seen the underlying mechanics of every other Indy outing. And yet, watching Ford flashing his crooked smile again, plus his bantering with Waller-Bridge, is almost enough to keep this new instalment from Logan and Ford v Ferrari filmmaker James Mangold whirring. Across the quintet of Indy flicks — a number contractually locked in at the outset, even if it took almost half a century to notch them all up — a trinket always needs recovering. Whether it's a relic, stone, cup, carving or, as here, a device by Ancient Greek mathematician, philosopher and inventor Archimedes that might facilitate time travel, nefarious forces (typically Nazis) always want said item as well. Also, only antics that've influenced the likes of Tomb Raider, National Treasure and Jungle Cruise can ensure that whatever whatsit is at the heart of whichever picture stays out of the wrong hands. The object in question falls into those mitts at some point, of course. Indy goes globetrotting and cave diving to save it, and skeletons and creepy-crawlies tend to get in his way. Reliably, he has female company. Frequently, there's a young offsider tagging along. A constant: the whole escapade bounding to the tune of John Williams' rousing theme, which is now acoustically synonymous with adventure. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE BOOGEYMAN Teenagers are savage in The Boogeyman, specifically to Yellowjackets standout Sophie Thatcher, but none of them literally take a bite. Grief helps usher a stalking dark force to a distraught family's door; however, that malevolent presence obviously doesn't share The Babadook's moniker. What can and can't be seen haunts this dimly lit film from Host and Dashcam director Rob Savage, and yet this isn't Bird Box, which co-star Vivien Lyra Blair also appeared in. And a distressed man visits a psychiatrist to talk about his own losses, especially the otherworldly monster who he claims preyed upon his children, just as in Stephen King's 1973 short story also called The Boogeyman — but while this The Boogeyman is based on that The Boogeyman, which then made it into the author's 1978 Night Shift collection that gave rise to a packed closet full of fellow movie adaptations including Children of the Corn, Graveyard Shift and The Lawnmower Man, this flick uses the horror maestro's words as a mere beginning. On the page and the screen alike, Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian, Boston Strangler) seeks therapist Will Harper's (Chris Messina, Air) assistance, reclining on his couch to relay a tragic tale. As the new patient talks, he isn't just shaken and shellshocked — he's a shadow of a person. He's perturbed by what loiters where light doesn't reach, in fact, and by what he's certain has been lurking in his own home. Here, he couldn't be more adamant that "the thing that comes for your kids when you're not paying attention" did come for his. And, the film Lester has chosen his audience carefully, because Will's wife recently died in a car accident, leaving his daughters Sadie (Thatcher) and Sawyer (Blair) still struggling to cope. On the day of this fateful session, the two girls have just returned to school for the first time, only for Sadie to sneak back when her so-called friends cruelly can't manage any sympathy. The Boogeyman is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. MEG 2: THE TRENCH Jaws, but bigger. Jurassic Park but sharks. Like a prehistoric underwater predator scooping up a heap of beachgoers in one hefty mouthful, describing what The Meg and its sequel Meg 2: The Trench are each aiming to be is easy. Ridiculous big-screen fun that sets Jason Statham (Fast X) against multiple megalodons, his scowl as shiny as their razor-sharp teeth: they're the type of waters that this creature-feature franchise also wants to paddle in. Since debuting in cinemas in 2018, all things The Meg have always had a seriousness problem, however. They're at their best when they're also at their silliest, but they're rarely as entertainingly ludicrous as they're desperate to be. This five-years-later follow-up might task Statham with shooting harpoons while riding a jet ski at a tourist-trap holiday destination called Fun Island — and also busting out the line "see ya later, chum", which lands with such a sense of self-satisfaction that it feels like the entire reason that the movie even exists — but such gleeful preposterousness is about as common as a herbivore with a meg's massive chompers. Again based on one of author Steve Alten's books — he's penned seven so far, so more flicks are likely — Meg 2: The Trench doesn't just want to ape the Jurassic series. It does exactly that overtly and unsubtly from the outset, but this film is also happy to brazenly treat multiple movies from a few decades back as fuel for its choppy antics. When the feature starts, it's 65 million years ago, dinosaurs demonstrate the cretaceous period's food chain, then a megalodon shows who's boss from the water. Obviously, life will find a way to bring some of this sequence's non-meg critters into the present day. Next comes a dive in The Abyss' slipstream, before embracing being a Jaws clone again — even shouting out to Jaws 2 in dialogue — but with a Piranha vibe. Before it's all over, Meg 2: The Trench also flails in Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus' direction, just with a visibly larger budget. Meg 2: The Trench is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Looking for more at-home viewing options? Take a look at our monthly streaming recommendations across new straight-to-digital films and TV shows — and fast-tracked highlights from January, February, March, April, May, June, July and August, too. You can also peruse our best new films, new TV shows, returning TV shows and straight-to-streaming movies of 2023 so far
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.
Before anywhere else in Australia, Melbourne became home to a major annual celebration of movies. That was more than seven decades ago, when the Melbourne International Film Festival first kicked off — and the event is still going strong. Back in 1991, the Victorian capital made flick-watching history again, this time in the queer cinema space. Now, Melbourne Queer Film Festival is the nation's oldest such fest, and it too keeps delighting audiences. A documentary about Jackie Shane, a portrait of a Drag Race star, Elliot Page's first leading role as a trans man, the Village People: they're all on the 42-feature, 90-short program when MQFF returns for 2024 from Thursday, November 14–Sunday, November 24 at ACMI, The Capitol, Palace Cinema Como and Cinema Nova. Also a highlight in the event's 34th year: the festival's dedicated hangout space making a comeback. The theme for this year is "formative sound and vision". If you now have a certain David Bowie song stuck in your head, that's understandable — and Darryl W Bullock, who wrote David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music, is the fest's keynote speaker. He'll be chatting at the event's one-day free symposium dedicated to music videos, which will dive into the role that such clips have played in helping members of the LGBTQIA+ community form their identities. Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story is MQFF's opening-night pick, telling its namesake's tale from her 50s Nashville success through to disappearing from the public for four decades. In the middle of the fest, the dialogue-free Gondola, which is about female cable-car conductors expressing their emotions in the sky, gets the centrepiece slot. Then, when it all comes to an end for 2024, the festival will close with Duino, a semi-autobiographical effort about an Argentinian filmmaker working on a movie about his first love. Rex Wheeler, aka Drag Race's Lady Camden, pops up in-between via Lady Like. As for the band that ensured no one can say YMCA without singing, they're featured thanks to a retrospective screening of Can't Stop the Music — and if you want to dress up to attend the screening, that's up to you. With 2024 marking seven years since Page (The Umbrella Academy) last appeared on the big screen Down Under, Close to You brings that absence from local cinemas to an end. The film boasts the actor's first male movie role, as a trans man heading home to his family for the first time since transitioning. Attendees can also look forward to Evan Rachel Wood (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story) as a cheerleading coach in Backspot, with Devery Jacobs (Echo) as the squad's newcomer; Strange Creatures, which heads on a road trip to Narrabri with fighting siblings; Baby, about the connection between a São Paolo sex worker and an 18-year-old man just out of juvenile detention; and Hong Kong's All Shall Be Well, the recipient of this year's Berlinale Teddy Award and Frameline Audience Award for Narrative. Or, there's also The Visitor from Bruce La Bruce (Saint-Narcisse), which pays tribute to Pier Paolo Pasolini's Teorema — and docu-musical Reas, where former prisoners play both themselves and their jailers. Glue's former lead singer gets the spotlight in The Life of Sean DeLear, while Linda Perry does the same in Let It Die Here (complete with Brandi Carlile, Christina Aguilera, Dolly Parton and Sara Gilbert as interviewees). And courtesy of Life Is Not a Competition, But I'm Winning, get ready for a cine-essay about gender and bodies in sport. "We're taking over Melbourne with a dazzling lineup of films for the 2024 MQFF program. We've gathered the most-extraordinary new and historical LGBTQIA+ stories from around the globe that shape, form, pay homage to and celebrate queer music culture," said MQFF CEO David Martin Harris, announcing the lineup. "Plus, by popular demand, we're delighted to bring back the MQFF Festival Lounge at ACMI for the entire season. This will be a vibrant space for LGBTQIA+ community connection, featuring fascinating public programs, DJs, karaoke and delicious food in a mirror ball-lit setting. In other words, pure queer joy!" The 2024 Melbourne Queer Film Festival runs from Thursday, November 14–Sunday, November 24 at venues around Melbourne. For more information or to buy tickets, head to the festival website.
Did your parents ever tell you to stop playing video games and go out and socialise? Well, it seems all those hours in front of a screen were not wasted after all. Pixel Bar lets you put those gaming skills to good use with your mates — with a beer in hand. The venue, located on North Road in Huntingdale, is a wonderland for anyone with a competitive streak. A cornucopia of old-school board and card games are on-hand as well as PCs and a selection of consoles connected to a projector screen. Booze, coffee, milkshakes and jaffles will keep you fuelled for your (pixellated) fight to the death. Pixel also hosts regular trivia nights and game tournaments — covering everything from Super Mario Smash Brothers to Dungeons and Dragons. Its proximity to Monash University means there is a constant presence of procrastinating students, but the doors are open for gamers from all walks of life. No wasted youth here, Mum and Dad.
The daily grind can really wear you down. Luckily, you don't always have to join the rat race on the commute home every day — you could have a few drinks instead. One major bonus of working in the CBD is that heaps of Melbourne's top-notch bars put on some serious drink specials — many of which can be enjoyed every day. The joyous tradition of happy hour is alive and well in many of the city's most loved bars and eateries — you just have to know where to go, and when, to take advantage of the best drink and food specials. So we've rounded up some great deals for when you're looking for a post-work tipple before heading home, with rooftop views, riverside locales, basement vibes and classic eateries all accounted for. There's cheap beer and wine aplenty, as well as chicken burgers, empanadas, tequila and a spritz or two, all sure to help you and your workmates shake off that nightmarish meeting that took up most of your afternoon. NATURAL HISTORY PUBLIC BAR Boasting one of the most interesting fit-outs in the city, Natural History Public Bar also has a killer happy hour, slinging affordable after-work beverages from 4–7pm each weekday. Alongside the regular deal of $7 wine, $8 spirits and $9 pints, the bar has a number of daily specials going on, such as half price bottles of wine on Mondays, and a carafe of wine and a cheese plate for just $35 on Tuesdays. On Thursday evening, pretend you're fancy with a $10 negroni, old fashioned or espresso martini. Or you can end the week being serenaded by, or enthusiastically singing along to, the musical stylings of the bar's resident in-house piano man every Friday and Saturday night. [caption id="attachment_705701" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kate Shanasy[/caption] PEACHES Not all happy hours are created equal. The delightfully pastel-hued Peaches — up the pink stairs from Cheek — treats punters to not one, but two chances at nabbing a $7 chicken sanga. Although technically not available after the traditional nine-to-five work hours, this two-level rooftop bar deserves a mention for both its 12–2pm lunchtime happy hour, and its reprise from midnight till 2am on Friday and Saturday nights. As well the tasty sandwiches (which can also come filled with tofu), you can also throw back a $7 pickleback shot at these times. To cap it off, the bar's cocktails are as aesthetically pleasing as its pastel pink decor, and taste as good as they look. [caption id="attachment_740896" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mr Harry's[/caption] LELLO PASTA BAR If you like your drinks served with homemade pasta, or delicious Italian nibbles, Lello Pasta Bar has you sorted. Monday through Friday, from 4.30–6.30pm, the Italian eatery has a bunch of beer, wine and spirits on special, including tap beer, house wine and spirits for $7. If you're after something a little fancier, Lello will sling you an Aperol or Campari spritz for $12, any cocktail from the menu for $15, or wine and spirits from the next shelf up for a tenner. Hot tip: head to Lello at the end of the week for Aperitivo Fridays, where you'll be treated to a free small plate of snacks with the purchase of an alcoholic drink, just get there between 4.30pm and 6pm. PILGRIM BAR Right through the working week — from 4.30–6.30pm Monday to Friday — Pilgrim Bar will pour you a drink for mere pocket change with its $5 happy hour. The riverside bar and eatery has an all-Australian menu worth sampling, especially when you can pick up a beer, house wine, or spritz for a fiver. Championing seasonality and local produce, the list is always changing, so there's always something new to try, from wines from the Yarra and King valleys to Victorian and NSW beers. Plus, you can fuel up with warm toasties and locally sourced cold meats and cheese. PALERMO Empanadas and beers. How good does that sound for a post-work snack? Argentinean steakhouse Palermo — the little sister of Meyers Place mainstay San Telmo — is making knock-off time even better every Monday through Thursday with its $9 deal. From 4–6pm, you can grab a hot and crunchy empanada and a cold and crisp Patagonian Pilsner for less than a tenner. Once that deal has taken the edge off after a hard day of work, you may as well settle into one of Palermo's comfy booths for a pisco sour and dome dinner. Take advantage of generous share plates with your work mates. FATHER'S OFFICE When it's quittin' time, head straight to an office of a different kind: Swanston Street's prohibition-inspired bar, Father's Office. The specials are plentiful and frequent here, with happy hour running for four hours each night. Stop by between 5–7pm or 8–10pm any day of the week for a range of $12 cocktails, $5 wines, $7 schooners and $7 spirits. That's a lot to remember, but all you really need to know is Father's Office has so many specials that even your fussiest colleagues will be happy, and there's plenty of space for your whole work crew among the art deco-style dining room or out on the balcony overlooking the State Library. THE MILL HOUSE Escape the hustle of the crowded CBD streets and the post-work rush, and head down to subterranean Flinders Lane bar The Mill House. Budget-friendly drinks are served up here everyday from 4–7pm — including Saturdays — with a selection of spirits, wines and pints of beer down to $7.50. The kitchen also pumps out $12 daily food specials (from noon right through until close, so you can get a feed and a tipple for just under 20 bucks. Be sure to nab one of the large, circular booths up the back, for ultimate comfort, vibes and proximity to food. SPLEEN BAR Considering it's been cranking out drinks for thirsty punters until 5am since 1997, Spleen Bar must be doing something right. And it doesn't disappoint when it comes to happy hour specials, either. Monday through Friday, from 4pm–7pm, both Stomping Ground's pale ale and laneway lager drop to $5 a pot, or $9 for a pint, and house wines are just $8. You'll need food to get you through the week, so grab a cheeseburger or southern fried chicken slider for just five bucks from 4pm–11pm Monday to Thursday, and 4pm–1am on Fridays and Saturdays. Spleen has hump day covered, too, with southern fried and glazed chicken wings for just 5o cents each on Wednesdays. MESA VERDE We promise this one will make it worth the climb up the many stairs at Curtin House. Settled in on level six — before you make it to Rooftop Bar — Mesa Verde is known for an extensive food and drinks list championing Mexican influences, and its happy hour specials are no different. From 5–6pm, Monday to Thursday, you can nab $6 house wines and spirits, and $5 pints and tequila shots. While you're there, make sure to try some small plates to share, or some of the $7 tacos, with flavours like grilled ox tongue, queso oaxaca and tomatillo avocado salsa, or roasted pumpkin, kale, smoked cheese and pasilla salsa. On Mondays, margs are $10 all day.
When Betty's Burgers and Concrete Co started dishing up burgs, fries and shakes, it gave hungry (and grateful) Australian tastebuds a Shake Shack-style burger experience. The chain has done well with that approach, unsurprisingly, expanding from its Noosa beginnings to now boast joints in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth — and a trio of ex-staff members are aiming for the same success with new venture Slim's Quality Burger. There's plenty that's familiar about Slim's template, in fact. Swap out the Shake Shack nods, substitute in a 50s and 60s-inspired setup that takes its cues from American diner culture, and that's the concept. Once again, the focus is on classic-style burgs rather than OTT numbers in this new spot from Michael Tripp, Nik Rollison and Betty's founder David Hales; however, the burgers here are paired with old-school ice cream sundaes instead of Betty's frozen custard 'concretes'. Now open in Marrickville in Sydney, with other stores set to come around the country — details of which haven't yet been revealed — Slim's is all about a lean menu of options made with simple but quality ingredients. Burger-wise, customers can choose between original, cheeseburger, deluxe cheeseburger and 'the works' burgs all made with angus beef, plus five different chicken varieties — including with crispy fried or grilled chook — and a veggie option using a plant-based patty. Sides focus on fries either with sea salt, loaded with cheese and grilled onion, or also featuring maple-smoked bacon. As for those sundaes, they come in hot fudge, salted caramel and strawberry flavours. And to wash it all down, there are spiders — because plonking a scoop of ice cream in some soft drink never gets old — plus post-mix from the fountain, and chocolate, vanilla and strawberry thickshakes. And with its vibrant red bench seating, the same hue beaming up from the chequerboard-tiled floor and a curved order counter — in the Marrickville setup at least — the decor clearly takes Slim's chosen retro aesthetic seriously. Also a feature in Sydney: outdoor dining, plus a blast from the past-meets-modern overall feel. Slim's Quality Burger has opened its first store at 20 Smidmore Street, Marrickville, with more locations to come across Australia — we'll update you when new sites are announced.
Cafes, pubs, bars and eateries across Melbourne have once again swung open their doors. But one venue in particular has also made its grand debut with ambitious newcomer The Commons at Ormond Collective taking over the St Kilda Road site once home to the Belgian Beer Cafe Bluestone. This multi-faceted, mostly outdoor venue is the latest from The Big Group, which operates a suite of event spaces including The Glasshouse in Olympic Park and the Myer Mural Hall. Aiming for broad appeal, The Commons features an array of different elements set across its various al fresco spaces, including The Conservatory, The Kitchen Garden, The Garden Cafe and The Beer Garden. Throughout, expect a heady mix of gingham and floral prints, bold stripes, fresh flowers and wicker, with lots of Euro-style cafe chairs and park benches setting the scene. In keeping with the times, you'll also find quirky lily pad seating positioned 1.5 metres apart and multiple hand sanitiser stations. [caption id="attachment_787847" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Marcel Aucar[/caption] There'll be slightly different food offerings available at each of the different spaces, though as a whole the menu's built around classic flavours, local produce and lots of ingredients picked fresh from the onsite kitchen garden. Think, crisp flatbread crowned with an assembly of confit artichoke, greens, mozzarella and edible flowers; a spring salad featuring seared salmon; and a classic chicken sandwich with lemon mayo and shredded broccoli. You might settle in with some craft brews and a burger, or while away an afternoon over snacks and rosé. Coffee comes courtesy of North Melbourne's Small Batch, while house-made sweet treats run to the likes of salted pretzel brownies and an Italian strawberry love cake. [caption id="attachment_787853" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Marcel Aucar[/caption] Like any outdoor venue worth its salt, this one's also optimised for guests of the four-legged variety. We're talking doggy day beds, puppy parking and a dedicated food menu for pooches. And, while all Melbourne events are still at the mercy of restrictions easing further, The Commons has tentatively started planning a roster of pop-ups and activations to grace the site. Eventually, you can look forward to the likes of market stalls, gigs, live beekeeper demonstrations and other creative happenings featuring here every weekend. Find The Commons at Ormond Collective at 577 St Kilda Road, St Kilda. It's open 8am–5.30pm Monday–Wednesday, 8am–9.30pm Thursday–Friday and 11am–9.30pm Saturday–Sunday. Images: Marcel Aucar
It's been just over two years since Barry Susanto (former sous-chef of Navi) and Erwin Chandra shook up Richmond's sandwich game with the arrival of their Indo-inspired eatery Warkop. Now, it's the CBD's turn, as the duo gears up to open their second outpost on Little Collins Street next week. Incoming Tuesday, May 2, Warkop's city iteration will celebrate the same fusion of familar flavours and inventive spirit that's made the OG such a hit. Here, however, you've got an entirely new menu of breakfast goodies, hefty sandwiches and house-made pastries to look forward to. Both Indonesian, Susanto and Chandra met working together at Duke's Coffee Roasters in Windsor, sparking initial plans to open their own establishment. Fuelled by a touch of homesickness, some lockdown experimentation and a desire to offer locals a broader, more authentic taste of their homeland, they turned that plan into a reality in 2021. And now, they're doubling down. Here, a simple yet inviting fitout by Sonelo Architects draws inspiration from the warung kopi (Indonesia's café-style street stalls) that also gave Warkop its name. A splash of colour, woven rattan finishes and lots of raw timber combine to lend a welcoming edge. Come breakfast time, you've got a range of sweet and savoury bites to choose from, with the likes of bacon and egg muffins dressed with black garlic sauce, sambal matah (a Balinese raw sambal) crullers, and sweet crullers finished with a kaya glaze. Plus, you can match your morning feed with an espresso or cold-brew made on beans by Dukes. Sandwich fiends are in for a real treat, whether they're after something fresh, toasted or even fried. Flavour combinations might include rare roast beef with pickled bean sprouts, salted egg and Thai basil in a soft potato roll, a brisket rendang number on rye, or a gado gado-inspired focaccia toastie with tofu and peanut sauce. Fried sangas include a crispy chicken and kohlrabi creation with the house Bazzinga sauce, and Warkop's answer to the Filet-o-Fish done with sambal matah, sprouts and tartare. There's also a daily-changing salad offering, plus freshly-baked sweet treats courtesy of Pastry Chef Audita Bisma; ranging from a burnt Basque cheesecake reimagined with palm sugar, to rum and vanilla-infused cream puffs. Find Warkop CBD at 13 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, from May 2. It'll open from 7am–3pm weekdays and from 8am–3pm on weekends.
If you want to really get to know a part of the country, you need to spend time in it. You need to drive along its streets, walk along its paths, check out its shops, restaurants and other attractions, and gaze at its views. That's why hitting the coastal highway to venture from Melbourne to Sydney is a great vacay option. Instead of hopping on a flight to the harbour city, take the scenic route, break up your journey with swims and sightseeing, meet the locals and scope out new favourite places you wouldn't have otherwise visited. You'll also be sharing some love with New South Wales' regional areas, that've had a tough past year for a number of reasons. To help plan your ultimate driving route from Melbourne to Sydney, here are nine top-notch coastal pit stops to make along the way. Yes, you'll want to bring your bathers — and make sure your phone is charged so you can snap plenty of pictures. Please stay up to date with the latest NSW Government health advice regarding COVID-19. [caption id="attachment_795691" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Killer Whale Museum, Claudine Thornton, Destination NSW[/caption] WANDER THROUGH A KILLER WHALE MUSEUM IN EDEN Your first port of call once you've crossed the Victorian-New South Wales border: the harbourside town of Eden. It's NSW's most southerly town, and it's gorgeous. Given its location, Eden isn't short of beaches — although if you only have time to visit one, make it Long Beach. Being surrounded by the 65-million-year-old Pinnacles is impossible to pass up, after all. The town is renowned for whale watching between May and November. But if you miss them, check out the Eden Killer Whale Museum. Inside you'll find displays dedicated to the titular sea creature, obviously, as well as to the town. To experience the town on two feet, and to soak in its history, hitting up the Eden Heritage Walk is also a must. Then, when you're feeling peckish, tucking into some seafood is in order. It's hard to escape the urge to eat the ocean's finest while you're right by the water, so heading to the Seahorse Inn or the Coast Bar & Grill at Eden Fishermen's Recreation Club is highly recommended. [caption id="attachment_803391" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bar Beach, Merimbula, Destination NSW[/caption] GO ON A BEACH HOP IN MERIMBULA This itinerary will take you along NSW's coastline, which means spectacular beaches are bountiful. Case in point: Merimbula, located on the state's Sapphire Coast, has 13. It also boasts two lakes, should you feel like a stint of sailing, kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding. If you'd like to engage with the region without actually getting wet, Merimbula has plenty of options. Well, depending on which attractions you decide to hop on, Magic Mountain will still see you splashing around — however, you can also try your hand at the amusement park's Tree Climb Challenge, which includes rope bridges, high wires and wooden obstacles. Mosey on over to Merimbula Aquarium, and you'll be able to peer into 28 tanks filled with local and tropical marine life, and also eat at the on-site restaurant, which has 180-degree water views. For those especially keen on scoping out nature, get in contact with Tiny Zoo. You can't actually visit it, but this conservation-focused organisation does host pop-ups around the place, so you can get up close to a central bearded dragon, a spinifex hopping mouse and a tawny frogmouth. Oh, and don't leave without slurping down some gourmet oysters — the area is lauded for them. Captain Sponge's Magical Oyster Tours lets you try them freshly shucked from Pambula Lake. [caption id="attachment_795687" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dee Kramer, Destination NSW[/caption] TAKE A DIP IN BERMAGUI'S FAMOUS BLUE POOL Another gem on the Sapphire Coast, Bermagui is one of those best of both worlds-type places. Mount Gulaga rises behind it, while the ocean sprawls in front of it — so you're genuinely spoilt for choice. Both terrains feature some of the town's must-visit spots, too. At the latter, you'll find the famed Blue Pool. An ocean rock pool set beneath the cliffs, it's as striking to look at as it is to take a dip in. Or, head over to the Montreal Goldfield. Dating back to the 1880s, it's Australia's only seaside goldfield, with almost 250 kilograms of the precious metal found there in a four-year period. To scope it out and immerse yourself in a big slice of history, you'll need to book a tour. As for grabbing a bite and a beverage, the Bermagui Beach Hotel, near the iconic Horseshoe Bay, can take care of both. For everything from seafood and gelato to Italian- and Asian-style cuisines, the Bermagui Fishermen's Wharf has you covered. Local bakery Honorbread is also worth a visit, as is Eastwood's of Bermagui, which serves Ona coffee, cakes, take-home meals and also functions as a cooking school and pop-up events space. [caption id="attachment_795693" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Montague Island, Tom Park, Destination NSW[/caption] SPEND THE NIGHT IN A LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER'S COTTAGE ON MONTAGUE ISLAND Here, in Narooma, you can snorkel with seals and tour a lighthouse that dates back 140 years. You'll have to book in for a guided tour to be allowed access, though. And, if you're after somewhere different to bunker down for the night (and to feel like you're living in Round the Twist), you can stay in a lighthouse keeper's cottage. Another must-visit in Narooma is Montague Island, a nature reserve where you can see penguins, dolphins, whales and more than 90 bird species. And there's only one place on your journey that features a rock that looks like Australia. Australia Rock has a hole in the middle of it that resembles the same shape of this nation we call home — and you can peer through it to the ocean. The Narooma Lighthouse Museum also awaits, as does the 350-metre-long Mill Bay Boardwalk for a leisurely stroll. For a snack, Rolf's Patisserie delivers just the kind of small-town bakery bites your tastebuds hanker for on a road trip, while making a stop in Tilba before heading into town will let you hit up the ABC Cheese Factory. [caption id="attachment_795695" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Wray Street Oyster Shed, Jason Ierace, Destination NSW[/caption] SLURP FRESHLY SHUCKED OYSTERS IN BATEMANS BAY Batemans Bay might just be the best-known stopover on your road trip — so it's worth finding out why. Located where the Clyde River meets the ocean, it's an area lauded for its tasty oysters. Yes, you now know what you should be eating here, including from five-decade-old The Boatshed and Wray Street Oyster Shed. The Pearly Oyster Bar and JJ's at the Marina will also tempt your seafood-loving tastebuds, as will Region X's oyster tasting kayak tour. Meanwhile, Batemans Bay Ice Creamery has been scooping up the ideal waterside dessert for over 42 years. You can also treat yourself to a scenic picnic at Observation Point, which looks out over Snapper Island, or have a barbecue after seeing the critters at Birdland Animal Park. Fancy a dip? Pack your goggles and snorkel, because Batemans Bay is home to an impressive snorkelling trail. And if you'd like to turn your pit stop into a lengthier stay, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service has a beachside cabin in Murramarang National Park, just 30 minutes out of town, that you can hire out. [caption id="attachment_795694" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Dee Kramer, Destination NSW[/caption] HUNT FOR FOSSILS IN ULLADULLA By now, you know what to seek out in a coastal town. Lighthouses, seafood, beaches, spectacular views — they're all on the list. Ulladulla in the Shoalhaven local government area, around 230 kilometres south of Sydney, boasts them all, too. It's also a great spot for fossils, with a wander along the Gondwana Coast Fossil Walk proving a real treat while you're in the area. Here, you'll get a blast from the past dating back 270 million years, because that's how old some of the fossils are. To delve into the region's Indigenous history, opt for the Coomee Nulunga Cultural Trail, led by the local Aboriginal community. If looking at native plants is more your style, you can also mosey along the bush track at the Ulladulla Wildflower Reserve. All that walking is certain to make you hungry, and we suggest going either hearty or upscale. In the first category, Hayden's Pies serves up chunky pies filled with everything from butter chicken with mint yoghurt to steak in green peppercorn sauce. Or, treat yourself to a meal at Rick Stein at Bannisters in the neighbouring town of Mollymook. [caption id="attachment_802856" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dee Kramer Photography, Destination NSW[/caption] ENJOY THE STUNNING BEACHES IN JERVIS BAY There's no mistaking Jervis Bay's beaches for any others in the region. The sands are quite the shade of white, and the clear waters that lap up against them are just as striking. So, the number one thing on your agenda during this stopover: dipping your feet in both those glimmering grains and the ocean. Head to Booderee National Park, and you'll be in the ideal spot. For scuba diving, snorkelling, swimming and surfing, however, the Jervis Bay Marine Park is your go-to. History buffs should make a date with the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum and Gallery, which features a mangrove boardwalk along Currambene Creek, plus picnic and barbecue facilities. Food- and drink-wise, Gunyah at Paperbark Camp in Woollamia is a highlight (and if you're looking for somewhere to check-in for the night, there are 13 canvas safari-style tents on-site). Pilgrims Vegetarian Cafe has an eatery at Huskisson, and you'll find Jervis Bay Brewing Co in the vicinity, too. [caption id="attachment_795690" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Kiama Blowhole, Tim Clark, Destination NSW[/caption] CHECK OUT THE WORLD'S BIGGEST BLOWHOLE IN KIAMA Mention the name Kiama, and the word 'blowhole' should immediately pop into your head. The Illawarra town is famous for them and nestled underneath the 133-year-old Kiama Lighthouse is the world's largest. If that isn't impressive enough, the Kiama Blowhole can blast water up to 30 metres into the air (and yes, it makes a sound when it does so). There's also the Little Blowhole, about two kilometres out of town, should visiting one oceanside place that rockets H2O into the sky not be enough. After a different kind of fun? You'll have to head inland a little, but Jamberoo Action Park is also in the area. Rides, slides, chairlifts, mini golf: it's all on offer. Back in Kiama itself, you can scope out the historic terrace houses that've been around since 1886 while trotting along the Kiama Heritage Walk. Then, grab a bite from Diggies right next to the main blowhole, or from Penny Whistlers by the harbour. From the former, you must order the cod-filled Blowhole Burger — when in Kiama, and all that. [caption id="attachment_795671" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Bulli Rockpool, Dee Kramer, Destination NSW[/caption] RIDE SOME WAVES AT ONE OF BULLI'S PICTURESQUE BEACHES By the time you make it to Bulli, you'll know that Sydney isn't far away. It's located just 70 kilometres south of the big smoke and 11 kilometres north of Wollongong — but everyone could use one last stop on the home stretch. First up: enjoy a swim at the beach, or in the beachside ocean pool. If you have a surfboard strapped to the roof of your car, you're in a great spot to give it a whirl. Or, if you take the 850-metre walk up to Sublime Point Lookout, you'll actually peer down over 17 beaches (as well as rainforest). Because small-town pubs with history are an unparalleled delight, Bulli's Heritage Hotel is worth a visit, especially if you like burgers. Built in 1889, it's on the State Heritage Register, in fact. And if you're the kind of person who likes the sea, but also can't spend enough time surrounded by plants, you're going to want to add the Illawarra Grevillea Park to your must-visit list — just check when it's next hosting open days first. Start planning your great escape to New South Wales this season by visiting the Visit NSW website. Top image: Bulli Rockpool, Destination NSW
Manchester Press is a classically 'Melbourne' new wave cafe for three main reasons: 1) it's all about coffee, 2) it has a coveted 'hidden laneway' location, and 3) it doesn't give a crap about any of that and just continues to be a kickass cafe. Sticking to a menu that isn't over-complex and consists mainly of bagels, a visit to Manchester will include at least one bagel, some kind of discourse with either the staff at the door or behind the coffee machine and anywhere up to three run-ins with people that you know — because everyone comes here. Which is kind of the problem. Manchester Press is busy in the morning, packed out by 1pm with corporate lunch-breakers and is possibly the only CBD cafe that garners a line on Saturday and Sunday. But, turnover is fast — especially if you're flying solo or part of a twosome — and you get to hang out in an cool Melbourne laneway while you wait. So, it ain't all bad. When you do get inside, you'll see plates piled with toppings of various colours and ratings on the superfood spectrum; it might not all seem familiar, but, don't be fooled, underneath lies a doughy, ring-shaped morsel. Basically it's all bagels here, with over ten options to painfully choose from. Ranging from $10 for simple toppings such as the nutella, banana and crushed hazelnuts combo to the more meaty 14-hour Vietnamese pulled pork at $15, the bagels cater for vegos, vegans, blue cheese enthusiasts and — more recently — the gluten free. The menu does deviate from the golden beacons a few times with two salads, muesli and baked eggs getting a look in, but bagels are the main event and you probably will order one. Needless to say, they are best matched with an 8oz coffee (which is a great blend, despite not being widely used) and, possibly, a post-bagel praline brownie. Further fulfilling its prophecy to be quintessentially Melbourne, Manchester Press has a roller door entry, industrial flooring, artwork on display and Aesop in the bathrooms. While it mirrors other cafe trends, the space remains unique — especially as a CBD venue. Manchester has always played it cool; when you do something well, you never have to try too hard to prove it. Image: Visit Victoria.
Dearest reader, Melbourne has officially entered its Regency era. To celebrate the fourth season of Netflix's Bridgerton, the CBD was transformed into a real-life masquerade fantasy over the weekend, complete with colour-matching, mask reveals and promenading ton folk. For two days only, a floral-drenched door on Melbourne's Little Collins Street led fans back in time to a Regency-inspired retreat. Fair maidens greeted guests at the door and offered cucumber sandwiches, tarts, champagne and cups of tea as refreshments. Inside the parlour, guests were encouraged to get ready for a Bridgerton-worthy ball (and photo shoot op, of course). Multiple stalls were dotted around the parlour, each offering a Regency-era makeover. Guests began by getting colour-matched and were guided on which makeup and jewellery colours would best bring out their features. Next, hair coiffure accessories and a collection of vintage gloves were offered to emulate a swoon-worthy Bridgerton-esque look, regardless of whether guests arrived in traditional dress or jeans and a t-shirt. The mask maker was a real highlight, asking guests a set of questions to determine their ultimate Bridgerton archetype. Guests were then bestowed a ball mask depending on their answers. Options included the Muse, the Bohemian, the Writer, the Intellectual and more, each based on Bridgerton's beloved characters. Once guests headed upstairs, their personalised masks were ready and waiting for their masquerade ball photo shoot. Attendees stepped into the spotlight for their portrait amongst the rich tapestry, gilded details, and Regency-era oil paintings. "It's honestly unreal," said attendee Unice Wani. "I love that we get to enter an era we've always loved and seen." Unice's highlight? The colour matching. "I loved getting to test out what colour match shades I am because usually I'm gold and I just got told I'm silver! But it's been fun to try out different jewellery and masks – unreal." "The detail is incredible," said fellow attendee, Jasmine TXO, "I loved the masquerade stall and getting one that suits your personality. It's a personalised experience which is great." The masquerade makeover was the perfect way for Melburnians to get hyped for the brand new season of Bridgerton, the first part of which hit our screens on Thursday, January 29, with the second part dropping on Thursday, February 26. This season sees rising Australian star Yerin Ha take the lead as Sophie Baek, a masked Lady in Silver who captures the attention of Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson). As always, scandal, romance, and exquisite fashion abound. The Bridgerton Mask Parlour proved that the allure of the beloved series lies not just in the corsets and ballrooms, but in its invitation to indulge and escape into another world (even if you're in the middle of the Melbourne CBD). Watch Bridgerton only on Netflix.
Temperatures are dropping in Melbourne, so why not warm up with a cup of hot chocolate? Take a break from your morning coffee routine and head to Mork, a concept cafe that specialises in ethically-sourced, quality hot chocolate with a high cacao count. The Campfire Chocolate is particularly impressive: a stemless wine glass filled with smoke, served alongside a beaker of chocolate, 'smoked salt' and a toasted marshmallow (which doubles up as a spoon). Mork uses pure, single-origin unsweetened dark chocolate, meaning less sugar and more taste — a delicious start to a Tuesday morning.
