Over the next three days, Melbourne locals will be able to get their hands on a free pair of prescription glasses as popular online retailer VisionDirect.com.au opens its very first Vision Direct Optical Centre in the heart of the CBD. They’ll be going large for their opening week, committing 100 free premium acetate frames and…
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Four bartenders who have been instrumental to the rise of Melbourne’s highly regarded Black Pearl will open a new venue in the CBD later this year. Rob Libecans, Chris Hysted-Adams, Matthew Stirling and Ryan Noreiks will lead the charge at Fancy Free, helping shape the bar as a neighbourhood watering hole in the middle of…
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Following much acclaim with outlets across Sydney, world renowned ramen brand Ippudo has finally uncovered their long-awaited Melbourne expansion. Debuting in April at QV, Ippudo has arrived with their signature Japanese options, most importantly highlighting the legacy of famed ramen chef Shigemi Kawahara who many credit with the rise of tonkotsu. Melbourne’s first ever Ippudo…
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Launched just a few weeks ago, the legendary Belles Hot Chicken has worked with Melbourne-based hospitality group 100 Burgers to officially squeeze into their very own food truck. The super popular chicken restaurant, which now has locations across Melbourne and Sydney, finally making the leap to mobile dining follows the appointment of Belles chef Morgan…
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Punch in ‘2’ on an obscured automated phone at the entrance of The Store Room and request entry before this bar’s opening appears. Melbourne’s latest vintage-minded drinking hole, taking over a former barber shop on St Kilda Road, is dialing up a bygone era and borrowing a few tips and tricks from traditional speakeasys, including…
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I read a quote by Nicholas Sparks the other day that went something along the lines of, “The thing that people want most is to be happy. Most young people seem to think that those things lay somewhere in the future, while most older people believe they lay in the past.” As I sat in…
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IHG Group will be opening Australia’s very first dual-branded hotel in the middle of Melbourne’s CBD, merging Hotel Indigo Little Collins and Holiday Inn Melbourne Bourke Street Mall. Slated to open doors by 2022, the ambitious property will take over from the site currently trading as The Walk Arcade, developing the space to allow both…
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IHG and Barnes Capital will be doing things a bit (actually, a lot) differently when they collaborate to open a new Holiday Inn in the increasingly trendy Melbourne suburb of Coburg. Moving away from the hotel brand’s established aesthetic, Holiday Inn Melbourne Coburg will be focused on modern unexpected design, with an eye-catching façade of…
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This autumn, Tetsujin, one of David Loh’s (Rice Workshop, Dessert Story) most successful venues, invited Michelin starred chef Masahiko Yomoda to create a brand new lunch menu. And we were lucky enough to score a seat at the preview table with Yomoda himself. To start things of, Yomoda, who describes his style of cooking as French-based…
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It was a huge celebration of talent and an epic display of performances at the 35th Green Room Awards, celebrating the talent and achievements of Melbourne’s art community. Since 1984, The Green Room Awards have been recognising the professional contributions of all those involved in Melbourne productions. This year’s, hosted by MCs Anni Davey and…
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With only 199 days to before before the best weekend of the year, badges for PAX Aus 2018 are now on sale and early bird pricing is currently in effect.
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The 180-room DoubleTree by Hilton, situated in the heart of Melbourne CBD, quickly became an institution for both locals and visitors shortly after it debuted in 2014. Reflecting design inspiration from its location opposite the historic Flinders Street Station, the boutique-minded property is a perfect example of soaking up the surrounds with subtle, charming flourishes…
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Sydney-born dessert and social media phenomenon Tella Balls Dessert Bar has finally opened up one of its deliciously sugary stores in Melbourne. The newly launched dessert bar, which is located at Melbourne Central, follows the successful launch of the brand in QLD last year, bringing more than just Sydneysiders a menu that’s chock full of…
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One of the more essential events as part of this year’s forthcoming Melbourne Food and Wine Festival will be a neat nine-day collaboration between Vice food channel Munchies and some of the city’s best and most popular young chefs. Dubbed Club Munchies, the program will shape into Bourke Street’s Spleen Bar with the chefs, a…
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Once again, Melbourne’s Good Beer Week will be kicking off with a two-day Gala Showcase this March, taking over The Atrium at Federation Square with 30 local and interstate breweries in tow, ranging from NSW legends Modus Operandi to local favourites Bridge Road Brewers. All breweries will stand alongside Melbourne’s best food vendors, highlighting some…
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Whatever happens when you mash a music festival with an interactive obstacle course is exactly what’s going to go down at Collingwood Art Precinct on Saturday 3rd March, as Nike Australia invite locals and visitors to The House of Go. For one weekend only, Nike will be taking over the precinct with what they’re describing…
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Gourmet Cinema will be returning to Melbourne this March, calling upon six of the city’s best restaurants to complement an eclectic film program screemed at the Caufield Racecourse. The annual outdoor movie and food experience will feature food and drink from four restaurants per session, with one hero restaurant taking creative licence with a special…
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One of the most unique hotels in Australia will sadly be shutting down – or should we say, zipping up – later this year. Melbourne’s urban glamping concept St. Jerome’s – The Hotel, the brainchild of Laneway Festival co-founder Jerome Borazio, has announced a sad farewell set for April 25th, packing up their 21 world-class…
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The screen history of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland will be showcased as part of Australian Centre for the Moving Image’s (ACMI) newest exhibition, Wonderland. The world premiere that is part of the Victorian Government’s Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series, will delve into Caroll’s three timeless stories of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass…
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After an impressive debut in Australia with Titanic, which saw over 1000 guests transported back to 1912 in an immersive, authentic recreation, Beyond Cinema have announced their second Sydney immersive cinema experience: The Great Gatsby, as well as a debut in Melbourne for another classic. The Gatsby experience will be set in an exclusive Sydney mansion, as…
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Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Prometheus) has been cast in the upcoming psychological thriller Angel of Mine, directed by Kim Farrant (Strangerland). Set in Melbourne, Angel of Mine follows a mother still struggling to cope with the loss of her daughter, becoming obsessed with a stranger’s daughter she believes to actually be her own. As her obsession…
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Independent game developers in Australia, particularly those at the beginning of their careers, find themselves stuck for ways to connect and network. In a games industry as small and tight-knit as Australia’s, connections are the best step a person can take toward landing a job in the local dev scene. Networking events are a semi-regular…
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We already know that a Harry Potter-themed brunch is coming to Sydney in April, but apparently just one pop culture styled food and drink event isn’t near enough for fans. Now it has been revealed that a Mean Girls themed brunch will be taking place, across both Sydney and Melbourne during the same months (exact…
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Cynicism be gone! Valentine’s Day may not have the sentimental glow it once had thanks to excessive commercialisation, but no matter how you view the annual celebration of love you’re guaranteed to find some incredibly sweet and thoughtful events as restaurants, bars and hotels bring out their finest ideas. Because we’re a helpful bunch, we’ve…
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It seems the organisers behind the forthcoming Laneway Festival have outdone themselves in terms of an enormous food and drink program for both Sydney and Melbourne. What is now one of the country’s most beloved music and cultural festivals has announced a line up of restaurant partners curated by the obviously very discerning and well-connected…
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There’s now no shortage of celebration for Australia’s epic BBQ scene year-round, and the first event of that kind in 2018 will be The Yak Ales Barbecue Festival. For its fourth year running, the enormous program will be heading through Melbourne with some of the best barbecue in the country. Not only that, but 2018…
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Australia is getting the world’s very first adults-only pop-up bar made of over one million blocks of Lego. Come Autumn 2018, The Bricks Bar will be built and deconstructed numerous times, travelling around to four major cities including Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. The organisers are a bit hush-hush on details at the moment, including…
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Acclaimed Japanese chef Tomotaka Ishizuka is opening a restaurant under his namesake on Melbourne’s Bourke Street in the hopes of introducing the local food scene to a truly refined and delicate Japanese food art form comparable to Western haute cuisine. For anyone fortunate enough to get into the 16 seater restaurant a unique sensory experience…
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Aline Viravouth and Marcel Nantharath, the team behind Carlton’s popular Nasi Lemak House, have now opened their new 30-seater venue Merah in Northcote. With a focus on Malaysian street food, the lunch and dinner restaurant which opened late last year will highlight the many diverse flavours coming from the South-East Asian country. All the staples…
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Neil Perry and Rockpool Dining Group are set to start the new year by adding to their growing network of Burger Project locations across Australia’s east coast. The latest from the burgeoning burger empire is a two-storey venue on Melbourne’s Bourke Street, highlighting an enormous space that can accommodate 100 diners downstairs, 30 outside and…
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