Melbourne Patron

New: Arbory Bar and Eatery, Flinders Walk, Melbourne When I heard Arbory Bar and Eatery had opened along one side of Flinders Street Station, I was surprised that I'd managed to skip any pre-launch hype about it. (a) A new bar, (b) in such a central location, and (c) such a big venue - how had I missed this?! But no matter. I was able to get along and check it out only two weeks after opening. Redeemed. Drinks with a river view So - this place is pretty cool. Arbory (Flinders Walk, Melbourne) runs the length of the old Sandridge platform (up to 150 metres, depending on which source you believe), along the river side of Flinders Street Station. The Sandridge railway line, which went to what is now Port Melbourne, ran for 133 years from 1854. Since it was decommissioned in 1987, its dedicated Flinders platform had been left terribly sad and unused. Flinders Street Station backs onto one length of Arbory The combined powers of  Metro Trains and the HQ Hospita...

Walking past the Boatbuilder's Yard  (23 South Wharf Promenade) in the past, I'd always been attracted by the chilled-but-buzzy vibe, timber overload (warm and inviting, don't you think?) and proximity to water (yep, that water thing again). A date gave me the opportunity to try it out on a school night, and I was looking forward to it. Unfortunately, the night before, I hadn't slept a wink. Not only was this detrimental to my general social performance, but it also meant I wasn't in a great frame of mind to make blog-style judgements on the bar/pub venue. However, I will do my best in retrospect. Lots of timber I ordered the house bubbles, served up by friendly and relaxed-looking barmen. We sat outside - because that's what you do at a waterside venue - but it was an overcast day and the wind was whipping the awnings around beside us. This didn't detract a lot from the feeling of open-air-water-proximity I love, but after a while it was a bit fray...

This bar reminds me a lot of Sydney. I realise to native Melburnians, that is no praise at all. BUT, it is really cool - actually a favourite of mine - and the only reason it reminds me of Sydney is because it is completely surrounded by water. There are so many bars in Sydney with water views - bugger it, so many of EVERYTHING with water views - that it becomes ingrained. I was so used to the space, the air, the freshness, and the movement of water, that no matter how many awesome laneway or rooftop or hidden Melbourne bars I visit, there is something in me that always breathes a sigh of relief when I sit waterfront, nestling a beverage. But Ponyfish Island (under the Yarra Pedestrian Footbridge, between Flinders Street Station and Southbank - enter via the stairs) is cool in many other ways, too. And when I say 'cool', I mean full-on, hipster-y, so-hot-right-now-even-though-it's-been-around-for-a-while, we-don't-serve-wine-in-wine-glasses cool. Here are some of t...