Melbourne Patron

Just gone two years old, The Stables of Como cafe is happily ensconced in its pretty setting. More like a lavishly decorated country barn, the cafe occupies the former stables building of the historic Como House (corner of Williams Rd and Lechlade Avenue, South Yarra), surrounded by the property's bounteous garden. It is an odd location, somewhere between the guts of South Yarra, Toorak Village and the river, and you walk up a random leaf-lined driveway to get there. But once you find it, this cafe becomes your secret: a venue for brunch that you won't really want to share, so relaxing and pretty it is - almost like an unexpected piece of the country within urban Melbourne. The theme here is farmhouse green and white (I get lots of Anne of Green Gables references, myself). The building itself is shackled in white corrugated iron, with a clear awning over the side strip of astro turf, lined with giant pot plants: an area where patrons can choose to eat 'outdoors...

The shops along Domain Road, South Yarra have a reputation for being a bit posh. It is South Yarra, after all, and the majority are cafes and restaurants that take advantage of their location (opposite Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens ) by providing some outdoor seating. Apparently The Real Housewives of Melbourne even frequent one or two venues along the strip. A little further down the road, on the corner of Millswyn Street, Entrec ô te (131-133 Domain Road, South Yarra) is having a party of its own - still refined, but with a little more colour and personality. In operation as a Parisian-style steak bistro since January 2015, the restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week in the former site of the infamous  Lynch's Restaurant . Business partners Jason McLaren Jones and Adam North developed the idea when they bumped into each other in Paris in late 2014. They took a meal together at the institutional  Le Relais de L'Entrec ô te : a no-booki...

In the winter months, everyone's thoughts seem to turn to holidays. What could be better than relaxing somewhere in the sun, rather than working somewhere in the cold? It's almost as though, to survive the cold and grey, we need a goal of warmth and light to work towards. Even if it's just a temporary sojourn. Low tide at Surfer's Paradise Beach This year, my parents and I met for a June long weekend in the Gold Coast . Uncharacteristically, the region was experiencing fairly consistent rainfall - so it wasn't exactly the sunny paradise we'd anticipated. Nonetheless, the temperature was a solid 10 degrees warmer than in Melbourne , so I was still happy. And, as it turns out, moody weather makes for better beach photos. We mainly wandered between Surfer's Paradise , Broadbeach and the Nerang River , at one point ascending the popular SkyPoint building to visit its observation deck. Inviting walkway to Surfer's Paradise Beach View t...

I'm not much of a camper. I really enjoy things like running water, a mattress, and food I haven't had to prepare myself on a tiny portable stove. Having said that, I also really enjoy things like views, the city, communal spaces, and the novelty of something unusual. What if you could get all of those things together? Turns out Jerome Borazio, of St. Jerome's Laneway Bar fame, has achieved that. The hospitality entrepreneur stood on the rooftop of Melbourne Central and thought, 'luxury camping' (...as you do). The result is St. Jerome's - The Hotel  (Level 3, 271 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne), a five-star camping experience (Borazio is apparently not a fan of the term 'glamping') on the astroturf-laden rooftop of the shopping centre. Borazio adds the accommodation venue to his already impressive list of bars ( 1000  £  Bend , Sister Bella , Ponyfish Island , The Workers Club , The Kelvin Club ), pizza restaurant ( Slice Girls ), wedding ve...