We are just back from a whirlwind weekend visit to Melbourne, where with each visit, we make it a point to see new places, and dine out at new venues we haven’t been to previously. There is no shortage of places on our list to try, but we managed to cross off a few more on this latest trip, starting with Northside Wines in Northcote.

This bar, restaurant, wine garden and bottle shop combined, was a really comfortable and cosy start to our weekend away.  It had all the elements we look for anytime we are eating out, it was a welcoming and affordable place with great décor, excellent food and a long wine list to choose from.

On a Friday evening the bar has ‘Friday knock offs’ where you can have free wine tastings from 4pm-7pm, sampling four wines while finding out all about them. This wine bar focuses on alternative grape varietals grown in Australia and in particular grapes that are better suited to the Australian climate and therefore produced sustainably. As you’d expect, the shelves are very well stocked with a huge variety of labels from Australia and overseas, and you can have wines by the glass or bottle when you are dining in.

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The modern Australian style menu incorporates some native ingredients and has choices to suit everyone, from share plates to main meals, pizzas and desserts. Amongst our group, we enjoyed slow cooked beef cheeks, duck breast and Margherita pizza, all beautiful dishes. As well as wines there are also beers, spirits and cocktails on offer.

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What also had me wanting to visit was the decor, bright and stunning native floral artwork on the black walls and indoor plants creating a natural screen between areas of the restaurant.

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Northside Wines is located on High Street in Northcote, around 6 kilometres north east of the Melbourne CBD, and is open every day.  A great time to visit would be during their daily happy hours, from 3-6pm when wines are $8 per glass and share plates are half price.

Enjoy

Glenys