Perched at the top of Spring Street, around the corner from Bourke Street’s classic dining district and across the street from the grandiose yet stoic Parliament building is Melbourne’s answer to the traditional Italian wine bar, City Wine Shop. It also doubles as a retail bottle shop.

The venue is owned and operated by the same crew as it’s next door neighbour The European, who are also responsible for the upstairs Melbourne Supper Club, Tea Room and rooftop Siglo bar. Each venue is unique, distinctly themed and equally charming.

At the City Wine Shop, the focus is clear. Guests are invited to choose a bottle of wine from shop, either to enjoy at home or at the restaurant for a corkage fee, or simply to sample a glass of from one of bottles in the well-balanced assortment of local as well as European wines. The menu, typically wine bar-esque, is concentrated on smaller, masterfully prepared dishes that are diverse enough to satisfy any palette and are meant to be shared on the whole. It changes regularly too.

Always bustling from breakfast time until late into the evening post-theatre, City Wine Shop is a well-oiled machine at the top end of the city.