From Stokehouse to Starward: Top Inner-South Spots Are Throwing One-Off Events for a New Festival

Given its bay views and beaches, Melbourne’s south side deserves its reputation as one of the city’s most scenic areas. But it’s got more than just good looks going for it. The suburbs on the north shore of Port Phillip Bay – including Port Melbourne, South Melbourne, Albert Park, St Kilda, Balaclava, Ripponlea and Elwood – also have some of the best food and drink anywhere in Melbourne, from institutions and attention-grabbing upstarts to beachside restaurants and backstreet breweries.

They’re being celebrated in a new locally focused food and wine program called Spring Graze Southside. It’ll see more than 40 south-side venues host dining and drinking experiences throughout October, including tastings, tours, themed dinners, masterclasses and limited-edition menus. A highlight is the Melbourne Food and Wine Crawl and Bite Southside, a five-event series of “progressive dinners and moveable feasts” based on the successful Melbourne Food & Wine Festival series of the same name. Each event involves a drink and one course at three venues within a south-side dining hotspot: Acland Street and surrounds, Fitzroy Street, Carlisle Street, South Melbourne or Port Melbourne.

Whether you plan to head down for Spring Graze Southside or you’re keen to start exploring before the festival starts, here are five of our favourite venues in the area. They’re all hosting an event for the program, but they’re well worth a visit any time.

Stokehouse

Stokehouse Pasta & Bar exemplifies luxury beachside dining. Sitting nearly on top of the water, the longstanding fine diner has hooked visitors since 1989 with its sweeping bay views, upscale decor and premium seafood. Under chef Jason Staudt you’ll find seasonal seafood platters, pan-roasted flathead, spanner-crab doughnuts and oyster service. On October 13 the restaurant is teaming up with Appellation Oysters for a day of fresh oysters, shucking demos and prosecco.

Starward Distillery & Bar

Starward has long been regarded as one of the city’s premier whisky producers, and its recently revamped distillery and bar space in Port Melbourne takes things up a few notches. The sleek Studio Y redo puts the focus squarely on the interaction between the distillery’s drams and former Eau de Vie chef Drew Traynor’s menu. Everything Traynor serves is sourced within a day’s drive of the distillery – much like the whiskies themselves, which are made with locally sourced grain. Explore Starward’s new bar and dining hall as part of a progressive lunch in Port Melbourne’s back streets, organised by the neighbouring CBCo Brewing. Head along on October 20 for a tasting paddle and tacos at the acclaimed craft brewery, wine and canapés at Frontside Food & Wine, and whisky and bites at Starward.

Pirate Life

Swapping South Australia for South Melbourne has done Pirate Life no harm –the brewery’s newly opened taproom is one of the south side’s best. The 220-capacity beer and dining hall is in a transformed mechanics workshop, where you can sip Pirate Life’s signature brews (such as the South Coast pale ale and taproom-exclusives like the Market Street lager) alongside a woodfired, Greek-inspired food menu from chef Maria Delengas, formerly of Adelaide’s fiery Arkhe. For Spring Graze Southside, Delengas is working with South Melbourne Market neighbour Georgina Dragwidge of Georgie’s Harvest. The pair will put their mutual Greek heritage and passion for local produce on show with a special menu on October 26.

Omen

Albert Park’s Omen is what happens when three Rockpool alumni – chefs Declan Carroll and Dean Stagno, and sommelier Pierre-Marie Caillaud – combine a love for European cuisine and cooking over fire. The menu focuses its energy on Victorian produce, with plenty of dishes treated simply with the smoky power of a charcoal grill, though there’s room for delicate touches, too, like the signature five-day duck croquettes. For Spring Graze Southside, Omen has put together a cocktail menu celebrating Victorian producers, made with all-local spirits and liqueurs, plus a wine list highlighting cult Victorian labels. Try it from October 16 to 21.

Captain Baxter

Bar and restaurant Captain Baxter draws the crowds with the bay and St Kilda Sea Baths below, beach bungalow decor, and outdoor decks. The menu skews to a shareable, pan-Asian style. Dishes include dumplings smothered in chilli crisp, crab-topped crumpets with koji, and Japanese curry croquettes, all of which are ideal for pairing with its list of fruity and zesty cocktails. For Spring Graze Southside on October 11, the Captain will dish up a four-course dinner with hyperlocal ingredients – including seafood from the bay and meat from Avalon butcher Provenir – with wine pairings by Chandon.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with the What’s On St Kilda & Southside.