Baby Snakes

Baby Snakes is a cool, casual spot where the wine is delicious and the selection is very much curated, but showing punters a good time – and making them feel comfortable – is the priority.

By design, it's less in-your-face about its wine selection than owner Mark Nelson’s previous vino-focused bars – Collingwood's The Moon and Milton Wine Shop, in Malvern. There are just two fridges here – one with roughly 60 whites, and another with about the same number of reds. Bar manager and wine buyer Rhiannon LaHatte is responsible for the list. She favours smaller local producers over big names.

Right beside the wine fridges sit two frozen cocktail machines, which churn out light and frosty Margaritas and a frozen version of Stomping Ground’s Passionfruit Smash sour. There’s also a small cocktail list and six beer taps with easy-drinking brews such as Philter XPA.

Food is available too, including stacked deli sangas such as Reubens, Cubanos and a spicy Szechuan-eggplant number, as well as cheese and charcuterie boards. Otherwise, the team from Slice Shop Pizza downstairs is happy to run a pie up to your table.

Baby Snakes is also licensed for live music. Mike Gurrieri of PBS radio show Mystic Brew is the resident DJ and music booker; DJs spin records on Fridays and Saturdays, while Sundays are reserved for relaxed live sets by local bands.