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Call off the search – the best street in Australia for a top night out has been found
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It may be only one street, but it’s one heck of a party. This is THE place you want to be in Australia if you’re looking for fun.
Words by Stuart Gregor for Escape.
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I’ m going out on a limb here – if I was heading out on a “Larry Emdur” on any single street in Australia, it would be Russell Street in Melbourne.
I know, right? Controversial. You probably thought I was gonna go for Cavill Mall or Hindley Street at the very least, but nope; it’s Russell Street every day of the week for me, especially Fridays. Here’s a few reasons why.
Let’s start at the bottom – of the street not the barrel – and here on opposite corners of Russell and Flinders are two great Melbourne institutions. The Duke of Wellington is the quintessential pub on the way to the G for Friday night footy. Great tap beers, live music in a corner somewhere you can’t quite see, and scarves and beanies aplenty across three levels.
And across the road, there in all its faux Gothic glory, is Australia’s greatest live-music venue, the Forum. Drinks are better than serviceable and standing with a beer on a ledge watching your favourite band shred is always a winner. My greatest Forum memory is seeing Oasis there in 2002 during what I think could be best be described as the band’s “hating on each other, Gallagher brothers civil war” phase. I was always an Oasis defender against the haters (or Blur lovers as they were known), but, sheesh, those boys made it hard sometimes. Liam and Noel did not make eye contact once for the entire gig and then refused to play “Wonderwall”. Still, it made for a great story and the beer was cold.
Sticking to the western side of Russell we wander past the Whisky Den where a lone man with a pot belly and a ponytail always sits contemplating a Glenfarclas. It kind of intimidates me so I never go in, but I will one day.
A mere five paces along the street is the best restaurant-bar experience in Australia bar none. I speak, of course, of Gimlet. In the magnificent Cavendish House building on the corner of Flinders Lane, Gimlet is everything. Brilliant food featuring the world’s best steak tartare, ice-cold Martinis and Gimlets and service that’s so friendly, informed and professional you think for a minute you mustn’t be in Australia. If I had to eat and drink at just one joint in Australia for the rest of my days, it would hands-down be Gimlet. And a little shoutout to its adjacent bar, Apollo Inn – not officially on Russell Street, but on Flinders Lane, just a couple of steps from the main restaurant. It’s tiny, maybe 30 spots, and the cocktails and ambience are as good as anywhere you will find in London or New York.
Heading up the hill you’ll walk past the Lune Croissanterie queue and ask yourself if any pastry is worth that sort of line, but you won’t stop to find out because you have an afternoon lunch/drinks booking at Embla (yes, we are time travelling).
Embla is the best wine bar in Australia. Man, it just has such a vibe. You can sit there alone at the bar, have a group of three or four on the stools or a proper table down the back. The wines are a bit left of field, but always impeccably chosen and the food is banging. I can count on one finger the number of places where I insist on ordering the cabbage every visit. There’s never been a cabbage like it, trust me. Its voodoo fire magic cabbage.
Back when I had a corporate credit card I would always stay at the QT across the road and its rooftop bar is frivolous, fun and loud. Not gonna lie – it has a bit of a “sales reps after work running into out-of-town hens’ party” vibe, but if that’s your thing, then who am I to judge? Get stuck in.
We now arrive at the heart of the city and stride past what once was the Holy Grail of Fast Food where you had Hungry Jacks and Maccy Ds on opposite corners but, alas, we have recently said RIP HJs Russell and Bourke. You will be missed.
We are now on the edge of Chinatown and, trust me, you do not want to walk past the Exford Hotel without popping in for two pots of Carlton Draught and a shot of Midori. Why? Why not? Don’t judge me; thank me later.
Once you’ve stumbled (unaided) from the Exford you need some proper late-night rock and roll fun and nothing serves it up better than Heartbreaker. Game of pool, slice of Connie’s pizza from the window at the back, shot of Jameson and an Espresso Martini on tap – I mean, you’ve now fully decided that going home is not an option, haven’t you?
I’m not as strong as you might be – most of my nights end at this point. Drinks after Heartbreaker are not easily served or received and most often the best option is falling up the stairs at Supper Inn for your second Chinese of the night, but if you are a grown-up, you might want to wind it down at Melbourne’s finest whisky bar, Whisky and Alement.
This place is an absolute shrine to the greatest whiskies in the world. It also has a great atmos, incredibly well-informed staff and a selection that will quite honestly take your breath away if you’re a true fan of great malt.
Well, congrats. You’ve now made it to Little Lonsdale Street and, honestly, what goes on north of that is anyone’s guess – I think it’s called Carlton, and nothing good ever happened there.
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