Cure Bar & Eatery

This Carlton local is the brainchild of two hospo veterans that both cut their teeth in the UK’s cocktail capital of Edinburgh, so it’s no surprise that Cure Bar & Eatery offers one of the finest whisky tasting sessions in Melbourne. Besides this eminently Scottish pastime, Cure does a good line in small- and large-plate dinners, organises ‘civilised’ bucks’ nights for the amorous, and opens its cosy Rathdowne Street premises for opulent long-table banquets with an emphasis on slow cooked-meats and plentiful sides. Book some simple elbow space or a lavish feast now!

From coffee supplied by Auction Rooms through to one of Melbourne’s most comprehensive whisky tasting sessions with fantastic food in between, Cure Bar & Eatery is indeed a panacea for gourmets roaming the streets of Carlton looking for a feed and a dizzying array of ways to feed the head when it comes to your need for some high spirits. Cure’s whisky tasting last one long, lugubrious hour and are helmed by the bar and restaurant’s very own Tom Daniel, who lays out shared antipasti platters and several nips of whisky covering various styles and regions – blends and single malts, peated and non-peated types, examples showcasing the effects of varying degrees of barrel maturation, single cask and independently bottled drops. The price per head is is fantastic – but be sure to beat the queue and book.

Dinner at Cure Bar & Eatery is best experienced by booking the restaurant’s incredibly well-curated nine-course casual degustation menu, but if you want a simpler dinner a la carte, choose from charcuterie and cheese platters, small plates and larger servings characterised by the cuisines of the Mediterranean states. Get one up on your so-called gourmet mates and book one of Cure Bar & Eatery’s banquets, available in two sizes – Classic and Deluxe – but both offering a mouthwatering selection of slow-cooked meats and sides. Slow-roasted pork shoulder with crackling, slow-braised lamb leg roulade, and tea-smoked salmon with toasted almonds, sumac and a herb tarator are typical of these feasts. Both a local Carlton watering hole down Rathdowne Street and one of Melbourne’s most humble foodie paradises, bookings are essential.