Latest Posts

Frozen at Ice Bar

Published by

Love a themed bar laced with killer puns? 

We do, which was why we were pretty excited to get the opportunity to check out Ice Bar Melbourne in it’s newly opened Fitzroy location.

Starting our adventure in the front entry, we were definitely digging vibes of a vintage Antarctic explorers hut with rows of warm, comfy overcoats and shelves of faux fur lined boots lining the walls.

Once you are fully rugged up, the team then take you through the freezer doors into a small winter wonderland where you can meet a frozen three-headed dog named Fluffy (Harry Potter fans get the reference…), play a game of Eskimo Jenga, or make like we did – and go nuts taking photos…  and that’s before you even remember to order a drink from the Jack Frost guarded bar. 

The drinks menu itself is perfect for those who, when faced with too many choices, crumble under the pressure to make a choice. It’s perfectly balanced with the basics, plus some killer ‘ice-themed’ cocktails (and for the kids, who can come on in right up until 7.00pm – mocktails).

There are also shots on the menu. You can choose to drink them the traditional way, with a group of friends off a make-shift paddle (read: ski), or, like we chose to do – have it poured through the head of a ice dragon, down his tongue, into your mouth.

Do yourself a favor and do this.

When you are done, you just toss your glasses (cleverly made from resin but look exactly like ice) down an ice shoot – and keep ordering more until you get too cold and have to exit the ice.

The bar itself might be small in size, but it’s got a lot going on – roof mounted cameras allow you to get professional photos taken with various ice characters, or whilst playing ice basketball – it’s a great venue for a work function, or with the whole Frozen craze (which doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon) – a fabulous place for a kids birthday party.

When: Open from 10am  – late 7 days a week

Where:  319 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy.

Visit the website here.

Want to find out more about what’s happening in Melbourne? Sign up to the We Know Melbourne mailing list here to stay in the loop.

Moomba Festival

Published by

Melbourne’s longest-running and largest community festival happens annually on the Labour Day long weekend. It’s all about ‘daggy’ family fun in the nicest possible way. Check out the Birdman Rally – people do really throw themselves off a bridge into the Yarra River using various homemade flying contraptions. There’s also music, water-skiing on the Yarra, skate park workshops, fireworks , a carnival in the Alexandra Gardens and the traditional Monday street parade with a ‘Moomba King and Queen’. It’s all free too, which is nice on the wallet.

When: 11 March –  14 March

Visit the website here. 

Red Spice QV

Published by

Recently our We Know Melbourne team got to sample the new season’s menu at Red Spice QV (only 5 minutes walk from the Swanston and Welcome Hotels). Red Spice combines influences from locations as diverse as Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia and Burma and pairs them with the flair and expertise of head Chef John McLeay.

image2 (10)

A delicious tray of lamb bao

John was present at this exclusive tasting and helped to explain how he arrived at many of the creative dishes on display. Highlights of the new menu include the pulled lamb bao with coriander and house made mayonnaise. However our personal favourites were the prawn fritters with chilli jam on deep fried betel leaf. Amazingly tasty and refreshing!

image1 (24)

Where: Red Spice QV

House of Crabs is coming to Melbourne!

Published by

Sydney favourite, House of Crabs is coming to Melbourne this month opening up in St Kilda’s Newmarket Hotel. It is a bibs on, eat with your hands, share-between-friends affair that pays tribute to American-style crab joints.

The menu will be a blend of American style seafood – think Coney Island mixed with Louisiana –  choose from crabs, prawns and mussels with Cajun, Creole, Spicy Malay, Singapore and Lemon Pepper sauces.

To round off the menu there’ll also be snacks like  Lobster Fries, Buttermilk chicken bits, soft shell tacos and fried chilli squid. If you’re after something more sizeable, cruise over to the grill and sample Caroline style chicken, St Louis pork ribs, Balmain Bugs, Scotch Fillet or a Whole baby snapper with a side of Smoked sausage, Edamame, ‘Sizzler’ cheese bread or Smashed corn with Dorito crumbs.

The drinks list will also be southern style with New Orleans classics likeHurricanes, Peach Cobblers, Alabama Slammas and Blackberry Mint Juleps alongside a tight selection of very sinkable beers and Jersey Shore-esque (extra, extra large) frozen Margaritas. The wine list keeps it simple – a sparkling, a white, rosé and a red.

Open from this Friday, 4th March we suggest you run, don’t swim!

Where: The Basement, The Newmarket Hotel – 34 Inkerman Street, St Kilda.

Visit the website here

Stay tuned for the review.

Melbourne Food & Wine Festival

Published by

Melbourne foodies, get ready for a gastronomical heaven at the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival kicking off later this week. Since launching in 1993 with a modest program of 12 events, the festival has grown to over 200 events with something for everyone’s taste.

Here’s our pick of the top events you can’t miss which you can still get tickets for:

River Graze – 4 March – 6 March

Sample the River Graze, kicking off the 2016 Festival’s Opening Weekend. Graze your way through the weekend along the Yarra River with a variety of culinary hot-spots, free entertainment, regional flavours, and water ferries to get you from one spot to another.

Gourmet Cinemas – 2 March – 6 March

If there’s two things that Melburnians love, it is food and film so when they’re combined, it’s the ultimate Melbourne experience. Each  Gourmet Cinema session will be presented by one of five iconic Melbourne restaurants (Epocha, Le Bon Ton, Mamasita, European and Baby), who will curate a cinematic food journey inspired by a film favourite (The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Big Lebowski, The Great Beauty, Chef and Midnight in Paris).

The Burger Invitational – 8 March – 9 March

Seven of the city’s star burger retailers, as well as dessert legends Gelato Messina will come together for a burger bonanza! Featuring 8bit, 1090 Burger, Beatbox Kitchen, Dude Food Man, Easey’s, Mr Burger and Gelato Messina, the Melbourne Burger Invitational will be unlike anything the city has seen before, in Melbourne’s favourite outdoor space, Welcome to Thornbury.

Romeo Lane Revived – 9 March

Step back in time at Romeo Lane  – infamous for its abattoirs and dens of love. Gingerboy will be hosting an evening that will relive the early days of our beloved Crossley Street. A night of reminiscence and enticement, with a magnificent meat banquet and live burlesque show in the street, together creating a unique and exciting evening.

Moritz Barcelona Terraza Party – 10 March

Let your hair down Barcelona style at a Barcelona block party on the sunny terrace of MoVida Aqui, with Moritz beer, vermouth and cava, Catalan street food, soul and music.

Mornington vs Yarra – 5 March – 6 March

Who does it better? Mornington Peninsula or the Yarra Valley? Discover the unique sub-regional differences of single vineyard chardonnay and pinot noir from all corners of the Mornington Peninsula and the Yarra Valley over lunch at Innocent Bystander.

Rooftop Cocktails – 9 March

Jump from one Melbourne rooftop to the next sipping on fancy cocktails and see  see Melbourne in a whole new light.

Fromage a Trois – Cheese & Cider Festival – 6 March

Prepare your palate! Fromage a Trois – Cheese & Cider Festival – returns to the spectacular grounds of Werribee Park Mansion, with local cheese and cider makers, wine, beer, music and entertainment.

Want to find out more about what’s happening in Melbourne? Sign up to the We Know Melbourne mailing list here to stay in the loop.

All aboard the Aqua Donut!

Published by

Last Friday evening, the We Know Melbourne team were invited to try out the Aqua Donut in the Docklands. Already a summer favourite in Europe, the Docklands’ Aqua Donut is the only one of it’s kind in Australia and an experience that both tourists and locals will love.

If you’ve never heard of the Aqua Donut before and in your mind are questioning exactly how does a Donut in water work, rest assured that the Aqua Donut, is not your regular type of donut. The Donut is actually made of fibreglass, electrically powered to float along the water (lifejackets included) with a barbecue to complete an all round top Aussie dining experience.

Upon arriving at the Docklands, our team of 9 met Isaiah who guided us through our Donut experience and what to expect. We were instructed that we could float anywhere between the yellow buoys, to hook up to them when we wanted to BBQ and to finally not jump off into the water (or fall off – don’t worry it’s extremely safe and everyone was given life jackets in case of an emergency). Then it was ships ahoy (or should we say donuts ahoy) as we jumped on to the donut and floated into the river. Josh was our captain and steered the boats, drifting us into the middle of water in between us ooh-ing and ah-ing and repeating ‘we’re on a donut!’

Once hooked up to our buoy, we fired up the BBQ, connected our tunes (you can hook up your playlist on your phone to the sound system),  and sat back to take in the stunning sunset and backdrop of the Docklands. There’s something about being in the middle of the water on your own private donut with good friends, good music and good food which washes away (pun intended) all your cares in the world! The evening seemed to fly by and before we knew it our time was up. Heading back into the shores, we all agreed, that the donut is great for a group get together or an afternoon bonding session like other. After all we had all ridden the donut together, and not many people can say that.

 

When: Friday – Sunday – 11am-8.30pm; Monday – Thursday – By appointment only for multiple Aqua Donut bookings

Where: Docklands, Melbourne

Cost: $240 – large group hire for 2 hours, MAX 10 including kids); $180 – small group hire for 2 hours; or $150 for couple for 2 hour hire.

Visit the website here.

Food for our Aqua Donut experience was supplied by Destination Docklands

 

 

 

Square Pop Up Market

Published by

Melbourne’s best small businesses are coming together for a three day pop-up marketplace at Federation Square this March.

Whether you’re a foodie, design geek or just a market lover, Square Market will have you dipping into your wallets to support your  favourite local businesses.

Stalls include Market Lane Coffee, Shortstop Coffee & Donuts, Mork Chocolate, That Dapper Chap, Butterbing Cookies, Those Girls, Cobb Lane Bakery, Adriano Zumbo, Sensory Lab, Hunters’ Roots, 5 & Dime Bagel and many more—plus joining emerging artists, homewares designers, illustrators, crafters and buskers.

Entry to Square Market is completely free.

When: March 9 – March 11

Where: Atrium, Federation Square

Visit the website here. 

Want to find out more about what’s happening in Melbourne? Sign up to the We Know Melbourne mailing list here to stay in the loop.

Lonsdale St Greek Festival

Published by

The Lonsdale St Greek Festival is Melbourne biggest Greek street party, bringing a weekend of Greek culture, food and entertainment to the city’s historic Greek Precinct.

There’ll be 3 stages of free entertainment,  and activities plus enough Greek food to last you a lifetime. Snack on food from stalls such as Two Men & a Lemon (freshly-cooked salt and pepper calamari), Greek Street Food Truck, and the Cypriot Kitchen. If dessert is more your flavour there’ll also be St Gerrys (with their delicious modern twist on a Greek dessert staple – loukoumades), icecream sandwiches from Biskit Bar, 196 Below with their nitrogen icecream plus more.

Zobra ’til you Drop will also be returning to test your endurance! Get your trainers on and see if you can be the last one standing! And for the little ones, there’ll be Greek dancing lessons, storytelling, art and craft, face painting and carnival rides.

When: 27th Feb – 28th Feb, 2016

Where: Greek Precinct, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

Visit the website here.

Heathers: The Musical

Published by

Revisit the joy and anguish of your high school days at Heathers: the Musical this May.

Based on the greatest teen dark comedy of all time, starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, Heathers: The Musical is not your typical pom-pom and cheerleader high school tale. You’ll be taking deep into the dark comedic story about two high school students who unintentionally make suicide popular.

“HEATHERS THE MUSICAL is the darkly delicious story of Veronica Sawyer, a brainy, beautiful teenage misfit who hustles her way into the most powerful and ruthless clique at Westerberg High: the Heathers. But before she can get comfortable atop the high school food chain, Veronica falls in love with the dangerously sexy new kid J.D. When Heather Chandler, the Almighty, kicks her out of the group, Veronica decides to bite the bullet and kiss Heather’s aerobicized ass… but J.D. has another plan for that bullet.

Heathers: The Musical is set to be the most subversively funny show of 2016, and so “Very” you may have to kill to get a ticket!”

When: 11 -22 May 2016

Where: Arts Centre Melbourne

Visit the website here. 

Want to find out more about what’s happening in Melbourne? Sign up to the We Know Melbourne mailing list here to stay in the loop.

 

AFL at Etihad Stadium

Published by

Catch an AFL game at Etihad Stadium this footy season. Recognised as one of the best stadiums of it’s kind in the world, the venue was purposely built for Australian Football and is the only football stadium in the Southern Hemisphere with a fully retractable roof.the only. This year the stadium will host 46 matches for the 2016 AFL home and away season.

You can’t come to Melbourne without catching a game at Etihad – it truly is an unique Aussie experience.

When: Footy Season, March – September 2016

Where: Etihad Stadium

Visit the website here. 

Want to find out more about what’s happening in Melbourne? Sign up to the We Know Melbourne mailing list here to stay in the loop.