Broadsheet • 15th January 2024

First Look: The 136-Year-Old Auburn Hotel’s $4.3 Million Expansion

If a pub has been pouring schooners for over 135 years, it probably has a hold on the community. That’s at least true of the Auburn Hotel site in Hawthorn East, which was built in 1888 and has been a go-to watering hole for many south-east locals ever since. The pub, on busy Auburn Road, recently expanded, taking over the neighbouring block. After a $4.3 million renovation, the new arm, which opened last November, houses a beer garden, playground and 230-seat atrium space with a bar, a central f

Broadsheet • 9th January 2024

First Look: It’s “No Panini, No Party” at Piccolo Panini Bar, Hawthorn’s Pint-Sized New Spot for Italian Deli-Style Rolls

Walk past Glenferrie Road’s new Piccolo Panini Bar on the weekend, and you can’t help but wonder what’s going on. There are crowds of people hanging out the front, house music pumping through the speakers, and Italian-style deli sandwiches flying out of the kitchen. Is it a panini shop? Is it a house party? It’s a bit of both. The new shop is the brainchild of best mates Damian Iaconis and Stephen Hatzikourtis and was born out of a New Year’s resolution to save up enough money to live together.

Broadsheet • 6th October 2023

Get Cabin Fever at This Luxury New Off-Grid Kangaroo Island Stay

Kangaroo Island – or “KI”, if you’re lucky enough to be a local, or Karta Pintingga to give its Aboriginal name – is one of Australia’s most stunning destinations. Its breathtaking landscapes and coastlines, rugged national parks and respected wineries – not to mention its abundance of native wildlife, from sea lions to echidnas and, yep, kangaroos – make it a perennial tourist favourite. A few years ago the island was ravaged by the Black Summer bushfires. But now, KI has rebuilt and regenerate

Broadsheet • 7th September 2023

Now Open in Fitzroy: Buff’s First Northside Studio Is Nailing Waterless Pedicures and Colourful Nail Art

Nail expert Buff has opened a sleek new studio, tucked away down a quiet Fitzroy street. It’s bringing its premium nail services to the northside, following the success of its salons in Brighton and Camberwell. The Fitzroy location is the first Buff salon to offer a dry pedicure – meaning the foot-soaking experience is entirely removed. Founder Emma Forrest tells Broadsheet that the service is more hygienic than a traditional pedicure, offers a “deeper exfoliation of the feet” and is more “envir

Broadsheet • 7th June 2023

Neighbourhood Spot Grazia Is a New Glen Iris Italian Restaurant With Two Bars, King Prawn Pizza and Must-Try Hazelnut Gelato

Having lived in Glen Iris for 24 years, chef Joe Di Cintio noticed a gap in the local dining scene for an elevated Italian spot. So, in May, the Sapore and Sette Bello restaurateur opened Grazia, a 100-seat Italian neighbourhood restaurant, with managers and co-owners Marco Zanone and Anton Ursini.

The new diner is in a heritage-listed block on Burke Road, right by Central Park. After a four-year renovation, the shopfront is all that remains of the space’s former life as a beauty salon. A soari

Broadsheet • 22nd May 2023

Now Open: Prahran’s Rossi Is a Bar and Restaurant Where the Sound System Is Just As Important as the Pizza

Rossi is the kind of place where “you can let your hair down after dinner”, says Nick Young, the director of Good Company Bar Group. The Italian spot, located in the former Ladro Tap site on Greville Street, is the first restaurant from the group behind Melbourne bars and clubs including The Emerson, Electric and Riviera Beach Club. At Rossi, the focus is on creating an “ambience that allows [the space] to change from a restaurant to a bar without it being obnoxious and in your face,” Young tell

Broadsheet • 13th May 2023

Soak in Your Private Marble Tub at Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa’s Refined New Wellness Villas

Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa is a longstanding sanctuary of relaxation, established back in 1895, in Hepburn Springs. Its new wellness villas make the bathhouse and spa deserving of an overnight stay. Here’s what you can expect. Before my arrival, I’m asked to choose between two essential oils: Rest Easy, a calming scent with lime, black pepper and rosemary intended to help with sleep, or Revive, an energising scent with marjoram, lavender and lemon. Eager to unwind, I go with option one. When I en

Broadsheet • 1st March 2023

First Look: At Melbourne’s First Self-Serve Acai Spot Blitz Bar, No One’s Judging Your Acai-to-Peanut-Butter Ratio

A Facebook Messenger group chat titled “business ideas” is where the concept behind Melbourne’s first self-serve acai spot, Blitz Bar, started. Local mates Samuel Vilshansky, Brandon Efron and Jordan Glick (all students in their early twenties) are behind the buzzy new Malvern venue, which quickly gained popularity after several viral videos on Tiktok. Unlike many other local spots, the acai blend is made without banana, which according to Vilshansky leads to a “more pure” and “premium” blend, a

Broadsheet • 31st January 2023

If You Know, You Know. And If You Don’t, You Should. Miller’s Is an Unmissable Bakery in an Unlikely Spot

You never know what you’re going to get at Miller’s Bread Kitchen. The rustic Dromana bakery has no online menu to scour ahead of time and the baked goods always rotate – it screams decision fatigue. But what it lacks in certainty, it makes up for in deliciousness. Sister duo Rebecca and Vanessa Graley, as well as Vanessa’s husband, head baker Tyler Miller, and executive chef Tom Ward – are behind the Mornington Peninsula spot, which only opened in 2019, but has since gone on to cement itself as