NewsBite

Advertisement

Martinis with Mancini bar opens in Self Preservation site in Melbourne CBD

Emma Breheny
Emma Breheny

An open bar and space dotted with small tables gives the venue a supper club feel.
An open bar and space dotted with small tables gives the venue a supper club feel.Pete Dillon

The Paris end of Bourke Street has been given a boost of old-world glamour by Martinis with Mancini, installed by Con Christopoulos and collaborator Tim Davey into what was Self Preservation.

When the pandemic swallowed the foot traffic that sustained Self Preservation's day-through-night trade, owner Christopoulos tapped his manager at the now-closed French Saloon and they put their heads together for a new bar.

"One martini is four cups of coffee," says Davey.

There are 21 cocktails to choose from, and 10 of them are martinis.
There are 21 cocktails to choose from, and 10 of them are martinis.Pete Dillon
Advertisement

A love of old jazz and mid-century films led to a traipse through Prohibition-era cocktail books, with the final result now on show at Martinis with Mancini.

Named after composer Henry Mancini, who scored The Pink Panther films and wrote Moon River, the bar's long, narrow room is filled with small tables dressed in pink linen and bentwood chairs, creating a supper club feel.

In the softly-lit space, bartenders stir and shake 21 classic drinks, 10 of them being martinis. The best-seller is the perfect martini: Four Pillars dry gin, both dry and sweet Dolin vermouth and a dash of orange bitters. "It's interesting: you put 'perfect' in front of something and people want it," says Davey.

The city's Self Preservation site is now Martinis with Mancini.
The city's Self Preservation site is now Martinis with Mancini.Pete Dillon

You can also get your martini imbued with Fernet-Branca, made with frozen Tanqueray gin or reimagined as a 50-50 Gibson. The drink Davey wants everyone to try, the Martini Negro, plays with the proportions of both a martini and negroni. Boulevardiers, sours and Garibaldis are among the other cocktails.

Advertisement

Chappy's chips are dropped at the table with your drink, and there's a bar menu which includes six-pointed cheese and onion toasties, or buttered brioche rolls stuffed with mortadella.

The kitchen of The European handles more complicated dishes such as salmon gravlax. These are joined by Greek pastry triangles, tiropites, or kourabiethes, sweet crescent-shaped almond biscuit, a nod to Christopoulos' heritage.

Open Tues-Sat 4pm-late

70 Bourke Street, Melbourne, 03 9650 0523, martiniswithmancini.com

Continue this series

Melbourne hit list October 2022: Hot, new and just-reviewed places to check out, right now
Up next
Tokyo Lamington's Australiana-meets-Asia flavours, such as black sesame (top left), are headed for Melbourne.

Cult Sydney bakery Tokyo Lamington brings its cakes, pies and onigiri to Carlton

Not familiar? Nostalgia meets now in a colourful array of lamington flavours that change every month, from mango sticky rice to finger bun.

Pizza with spanner crab, yellow tomato sauce, grilled zucchini and mizuna.

Italian-style pizza meets modern Australiana at Figlia

The Tipo 00 crew's toppings are fantastic and a load of fun, reviews Besha Rodell.

Previous
Go-to dish: Peking duck.

Icon review: Flower Drum is a drum worth beating

Despite its accolades and popularity, this Melbourne Cantonese restaurant is widely under-appreciated and misunderstood, writes Besha Rodell.

See all stories
Emma BrehenyEmma BrehenyEmma is Good Food's Melbourne-based reporter and co-editor of The Age Good Food Guide 2024.

From our partners

Advertisement
Advertisement

Original URL: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/goodfood/eating-out/martinis-with-mancini-bar-opens-in-self-preservation-site-in-melbourne-cbd-20221014-h27557.html