Beneath the grandeur of Reine & La Rue is a late-night drinking den dialling up the glam. Is it any wonder, with powerhouse pair Maurice Terzini (Sydney’s Icebergs) and Joe Jones (ex-Romeo Lane) behind it? In a room shrouded in dramatic grey curtains, a one-sip martini will get you into the swing of things before you move on to clever spins on archetypical cocktails, often zhuzhed up with spirits distilled in-house.

• As featured in Melbourne’s best bars