Brighton wine bar Mr and Mrs P helping bayside Melbourne wind down in style
A SOUTHSIDE eatery is blowing away the tumbleweed with cool cocktails and a punchy menu.
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BRIGHTON can brunch and lunch with the best of them, but after dark can tend towards crickets and tumbleweeds territory.
However, since February, wine bar Mr & Mrs P has been helping Melbourne’s bayside wind down in style. Elsternwick locals Greg and Georgia Poliwodzinski are the namesake duo, teaming up with chef Matthew Butcher, from Windsor’s Morris Jones, on this 100-seater putting a former Taco Bill outlet to good use.
Butcher’s ever-evolving menu slings punchy and considered share plates and snacks, as well as charcuterie and cheese, perfect for pairing with the interesting drinking on offer.
The Poliwodzinskis bring a depth of hospo experience to the venture, too, and currently also own Balaclava’s Treehouse Lounge.
FOOD
Get started with beef tendon puffs or eggplant wedges before graduating to larger plates.
Zucchini flowers ($18), lightly fried and filled with creamy goats curd, are paired with beetroot two ways — pickled and pureed — to tasty effect, while the knockout spicy prawn tacos ($18), dancing with sriracha heat, lob in carb-dodging lettuce cups.
More-ish potato croquettes ($16 for three) sport a fluffy filling under a thin fried shell topped with the twin spice of a creamy chipotle mayo and a slice of chorizo, but dish of the night goes to the pork belly ($22). Well-seasoned and yielding, the pork was nicely punctuated with subtle acid from strips of fermented cabbage and creamy sharpness from an ample pool of mustard anglaise sauce.
Do do desserts. Like a jam and cream matchstick, the lemon tart ($14) is a tiered treat of puckeringly good lemon curd piped between flaky pastry, all topped with torched pillowy meringue. Sundays are charcuterie only during winter.
DRINK
The cocktail list is extensive and enticing. Like the Mr & Mrs P ($19.50), a delicious martini-style confection of vanilla vodka, white chocolate and passionfruit. Wines provide engaging drinking, too — about a dozen each reds and whites — which rotate frequently and focus on the Mornington Peninsula, from where the Poliwodzinskis hail. The soaring backlit bar is well stocked with every type of spirit. Or build your own Bloody Mary with ingredients such as wasabi and olives.
SERVICE
Attentive and personable service. Dishes delivered to your table by chefs was a nice touch. The only quibble is portions. If you’re a table of two and a share plate has three servings, it’s worth a mention. Also spying when clean plates are needed between courses would go a long way to making good service great.
X FACTOR
Find your chosen nook in the main bar, the upstairs area (also used for functions) or back courtyard. The fitout is industrial yet luxe, with licks of copper amid exposed brick and wood. Lighting is flattering and the tunes are boppy.
BANG FOR YOUR BUCK
Wines are well priced from $9 a glass, with cocktails on par around $20.
VERDICT
A promising debut six months for this classy newcomer, which deserves a loyal following and a long stay.
Mr & Mrs P
312 Bay St, Brighton. Ph: 9596 4468. mrandmrsp.com.au
FOOD Bar snacks and share plates
HOURS Tue-Sun 4pm-late
EXECUTIVE CHEF Matthew Butcher
BOOKINGS Yes
TIME BETWEEN ORDERING AND EATING 8 minutes
PERFECT FOR Date night, classy cocktails
DESTINATION DISH Pork belly with fermented cabbage and mustard anglaise
NOISE LEVEL Peppy
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