A brooding underground venue for 40 people has just opened in South Melbourne, with a no-rules philosophy and a flexible menu where snacks can do double duty as dinner.

“You don’t want your local to be a place where you have to spend loads or be forced into ordering a certain amount,” says co-owner Glen Bagnara, who is opening Castlerose as the flipside to his upstairs cafe Clementine, which has been trading since last April.

Open only in the evening, Castlerose will pick up where Clementine leaves off, shaking Brandy Sours and wheeling out a cheese trolley stacked with cloth-aged cheddar and at least seven other cheeses.

The menu is small yet classic, with a ratatouille tarte tatin the most head-turning item of four mains. Repeat visits from the many residents and office workers around South Melbourne are the focus.

Playing to both small tables and bigger groups, wagyu rump cap is available in 200-gram or 500-gram portions, while roast chicken fragrant with lemon and black garlic comes in a half or whole serve.

Bagnara is keen to imbue even quick visits with star power. Duck-filled pastry cigars are served in a cigar box, with each one wrapped in a foil band. House-made duck rillettes are sealed in tins with a custom Castlerose label that’s peeled back to reveal the upscale spread inside. Other snacks include English pork pies with piccalilli, and lobster rolls on toasted milk buns.

Classic 20th-century design cues are on display, with timber wall panels, a marble-topped bar and brass-edged tables. Combined with the chandelier-lit entrance to the spiral staircase that leads downstairs, the atmosphere is one of escapism.

“You head downstairs and decide I’m going to get lost in here,” Bagnara says.

Wines are a far-reaching mix of German pinot noir, Geelong marsanne, premier cru burgundy, and more. Among the six house cocktails is the Evening Frost, which combines gin, Lillet Blanc vermouth, pear brandy and rosemary-infused lime juice. A sprig of sugar-dusted rosemary gives the cocktail its name.

Service pro Philippe Perrey and chef David Yuan have joined Bagnara in the venture, having previously established Bar Bianco (Prahran) and Hemingway’s Wine Room (East Melbourne) together.

Now that Clementine has been granted a liquor licence, the sister cafe will be open for happy hour on Wednesdays to Fridays an hour before Castlerose opens, making workdays that little bit sweeter.

Open Wed-Sat 4pm-late.

67 Palmerston Crescent, South Melbourne, 03 9982 9369, castlerose.com.au