This sleek, chic, distinctly modern cocktail bar combines fine dining-level service and unconventional drinks focused on deliciousness and sustainability in equal measure.
Some nights, all that’s required is the familiarity of a well-made classic cocktail. On others, particularly in a city with a bar scene as prolific as Melbourne’s, the spirit of adventure takes hold and you get a craving for the surprising and new. Bouvardia, sitting a couple of flights of stairs above popular Thai barbecue restaurant Nana, delivers exactly that and looks good doing it. This is a cocktail bar that proudly and unashamedly proclaims itself “modern”, which means there’s a lot of unconventional, sustainable and local-ingredient business involved in the making of the 10 or so house specials in Bouvardia’s embossed and leather-bound cocktail list. We’re talking ingredients like beeswax, cuttlefish ink, chicory, and fennel seeds here. There’s fermenting and dehydration and zero-waste involved, too. But there’s also solid bar and hospo experience in the picture (owner Abjar Kasho also has the excellent Woods of Windsor, and venue manager Dom Garreffa formerly worked at Attica). And the drinks you get here, though often surprising, are well balanced and never neglect the flavour part of the equation. There’s consideration in these mixes, so it never feels like someone is just throwing ideas at a wall, hoping something will stick. No one will look down their nose if you opt for a classic, though – the service is too polished for that – but you come to a bar like this to step out of your comfort zone, so it’s best not to waste scaling the stairs just to continue with business as usual.
Bouvardia is a seriously handsome space, with great lighting and beautiful finishes, from the banquette upholstered in dusty-pink velvet to the glossy green marble-topped bar, brass-accented light fittings and metal table lamps. It’s the kind of place that makes you feel glamorous just by walking in. The staff are friendly, informative and attentive, and always have time to explain the sometimes-complex cocktails even when the bar gets busy. The attention to design detail also runs to artful Dinosaur Design water jugs, diamond-shaped coasters and the cocktail menu itself, where each house special gets its own double-page spread and a science-lab level of detail that lists potential allergens (fructose or lactose, for instance), and alcohol and pH levels. Don’t worry about a thing, it seems to say, we’ve got you covered.
