Why you stayDo you want tasty, salty snacks – perhaps juicy slices of the house-cured duck ham – and a couple of glasses from a quality list compiled by Eleanor Cappa, Maeve co-owner and a former wine buyer for celebrated Melbourne restaurant MoVida? Or do you have a hankering for a sit-down, set-menu blow-out accompanied by wines paired to each dish? Both options have merit and both are available here. The handsome space, bisected by a high bar, is fashionably no-frills, letting the building’s classic features shine – simple white walls, lofty ceilings, timber flooring, leafy views from elegant sash windows. More conventional table settings occupy half the space, conjuring a traditional Euro dining-room feel, with the busy open kitchen and serving area filling the other. Can’t make up your mind where to sit? Ask for a spot at the bar that acts as a room divider. With its brass detailing and ribbed-glass fittings it looks a little like an old-fashioned bank counter, where you’d do antiquated things like fill out deposit slips and sign cheques. Apt, really, given the original tenant of the building. The eclectic playlist – spinning tunes from the likes of Fleet Foxes, Sam Cooke and Alvvays – will keep you in the (almost) present.
