NOW EXPERIENCING:Stellas

Finely tuned cocktails designed with theatrics in mind come with a soundtrack of great beats here, making this a must-visit for music aficionados with a taste for high-end drinks.

The bar and setting inside Stellas in St Kilda
Why you goTrend alert: the Japanese-style listening bar is Melbourne’s latest big thing, and Stellas is here to join the sophisticated fray. Heavily invested in its sound system and brilliant selection of vinyl spun by DJs, the bar tucked within the revamped Saint Hotel is a place for music aficionados to enjoy great beats along with excellent cocktails. Open only on Friday and Saturday nights, it’s a bar for city cool cats to unwind after a working week. 
Why you stayHeading up the Saint Hotel stairs and through the doors into Stellas is like getting in on a secret. This self-contained, acoustically blessed gem sits adjacent to Bar 54 and above the ground-floor Saint Bar and Dining, and offers its own sweet reasons to sink into weekend fun. The custom-built DJ booth ensures punters are enveloped in a soundtrack of afro, funk, house and much more, while the green marble-topped bar is a portal to a considered array of house cocktails made with theatrics in mind. 
What drink to orderThe cocktail is king at Stellas, and we’re not just talking about a classic Negroni or Whisky Sour. As considered as the music, the short, sharp list is all about elevated signature drinks delivering the seasonal and local with a zero-waste policy chaser. The Kaalak cocktail (named after the local Indigenous word for campfire) is a smokin’, all-Aussie line-up of Mountain Distilling’s agave blanco with the 78 Degrees native-ingredient-infused orange bitters, vermouth-style Okar Tropic and paperbark, while the Wandering Nomad goes the dessert-in-a-drink approach with Beenleigh white rum, cardamom and anise myrtle mixing it up with a melted Milky Bar (yes, them) and soy milk. There’s a short wine list celebrating mostly Australian winemakers, plus a good range of spirits highlighting agave, rum and whisky.
Food and drinks at Stellas with a view
Food and a beer at St Kilda's Stellas
What to pair it withSnacking is the name of the eating game up here. Start with oysters and house-pickled crudité vegetable sticks (and maybe add a chilled Mooloolaba prawn) before moving on to smoked-duck croquettes with pickled plum, two-bite choux-pastry buns oozing smoked parmesan cheese and mushroom, and wagyu tartare crisps with beef-fat emulsion and mustard crème fraîche. Plates of cured meats and cheese await groups, while a fat prawn sando on house-baked Japanese shokupan milk bread will make short work of a bigger appetite. 
Why we love itIt’s the music, baby. Boffins will be interested to know that the bespoke sound system, including gorgeous gold-accented speakers we can only describe as ginormous, was set up by Pitt & Giblin (the Tassie-based audio mavens behind like-minded music-championing bars Waxflower and Caretaker’s Cottage). The rest of us will simply enjoy sinking into a vibe that’s midway between a boutique club and a bar and kind of like hanging out at the home of a wealthy friend with great taste in… well, everything. Check the socials for a rotating roster of DJs, who take over the decks each Friday and Saturday evening until so late your mother might scold you.
Regular’s tipSaint Hotel is like the world’s most boutique mega-venue, but on a Friday or Saturday night when the whole place is heaving with a who’s who of Melbourne’s bright young things and their expensive accessories, Stellas is an island of sophistication and considered cool. 
Inside Stellas in Melbourne's St Kilda
The crayfish pasta for two at Stellas in Melbourne
Don’t leave withoutStellas is great, but don’t let the lure of high-end cocktails and sonic showing-off prevent you from checking out the other shiny baubles on offer inside these historic walls. The street-level Saint Bar is like a traditional pub and Vogue Living fell in love and had a baby, while Saint Dining is the fancy setting for skewers and steak from the Josper grill (plus a crayfish pasta for two that will really float your Instagram boat). And upstairs sibling Bar 54 has a terrace along with its own calling card of cocktails and other fine libations. Choose your own adventure.
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In partnership with Melbourne Food & Wine Festival
image credits: Sharyn Cairns; Griffin Simm