This good-looking, Tokyo-channelling Collingwood wine bar combines excellent bar food and an enjoyably eccentric drinks list with some of the most entertaining wine talk in town.
Melbourne is smitten with wine bars right now, and March is an ideal answer if the question is why. Originally conceived as a holding pen for its next-door restaurant sibling Ides, March takes all the best parts of that critically acclaimed diner – moodily lit good looks, an inventive approach to food that never forgets to be tasty, a drinks list that celebrates small producers and innovative technique – and sets them into a more casual bar context. It does this so successfully it never feels like you’re getting a dumbed-down, second-tier version of the original. With 26 seats, most comfortable wooden stools arranged around a handsome marble-topped bar, March is one of those intimate watering holes that might find you lingering way longer than you’d originally intended. Finding excuses to stay is easy: one more clever bar snack, a second thrillingly chilled, pre-batched Martini, an ethereal glass of German riesling or a nightcap of vintage Armagnac, all served with knowledge and flair by the very impressive staff who seem genuinely invested in ensuring you have a good time.
Anyone who’s a fan of the small bars of Tokyo – or have dreamed about becoming one – will be happily familiar with the serene, upholstered, focused intimacy of March. And while it certainly channels Japan, March also feels like a quintessential Melbourne bar with its wide-ranging food and drinks menus. And what’s not to love about multiculturalism?
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