Gerald’s Bar

In Melbourne’s cut-throat culinary scene, restaurants and bars regularly come and go. But Gerald’s Bar, an unpretentious neighbourhood joint on the leafy streets of Carlton North, remains mercifully unchanged: every day, the sommelier uncorks great wine (whether Australian or European) and the kitchen dishes up tiny but top-class pintxos as accompaniments. Set yourself up at the long bar, listen to a great record (or three) and strike up a conversation with either the person sitting beside you, or the one standing behind the counter.