Bar Lourinhã: Restaurant review

Bar Lourinhã's emphatic 15-year influence on Melbourne's dining scene DNA has it nudging institution status, even if its fresh, modern energy makes that label seem odd. Matt McConnell's Iberian-influenced menu is a love letter to the bars and tavernas of the Mediterranean, a blend of skilled cooking and great ingredients that might include croquettes made with corn and smoked chilli, grilled chorizo and pork liver pinxos, Goolwa pipis steamed with fino sherry, lemon buñuelos with dulce de leche, or the irresistible menu fave, spiced chickpeas and spinach. A lively playlist, switched-on staff and décor that successfully mashes cool and glamorous (leather banquettes and dark timber tables) with exuberant kitsch (massed religious iconography and op shop art) help make it both timeless and essential. The blackboard wine list, that leans Spanish without being didactic, takes an "all that's good in the world" approach, mirroring perfectly the feeling of sitting at Lourinhã's bar.

Bar Lourinhã
37 Little Collins St, Melbourne, Vic
(03) 9663 7890
barlourinha.com.au

Chef Matt McConnell
Price guide $$
Bookings Recommended
Wheelchair access Yes