Melbourne: Shaken, Not Stirred

By Maria Shollenbarger
Travel + Leisure | August 2006

The burgeoning bar scene in Australia's second city has three new additions:

Named for one of Melbourne's most illustrious historical figures, Madame Brussels (59 Bourke St.; 61-3/9662-2775) is a boudoir fantasy, with ostrich-head chandeliers, voluptuous overstuffed chesterfields, and an adventurous cocktail menu.

• Section 8: Container Bar (27–29 Tattersalls Lane; 61-4/2297-2656) looks like an abandoned parking lot filled with shipping crates. The crates are actually the bar's walls and seating, but don't be put off: glowing Chinese lanterns and a deftly edited beer and wine list soften the back-alley edginess.

• The black lacquered floors, custom Swarovski chandeliers, and floor-to-ceiling curtains—not to mention the killer gin martini—at the Lexington (350 Bourke St.; 61-3/9663-7122) are as dramatic as the neo-Renaissance General Post Office building that houses them.