Caretaker's Cottage — Restaurant in Melbourne

AMAAAZING EXPERIENCE!!! Do yourselves a gr8 big favour and attend (I suggest a non fri or sat night as it’s very small). The decor etc is brilliantly presented and the cocktail I had was mind ‘blowingly’ good! It was named “The Family Stone” or similar 🤭🥴. Best cocktail I’ve ever experienced…in 33 years of, well, indulgence all over the world. I would have scored it a 110/100 but for the rather stiff and way too formal Englishman at the entrance to the cottage. Relax buddy, it’s time for your patrons to chillax and heighten their senses, so don’t bust their chops, I say. (Maybe he should work in New York…yeah pretty lame but I try.) sorry Sting! So, I give it a 99.9/100 🤓👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 bravo cottage guardians!! Oh, and do your senses another favour by entering the heritage listed precinct from Lonsdale st. Visually stunning, photographically more stunning, and it’s rather quiet and serene once you arrive at the cottage, surprisingly, and perfect, I say. The smells of cocktail artistry also hit you as you watch the bar staff do their ‘thing’…very appetising. The glassware is delightful feel as u indulge in pure bliss. Finally, the music was the best of all with old record players pumping out that special sound….oooofffff that’s right, the king of cool, Marvin Gaye, but old school Marvin, that is…before commercialism 😉 . I didn’t eat anything hence the ‘no review’ above! ALL I CAN SAY IS WWWOOOOOOOOOWWW!!!! Ummm, I almost forgot to say the bar staff were amazing too and I took a heap of photos on my iPhone and happy to share. The old buildings are absolutely stunning as well and old stone textured walls with lighting and a great mix of the old...

They do change their menu monthly, so whatever we tried below was for May 2024⁣ ⁣ 🍓 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐤 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 𝐏𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 - AUD 25⁣ I love milk punches because of their silky textures. Plus this was very smooth and cacao forward. While there were tropical fruit flavours, they didn’t mask the taste of tequila⁣ ⁣ 🍋 𝐉𝐚𝐳𝐳𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐳𝐳 - AUD 25⁣ The geranium that was sticking out of the ice cube looked like a carrot for some reason 👀 Apart from that, the strawberry vermouth was quite pronounced and this was more alcohol forward ⁣ ⁣ 🍵 𝐃𝐓𝐅 - AUD 25⁣ Matcha vodka, lime, almond and passion fruit sounded like an odd combination ngl, but the cocktail was quite refreshing overall! Also quite alcohol forward too⁣ ⁣ 🍦𝐊𝐨𝐣𝐢 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞 - AUD 25⁣ This was so creamy that you could barely taste the Toki Japanese Whiskey. We loved the savouriness from the miso caramel, balanced by the acidity from lemon. The torched marshmallow was a nice touch as well⁣ ⁣ 🍁 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 - AUD 25⁣ Cider and chamomile wine made it sweet and fizzy with a prominent peach flavour. The hazelnut component also made it a little nutty, even more fun with the maple leaf! ⁣ ⁣ 🍀 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛 - AUD 25⁣ A relatively classic cocktail made with fresh raspberries, hence the slightly grainy mouthfeel. It was also a drier cocktail⁣ ⁣ Would highly recommend visiting but because of the small space, you may have to seat outside on the benches or grass patch. Plus, they only do walk-ins so either visit earlier or be...

This might have been our favorite spot during our honeymoon - encompassing both Sydney and Melbourne.

The hospitality - Ryan and Brian were incredibly gracious with us on both nights that we stopped by. They were very attentive, helpful in offering recommendations, and they even offered recommendations for other cocktail bars to visit during our stay.

The ambiance - I list this before the drinks only because it was THAT noteworthy. The cocktail bar has a very laid-back vibe with a great selection of music that varies across funk, jazz, chill electronic, and old-school hip-hop. It is a great place to relax, but it is by no means boring or stale. Try to sit by the bar, and on certain nights you can watch the DJ work the vinyl records.

The drinks - all delicious. I locked in on a Wildflower beer that I loved, and I rode that through most of our visits. My wife has a much more refined palate for cocktails, and she was very impressed by all of the drinks that she tried. I took a couple of sips from her drinks, and I was impressed too. Very creative, fruity, and refreshing.

Our only regrets are that we couldn't go there more often and that we don't have any place like this at home. Definitely the best cocktail bar we have been to....