Clever Polly’s Wine Bar

This Polly’s a clever little girl. Clever Polly, named after the children’s book, (‘Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf’), is the European inspired wine bar/bottle shop that lives and breathes everything wine, beer, coffee, tea, sake, and spirits. She champions the independent winemakers, brewers and local food producers.

‘‘We’re here to create a dialogue around natural food and agricultural products, a place where lovers of wine are faced with something different’’, says co-owner, Lou Chalmer.

A floor to ceiling ‘Wine Wall’ excites and educates. From Germany to Spain, you can takeaway drops from natural wine producers, crafted with minimal intervention and rare bottles of cloudy sake ($15 corkage to savour in-house).

A stool at the timber bar is prime sipping space.  And sip wonderfully you will.  An expressive list captures the renegades and visionaries of our wine game; think Domain Lucci from the rolling hills of Adelaide and Shobbrook wines. Jauma’s Gewürztraminer/Savagnin blend is baked apples, exotic spice and cloudy goodness, beautifully showing us how natural and unfiltered can be damn fine.

The food philosophy aligns with the natural ethos. Servings are small, simple and perfectly shareable. A dish of sweet potato is made wonderfully smoky, alongside caramelised onion and a punchy horseradish. The sweet/savoury balance is spot on.  Also befitting to these crisp evenings is a slowly cooked beef cheek and miso marinated barramundi, highlighting umami.

Clever Polly’s vigilant stance on natural principles and a fearless disregard for convention is naturally refreshing.

313 Victoria Street, West Melbourne
Ph: (03)  9077  9294
Tuesday – Sunday
12:00pm-11:00pm
www.cleverpollys.com.au