The Carlton Wine Room

Carlton Wine Room is consistently good; that is all. Just kidding, I’m as verbose as they come, of course there’s more!
The menu here is small-​ish due to an emphasis on seasonal produce, but there is always something delish. Dishes are thoughtfully prepared and usually pretty well sized for their price. Of particular note: the tomato salad with toasted almonds, puffed brown rice and burrata — sounds strange but is properly amazing. It’s only around in summer when tomatoes are multicoloured and awesome, so get in while the weather’s warm, you won’t regret it.
Other than that there are vegetarian and meaty dishes alike, a handful of inventive desserts, and options for «Just feed me» (chef’s selection set menu). All are very pretty to look at, and equally nice to devour.
Service is attentive and friendly, without being pushy, and the décor has that lovely «I’m-in-Carlton-so-therefore-I’m-cool-without-being-annoying» vibe. Decent wine list too, with options for all budgets.
Tip: I think this would be a great place for a first date. Provided you and your date both like awesome food, and aren’t into, you know, ribs and burgers and whatnot.

Wonderful selection of wine (yes, it’s a wine place after all — and a pretty good one at that too!) and sophisticated and well-​crafted food to go along with your carafe. It’s one of those places that you could easily idle away a lazy afternoon or a quiet evening with a friend whom you can talk till you go blue in the face (yes, with more wine flowing of course). Excellent service, ambience and reasonable priced menu — a definite welcomed and refreshing addition to the otherwise tired and wash-​out Lygon area.

Friendly waiters in abundance set the vibe of this place which is a perfect place for a glass (or carafe) of wine with a good friend or a first date. There’s no pressure to give up your table by a certain time, which seems to be a trend across Melbourne these days, so I really appreciated the people who work here and make it so relaxed.
The food is elegant, sophisticated and highly shareable. A few vegetarian dishes on the menu which are well thought out.
I particularly enjoyed their nice selection of cheese from Spain.

Just like Bridget Jones, i am at the pivotal moment of my life where my only formidable relationship is with a bottle of red wine; and The Carlton Wine Room is my choice of poison.
The venue is magnificent, the wait staff friendly and the wines spectacular. The menu is great for simpleton’s like myself and the venue has an atmosphere like no other.
Located on the corner of Faraday and Drummond, the venue is not really near a-​many other pubs, or restaurants but does attract a big crowd. It’s hard to get a seat /​table most of the times i have attended.
Without a doubt if you are a wine enthusiast then this really is the place for you, most of the wines are European but hey, always good to mix it up a bit (being a margaret river man myself, it’s good to experiment).

I obsessively watched the renovations on this site in the months leading up to the Wine Room’s opening as it’s on my daily coffee route. The building had originally housed a very strange bar with far too many plants and not enough patrons. I got increasingly excited as I saw the new proprietor rip the jungle out, and gradually add classic, tasteful new elements like a pressed-​tin bar and Thonet chairs.
Then, in the middle of winter, it opened and I was not disappointed… The menu is as tasteful as the décor (don’t miss the pork belly), and the service is great. As you would imagine from the name, the wine list is extensive. I am easily confused by European wine regions, but on both occasions I’ve been here the staff have taken the time out to explain and help me choose a wine that I’ll like, without trying to ‘up-​sell’ me to the bottom of the list.
I’ve only ever been seated on the ground floor, where there is a great buzz both inside and out on the street — it’s a really easy place to linger later into the evening and discover a new dessert wine or two.