Horse Bazaar

This place oozes hipster and it no doubt turns into a throb-​a-​minute den in the evening. The décor is rough, the tables and seating are a bit sticky and dubious. At lunch it was mostly empty.
I ordered from the Japanese guy in a cap and t-​shirt at the bar. There’re two photocopied pages on the counter with different food choices. A very extensive drinks list is in a solid folder. I chose Japanese Taco ($ 10) and a soft drink ($ 4). There’s a tiny kitchen behind the bar where a tinted-​haired lady pumps out the meals.
Lunch was rice with grilled mince, salsa, lettuce and egg. Mayonnaise across the top. Something like what you could cook at home. A nice no-​nonsense meal with fresh ingredients nicely prepared with love. The drink was very nice, a lemon squash.
Not my kind of place, and not the kind of meal I would come back for. But if you like quirky, drop in, you might enjoy it.

Horse Bazaar is THE SPOT in Melbourne for a) Hip Hop (live, DJs, open mic MC nights), some of the BEST FOOD (Japanese-​Australian, tempura, sashimi, fusion) and best atmosphere. You can’t order anything less than outstanding off the menu and very reasonably priced. The owners and staff are incredibly friendly and warm, and support the local underground Hip Hop scene with weekly open mic that is legendary with some of AUS’s best freestyle mc’s, cyphers, beat nights with instrumental hip hop and electronic music off of beat machines and always good Hip Jop or Reggae playing when there isn’t live music or a dj!

Horse feels like an ever changing beast. Have been visiting regularly since it opened just as you never know what digital wallpaper you’ll be distracted by, you also never know if you’ll go there for a simple drink or stumble into some music or live performance art — usually on the weirder side of the scale.
Because of this sometimes you might have the place to yourself, and other times its standing room only. Me, I love the unpredictability of it (which I’m sure could easily be predicted if I kept up to date with the events listed on their website/​social media pages, but where’s the fun in that)
They’ve flirted with different prices and durations over the years for their happy hour, but decent prices for some basics can still usually be found after work hours most days. They have a few cool options for some light snacking, with the Japanese influenced menu specialising in small share plates, partnering perfectly with a few drinks.

$ 18 for what amounted to a margarita shot. ’nuff said.

New management have given the place a bit of a Japanese overhaul. The Tori Karaage is off the hook awesome, and so is the Wagyu. Check out the rad bottle of Nikka they have on the top shelf.

A review based on the food:
Nachos:
Spring Roll
Chicken Gyoza
Japanese Fried Chicken
Spicy Chicken wings
Thai prawn gyoza
Calamari and Onion Ring
Tempura Prawn
Thoughts. Why do Australians love mayo so much?! We had no idea, they doused the Nachos and Calamari with mayo, and completely ruined it :(
The fried foods were fine, Gyozas were good but you can’t really mess those up. Overall, slightly disappointed, but I did have a livingsocial deal at least, so it was half the price. Also, they have happy hour until 8pm which was nice.
Side Note: Americans must be fat lol, cuz we had a living social deal for 8 plates (for two people), and the waiter said it’d be way too much for us: P
Side Note #2: Coming here for the bar atmosphere is completely different! They have bands playing at night, and it is so crowded you can barely get in!

Some friends and I tried this place out during an afternoon drinking session that shifted from 1000 Pound Bend to Horse Bazaar. I would SOOO choose this place over 1000 Pound Bend for future drinking.
Its cool but not «hip» its arty but not pretentious and they have $ 5 pints every week night until 7pm. Hooray for happy hour.
The décor is fun and quirky thanks to the tech/​art fusion of the ever changing projector beaming random images above patrons heads.
I havent eaten here but the menu is Japanese/​Asian inspired, think tempura, gyoza, salmon, steak, sashimi and spring rolls.
This is a chill way to end a work day or meet with friends for an early drink, fun, cheap and off the main strip.

A horse is a horse of course of course, unless it’s an über-​cool digitally enhanced bar in which case its Horse Bazaar.
Aside from the digital imagery that engulfs and transports you to another realm, Horse Bazaar provides an amazing atmospheric setting for many other interactions such as live experimental music, readings, DJ’s, Cheap beer & Jap tapas.
Heard about this place through a friend and was intrigued with what it had to offer intrigued became elated when we discovered the dumplings & massage combo.
Every Tuesday is massage & dumplings.
$ 10 for 10 minutes of massage plus dumplings
$ 20 for 20 minutes of massage and more dumplings.
The digital canvas also takes request. If you have images that you would like to project you can email through your selections.

A place where visual art, in the form of panoramic imagery and digital projection, come together with a mix of performing arts and music events. Now that’s good old Horse Bazaar. The first thing you’ll notice is the various imagery being projected over a 20 meter canvas in the front room. Also all you guys out there, I hear that the urinals are fixed with rear projectors that allow you to ready, aim and shoot at the image itself. Pretty cool, huh?
Horse Bizzare has a Japanese izakaya tapas menu with items such as gyoza, agedashi tofu and tempura. Their mains, however, are a little more interesting with things like Syrian Chicken with Grain Rice and Wagyu Beef Balls (available only on Thursday and Friday). The food is good but if you want to have something extra special I recommend coming in on a Tuesday for their Massage and Dumpling Day. Yep, that’s right. Every Tuesday from 6pm, for just $ 10 you get a 10 minute massage and dumplings. And for $ 20 you get a 20 minute massage and dumplings. Now how can you argue with that?
Even better though, I recently discovered one of their amazing boozy hot chocolates which includes a touch of Massenez Griotte, a cherry liqueur. Oh. My. Goodness. Probably not the best thing to start the day with but it’s a perfect way to end it. If that doesn’t interest you, they have a whole list of other boozy mixes which I’m sure will catch your eye.