We can’t jet off to New York to eat in the Meatpacking District, or to London to find a cool bar in Shoreditch, but never fear, we’ve got plenty of edgy spots where you can soak up the industrial vibe on your honeymoon. Here are five spots close to home where you can bask in the glory of cool design, epic drinks, and great food.
Snake and Herring, Wilyabrup, Western Australia
It looks like a shed from the outside, but Snake and Herring’s small cellar door of Caves Road in the Margaret River region is packed full of goodies. Wine, of course, but also a bar fridge full of local cheeses and the makings of an excellent charcuterie board. Stock up, grab a bottle of their Margaret River classic, ‘Perfect Day’, a 2020 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, a picnic blanket, the set of Finska and spend an afternoon in their garden. In the evening, make a beeline for Yarri, their sister restaurant down the road in Dunsborough, which has a big name for deconstructed produce-driven dishes. The breakfast doughnuts are legendary but dinners in the mood-lit dining room really deliver.
Snake + Herring and Yarri Images: Jessica Wyld Photography
Four Pillars Distillery, Yarra Valley
It’s big, it’s bold and it’s very beautiful. The Four Pillars distillery sits 50 km outside Melbourne’s CBD in the Yarra Valley’s Healesville, where it has plenty of space to spread out. If you or your special someone are gin lovers, this is the ultimate honeymoon day trip for you. The cavernous warehouse space is split into tasting room and bar, and the distillery itself. Peep through the porthole windows to the shiny copper stills, head upstairs to the mezzanine bar for a master class, or settle into the gin garden with a G&T tasting paddle. The main bar sits pretty under timber truss ceilings high above. Time your visit for the weekend when food trucks park up and you won’t go hungry or thirsty.
Header Image and Four Pillars Images: Anson Smart
Jamshed Urban Winery, Melbourne, Victoria
It’s wine time when you walk in the door of this Melbourne cellar door, housed in a sizeable warehouse in the northern suburb of Preston. Winemaker Gary Mills cut his teeth over in the Margaret River region and has a dedicated following of oenophiles who appreciate his chemical-free winemaking and extensive range of drops. Tables sit beside wine barrels and plants (there are even plants in wine barrels) on the actual wine-making floor, where you can grab try Mills’ wines by the glass or bottle. There’s also craft beers on tap and dishes from Josie at Jamshed, the ‘casual kitchen’ by chef Josh Nicholson who works magic with seasonal produce and a wood-fired grill and oven.
Jamshed Winery Images: Pete Dillon
Off form concrete, exposed services, exposed brick, graffiti. Chu the Phat is the stuff industrial design dreams are made of. Then there’s the food. The South Brisbane restaurant is tucked into Fish Lane, a huddle of hot bars and restaurants that are taking the city by storm. Inside Chu the Phat, it’s all about Asian hawker-style fare that puts big flavours front and center. Whether you want cocktails and a few dumplings or a full banquet menu, you’ll be well looked after.
Images via Chu The Phat
It’s certainly not a giant warehouse, but Nomad has the industrial vibe down pat. Sit down under exposed timber joists and herringbone struts and get ready for some of Australia’s best modern fare. After a fire and a temporary relocation, the kitchen now has more space to play and they’re staying busy whipping up new dishes alongside their signatures like local cult favourite, the raw Hiramasa kingfish. There’s 30 seats right at the counter so you can watch all the action or settle into the new banquette seating.
Images: Nikki To
About Lisa Perkovic: Lisa has spent the past decade travelling the world writing for Australia’s leading newspapers, magazines, and blogs about all things travel. Her own honeymoon was her pièce de résistance – an epic journey to the Maldives and South Africa. Now she loves nothing more than sharing destinations and tips to help other newlyweds work out how to have the honeymoon of their dreams.
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