Spensley’s
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The loved backstreet wine bar in a quiet, village-y part of Clifton Hill has closed after five years of serving the community. Now, its sister venue next door, Pizza Shop, will be taking over Spensley’s corner site. The team made the announcement on February 11 via an Instagram post.
“We decided it would be best to listen to our community and noticed that dining trends have changed,” co-owner Willow Humphreys tells Broadsheet. “We found that Spensley’s ... became more of a destination or a special event restaurant. We wanted to bring it back to its roots of being a really local, community venue and a place that everyone could just come every night and have a fun time.”
The team will be knocking down the wall between both venues to create one big space slated to open mid-March 2025. While the Pizza Shop kitchen will remain as it is – slinging back 72-hour fermented sourdough slices – the Spensley’s kitchen will become an à la carte version of Pizza Shop serving fresh pastas, salads and other Euro-leaning bar snacks.
Pizza Shop’s much-loved tiramisu cheesecake will become a permanent menu item, along with other old-favourites and new additions.
Spensley’s is located in that quiet, village-y part of Clifton Hill bounded by the Eastern Freeway, Yarra Bend, Hoddle Street and Heidelberg Road. There’s not much else nearby, which makes this classic, timber- and brass-clad wine bar a real anchor for the local community.
When the sun’s up, prams and dogs cruise past sporadically, their owners frequently stopping for chats or waving to friends through the site’s generous windows. By night, the timeless, bentwood-filled room acquires a more clandestine cast, with the soundtrack shifting a few gears up from Beach House and other dream-pop bands.
Head chef Alessandro Cristiano’s (Da Noi, Neighbourhood Wine) menu includes snacks and a clutch of larger plates. You might start with oysters and accompaniments, followed by patatas bravas croquettes and a bowl of the daily pasta. More substantially, you might run into roasted cauliflower with sumac, almond cream and charred onion; and pork belly, celeriac and shallots bathing in jus.
Despite this elevated fare, Spensley’s has something of an egalitarian streak. It’s the kind of place where you can pop in for a quick tap beer at the handsome timber bar (say hi to the business’s mascot, Larry the brass lobster) or stick around and explore the single-page wine list. Natural and skin-contact wines are favoured here, alongside as aromatic whites such as riesling and pinot gris, and leaner reds such as pinot noir and gamay.
Contact Details 
Phone: No phone
Website: spensleys.com.au
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