Get dishes from $10 at a top fine-dining chef’s less-fancy, more-fun new spot; visit a Cliffs of Dover-looking wine bar with a wall that opens like a secret door; smash a luxurious bread-and-butter pudding (made with Lune croissants) at a humungous brunch; do a Harry Styles-approved workout; and more. Here’s what Broadsheet Melbourne editor Tomas Telegramma is checking out in Melbourne in March.

Go camping (well, sort of)
I’m still haunted by the sad, soggy schnitties and criminally creamy coleslaw I was made to consume at the school camps of yesteryear. So top of my list this month is the ultimate redeemer. I’ll be taking an admittedly cruisy road trip to Attica Summer Camp, the less-fancy, more-affordable sibling to Ben Shewry’s Ripponlea fine diner
(snacks start at $10 and meats start at $16). Our writer said the hasselback potatoes are “show-stealing”. They’re usually scored on one side then roasted, but Shewry instead scores them all the way round, grills them on the rotisserie, chicken-style, and bastes them in butter. (Just listen to that sizzle.) Other selling points: a majestic dessert trolley with unmissable cakes, Ben & Shewry’s Cherry Ripe-inspired ice-cream and smashable reisling slushies. The pop-up ends in May – get there while you still can.

Plan a bar crawl
Already, new boozers have sprouted in all corners of the city this year. Head to the inner west and scale a ridiculously colourful stairwell to this good-time bar by a seasoned Melbourne wine guy. Or go north to a charmingly refurbed pub that feels like it’s been around forever; an intimate art deco-inspired spot; and a low-key watering hole with country-pub vibes. In the south find this curvaceous, White Cliffs of Dover-looking wine bar with a wall that opens like a secret door, and further east is a laid-back new taproom by one of Melbourne’s most exciting and consistently excellent beer brands. And it’s a get-there-before-it’s-gone situation at Embla’s sky-high pop-up bar and cinema in the CBD – it’s like a drained swimming pool in the sky.

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Shop and support
If you aren’t yet familiar with Clothing the Gap, we reckon you’ll be seeing and hearing a lot more about it soon. Not least because the Indigenous-owned-and-run fashion brand recently opened a flagship store on Sydney Road in Brunswick (and high-profile sports stars, former Carlton player Eddie Betts included, are fans). While you can peruse a range of “ally friendly” gear here – such as T-shirts, hoodies and caps – it’s much more than just a shopfront. It doubles as an activist hub for the label, which has thrown its weight behind trailblazing campaigns to change the date, free the flag and close the gap. Read all about it
here, then check out the store.

It’s festival season
After a last-minute Covid-related postponement in 2020 – followed by a jam-packed online edition and a series of open-air New Year’s Eve (and Day) Street Feasts – Melbourne Food & Wine Festival is storming into 2021 with a newly expanded three-pronged event – essentially three separate festivals.
Here are our top picks of the March program, including the World’s Longest Brunch by Lune’s Kate Reid and
Liminal’s Nathan Toleman. Reason enough to buy a ticket: there’ll be decadent bread-and-butter pudding (made with Lune croissants), plus sweetened labneh, blackberry compote and granola. Ooft. Also this month is Melbourne Fashion Festival, with digital runways filmed at iconic Victorian locations, a shop-the-runway platform, and the third annual Australian Fashion Summit. Or you can step inside Nobody Denim’s Fitzroy factory for a free behind-the-scenes tour.

Sweat it out
Two big-name international gyms have muscled their way into South Yarra. Cult LA spot Barry’s brings its bootcamp-style Red Room workouts – favoured by celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Harry Styles – to a space with all-red lighting, mirrored walls and nightclub-level music. Our writer had to sign a waiver to take part – here’s why. And not too far away, London export 1R is a futuristic, concrete jungle-like gym where you can work on your uppercut in an otherworldly space. Plus, find Grown Alchemist products and Dyson hairdryers in the bathrooms, and free prosecco on Friday nights. How’s that for balance.