Malvern East isn’t known for its nightlife.

“There wasn’t much in the area that had that night-time focus,” owner Matt Vero (Railway Wine Bar, Mount Erica Hotel, The Orrong Hotel) tells Broadsheet of the Waverly Road strip where he’s opened neighbourhood wine bar Parkside Local.

The team secured the site about a year ago and completely renovated the space, which was previously a small gym and office. It now has an olive-green fit-out, exposed red-brick walls, tall wooden tables, shelves of wines and a looutdoor courtyard.

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The list features mostly approachable Australian wines with a few European bottles thrown in for good measure.

“We’re certainly more of a neighbourhood wine bar than a fancy wine bar,” Vero says. “We want to make sure there's something for everyone, reasonable prices, and encourage people to come in every day and try us out.”

While the venue is primarily geared towards dining and drinking in, bottles can also be purchased to take home.

Vero is also the co-owner of neighbourhood pizza shops Teo’s in Malvern and Highett. Teo’s pizzas are made in an external kitchen at the back of Parkside, so you can order a classic margarita, Tropicana (a take on Hawaiian pizza) or the Teo’s signature, with prosciutto, stracciatella, cherry tomatoes, rocket and parmesan.

There’s also calamari, chicken wings and cheese boards, as well as house-made chocolate or vanilla ice-cream and strawberry sorbet.

Vero hopes Parkside will become an all-occasion destination – “you can just come down and watch the footy or you can bring a school group down or have a 30th or 40th” – but his priority is making sure Parkside is a comfortable and consistent offering for locals.

As part of his focus on “all of the residential in the area”, he will introduce pub-style events including Tuesday trivia (which kicks off on June 18), $25 classic chicken parmigiana on Wednesday nights and the daily 4pm to 6pm happy hour with $10 pints, $10 glasses of wine and $15 cocktails.

Parkside Local
512 Waverley Rd, Malvern East
No phone

Hours:
Tue to Thu 4pm – 10pm
Fri 3pm – midnight
Sat & Sun midday – midnight

parksidelocal.com.au