Luxsmith Bar and Wine Shop

Southeast Asian eatery Luxsmith opened in Seddon in 2016. And in November 2018 owners Denis Lucey (also of Bottega and Rutherglen’s Thousand Pound Wine Bar) and Andy Smith added a tiny wine shop and bar next door.

The former vintage clothing shop, on the corner of Gamon and Charles streets, has big open windows and a capacity of just 30.

The interior combines gentle wooden surfaces and stark black industrial metal shelving loaded with bottles of wine, which cordons off areas of the room. The result is cosy bookshop-like nooks.

Wine is the beating heart of Luxsmith. The selection – to drink in or take away – was crafted by sommelier and wine educator Ben Knight (Bottega wine director, Victorian educator for The Wine Society, and creative consultant to the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival’s wine program).

The offering is a broad selection of local and Eurocentric international styles, from comfortable, familiar drops, to those that will take you on more of a journey. There are iconic Italian producers such as Vietti, a 143-year-old family-run winery; Elio Altare, also from Piedmonte; and European grower-producers including France’s Laherte Frères, a sparkling wine producer.

You’ll also find well-priced pinots and chardonnays from Burgundy, and a healthy by-the-glass list of crisp and light styles – rosés, light, bright whites such as a crunchy Mac Forbes spring riesling, and an aromatic and “sensual” Yarraloch pinot.

The cocktail list offers light and fruit-driven drinks. A prosecco spritz is jazzed up with elderflower liqueur and citrus. Two beer taps will always pour local froths, such as a Hop Nation Brewing Co pale ale and froths from Collingwood’s Sample Brewery.

There are bar snacks, too – chilli salted lotus root chips, and five-spice pork scratchings.