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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
There’s a reason the modern wine bar is such a ubiquitous presence in the local dining zeitgeist: the model is easily replicable. Take a shopfront, add a communal table and stools, shuck some oysters, pour some vino. There is no shortage of such venues, and thus, becoming something more than the typical Melbourne wine bar requires a bold sense of self. North Melbourne has such a place in Boire.
Born from the rollicking success of his Errol Street diner Manzé (meaning ‘to eat’), chef/owner Nagesh Seethiah has expanded his footprint across the road with Boire (meaning, yes, you guessed correctly, ‘to drink’). Manzé’s DNA is present on the menu, where flourishes of Seethiah’s Indo-Mauritian heritage adorn each dish, and authenticity and purpose are the driving forces. Boire does everything you’d hope your neighbourhood wine bar would do, but delve a little deeper and you’ll find something altogether singular in a sea of similarity.
The vibe
Taking full advantage of North Melbourne’s wide and welcoming footpaths, Boire’s intimate interior is complemented by an expansive outdoor section, perfect for grazing and sipping in the afternoon sun. Inside, a tight curation of bottles line one wall, a compact and efficient open bar and kitchen along the other. The rest of the space is filled by a commanding communal table; Boire is a space to be shared, and the overwhelming feeling you’re left with is one of being welcome. There’s the classics; you can saddle up pre-dinner for some Sydney Rocks and a glass of Muscadet, or kick on after with a piece of Comté and a glug of Vin Jaune – but the true secret spice of Boire is the unique flavours which flow from its tiny kitchen space.
The food
Boire offers a concise but enticing carte, intended to share, with an emphasis on the snackable. Bright turmeric warmth carries a tropea bhaji ($6 each), profoundly onion-y, with an addictive crunch and smoosh lifted by tangles of fresh curry leaf; a drizzle of lurid plum sauce brings to mind suburban Chinese takeaway nostalgia, in the best way possible. A taro fritter ($4.50 each) crackles and hums, moreish and dense; dragged through ginger-forward and citric Manzé hot sauce, it's a most agreeable compliment to intermittent sips of whatever is on pour.
The hero of Boire’s ad-hoc service kitchen is a custom charcoal grill, housed in a sort of stainless steel box. Part grill, part oven, part smoker, the chef is able to seer, smoke and roast at the same time. Larger format dishes reflect lesser-utilised cuts, and highlight small independent producers. Ex-dairy cow has long been a restaurant standard, but this was the first time I’ve tried ex-dairy goat. The Meredith Valley goat ribs ($16) are substantial, rich and sweet, a pastoral complexity to the flesh, an unctuous luxury to the fat. Braised, smoked and counterbalanced by tart tamarind and pops of fresh mustard seed, you’ll go some way to find a more delicious and compelling piece of protein in Melbourne right now.
Something of a menu staple, an imposing kingfish collar ($20) arrives draped in lip-smacking barbecue sweetness, nestled on charred tropea onion puree. Bountiful pockets of marshmallow-white flesh hide among the collar’s many cravasses, a surprisingly meaty and generous cut.
The drinks
Tight and refined, expect the unexpected from Boire’s drinks offering. Aperitifs may take the form of a Fernet and Gaza Cola ($16), the herbaceous menthol absurdity of amaro dancing to the sweet relief of sugar and lemon, and imported Mauritian Phoenix lager is on tap. I leave myself to the expertise of my server to guide me on a wine match, and am rewarded with the skinsy, macerated spice of an Austrian Welschriesling ($22). A rotating list of ten to 12 wines by the glass roadshows local producers, and expands to lesser-profiled drops, like a Lebanese Cab Sav.
Time Out tip:
Boire operates as a daytime sandwich shop seven days a week, with a revolving roster of generously filled options. If you’re fortunate, you may also be able to snag a slice of banana tart ($12), indulgently salted and basslined by a dense, stickily perfumed banana jam, and served with rum cream.
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