It's no secret we're big fans of Bar Bellamy in Carlton – it was the winner of our Best Cocktail Bar award at the 2025 Time Out Melbourne Food and Drink Awards, after all. And now, we're ready to be just as charmed by its new sibling venue: Melitta Next Door, a colourful Mediterranean-inspired venue located (you guessed it) right next door.
Melitta, named after a type of honey bee, is designed to be an easier, breezier and more accessible destination for casual weeknight gatherings and those keen to have a taste of the Bar Bellamy magic in a brand new format. Through pre-batching cocktails and spearheading a more efficient approach to service, owners Dani and Oska Whitehart aim to serve locals in a way that's both affordable and approachable.
“It's not about scaling back from Bar Bellamy,” notes Oska. “It's about scaling up speed in order to scale down prices.”
The team describe the Melitta concept as reminiscent of “backyard parties when we were strapped but still wanted to have fun”.
Leading the kitchen is Lorena Carso (ex- Napier Quarter, Estelle, Anchovy) who runs her own pop-up business, Sicilian Smoke Out – a celebration of open fire-cooking and recipes from Carso's home country and childhood. Expect to see this philosophy play out in the form of delicious flame-fuelled eats like the lamb arrosticini with salsa verde (a staple in Abruzzo) and vegan kohlrabi skewers, plus pan-fried flatbread finished off on the barbecue. Other hits on the current menu incorporate seafood, charcoal chicken and slow-cooked stews.
Known for their incredible bevvy game, the team have pulled out all the stops to craft a list that pleases all kinds of drinkers. Choose from longnecks, Messina Cristalli di Sale (Sicilian beer made with salt crystals) and bottled cocktails made in-house and on tap, including wickedly good Martinis and what we believe will be this year's drink of the summer: Ranch Water (a type of tequila-based cocktail). The bar even has custom esky inserts, “because no beer is colder than one straight out of the esky”.
Beyond food and drink, we're already in love with the look and feel of the hot new venue, which incorporates golden honey tones, a radiant recycled plastic yellow bar and hand-painted splashback tiles to create a warm and homey feel.
We're more than happy to take a slice of eternal Mediterranean summer on a small patch in the inner north. Bring on the good times.
Find Melitta Next Door at 160 Rathdowne Street, Carlton, open from Tuesday to Saturday from 4pm.
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