There's always something exciting happening in a Melbourne car park. The best of which includes Con Christopoulos converting the carport under Spring Street Grocer into a delicious cheese cave.
Descending the tight spiral staircase is like sinking into a pit of wet socks – but don't let that detract you. It's an Art Deco wonderland of white and emerald tiles where you can eat lactose-laden lunches and do workshops. Behind a set of glass doors, you’ll find cheesemongers serving up tastes of truffled brie and tending tractor tyre-sized wheels of Comté from morning to night. Yep, throw your hands up for a place that's open when you're actually free to shop.
Plan your visit when you’re homeward bound (if you’re packing a wedge of the soft, washed rind Livarot in your handbag, you are armed and disgusting). We can’t go past European gems like the soft vacherin that comes in a pot ready to be baked into a molten dip, or the L’Etivas – a hard gruyere, gritty with sweet, crunchy calcium crystals. We also love that you can get a tangy wedge of Bruny Island C2, Australia’s only raw milk cheese. If you get out with less than $50 worth of dairy and tiny pears from upstairs, you have a stronger will than we do.
