Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique.
If you were to plan the perfect Melbourne night out for a first-time visitor, what would you include in the itinerary? I love this question, since it’s not only a great conversation starter, but there’s also something inherently romantic in the exercise. Seeing a city’s virtues through another’s eyes tends to make you fall in love with it anew.
My ideal night starts on the Paris End of Flinders Lane in the form of your classic ‘dinner and a show’. After all, you can’t go wrong with a meal at Cumulus Inc, the winner of our Legend Award in 2018 and the first hugely successful Melbourne bar and “eating house” from legendary local chef Andrew McConnell (whose hospo empire today includes the likes of Supernormal, Cutler, Marion, Gimlet and Apollo Inn – all respective Melbourne icons in their own right). And after dessert, you needn’t go far for entertainment. Simply descend into the basement of Fortyfivedownstairs, also housed in Collins Place, to feed your second stomach – your stomach for life, of course – with a program of independent art, theatre and music.
This is exactly the evening I’d planned a few months ago to coincide with my tickets to a performance of Hamlet presented by the Melbourne Shakespeare Company. While the latter turned out to be extraordinary, a cocktail and snack (spring garlic and ricotta conchiglioni pasta stuffed with tomato and parmesan) at Cumulus Inc before the show were far more pleasurable than I’d anticipated. Like many resident Melbournians interested in eating out, I’d dined at Cumulus Inc before and I knew it was good, but I didn’t remember it being this good. Something stirred me to rebook a table immediately for a larger meal.
Frankly, not much has changed since Time Out last made an official visit. That dish of tuna tartare, goat’s curd, green pea and mint so fresh it sings is still on the menu, as is the much celebrated 1.2-kilogram slow-roasted lamb shoulder with almond and red pepper – perfect for two to share on a date. While these are historically the highlights, there’s seductive power in a trio of buttery Abrolhos Island scallops drenched in carrot curry and lime, or a plate of robust gildas ferrying pickled pepper, olive and Freo octopus into our liquor-slackened mouths.
Nearly two decades on, McConnell’s cracked wheat salad with labneh, preserved lemon and barberry is still one of the most wholesome (yet intriguing) restaurant salads money can buy, and that’s not even the end of our praises.
The superb staff still welcome you in as enthusiastically as they did back in 2009, their knowledge of the menu and drinks list far broader and more passionate in scope than most venues these days. And like mousse from the heavens, Valrhona soft chocolate is the idyllic crowd-pleaser dessert, served with an Earl Grey-infused cream, orange caramel and flecks of pistachio. My partner and I are smitten.
Perhaps people don’t talk a lot about Cumulus Inc anymore because there’s not a lot that’s new to say. There's a new wave of all-day diners following in its footsteps and you're far more likely to find news splashed about these all over the 'gram. But isn’t it natural that evolution should stall when perfection has been reached? And if the recipe at this perpetually buzzing venue has been so passionately appreciated by all for so long, then why gussy it up to compete with trends of the ‘20s? It’d be like a longtime lover switching their cologne and then expecting you to feel the same good feelings when you sniff their sweater.
Malleability, creativity, bravery and an innovative spirit: these are all qualities to be commended – but particularly in hospitality, consistency is also something worth celebrating. Congratulations, Cumulus Inc, for keeping us happy, well-fed and connected within your clubhouse’s joyous walls for nearly two decades. Here’s to many more ahead!