Located amongst Melbourne’s vibrant hospitality scene, Waxflower offers a distinct and considered offering for lovers of fine food, wine, music, and of course, coffee.

 

Waxflower takes heavy inspiration from both Japanese listening bars, as well as classic French bistros, and nourishes their customers from long lunches into atmospheric evenings.

 

Speaking to Bar Supervisor, Joshua Bean, the team at Waxflower have been overjoyed with the initial response to their opening as the team share their passion for food, beverage, and music with the broader community.

 

“A lot of consideration and detail have gone into creating the venue.”

 

When walking into Waxflower, it’s hard not to take notice of the venue’s extensive vinyl collection, decorating the backdrop to the bar. Stretching over 3,500 records and covering such genres as funk, house, disco and soul, patrons can be assured there’s always something good to be heard when visiting.

 

 

Spinning records on their Technics turntables and handmade Isonoe mixer, Waxflower’s impressive soundtrack can be enjoyed through their Pitt & Giblin twin speakers. An audiophile’s dream, the hand built sound system not only plays the bar’s collection of records, but also accompanies a rotating list of local DJs playing at the bar on weeknights and weekends.

 

Between resident DJs spinning tracks, staff mixing and pouring drinks and food leaving the kitchen, there’s plenty of theatre to enjoy while seated at the bar.

 

 

“There’s always a lot of action happening inside. The staff, DJ and patrons all interacting together in the small space creates a great atmosphere”

 

Paired with the eclectic sound of vinyl is the kitchen’s menu. Led by chef Damon McIvor, the kitchen’s seasonal menu takes influence from Southern Europe. Working with local producers, the menu ranges from shared plates to enjoy over lunch and dinner to smaller tasting plates to enjoy with your beverage of choice.

 

When speaking to the bar’s beverage menu, Joshua shares his passion for working in a venue that marries his two passions, fine wine and specialty coffee. Offering a curated list of minimal interventional wines from local and international producers, Waxflower actively seeks to showcase winemakers who respect the land they work with, resulting in an honest representation of the quality of their produce.

 

 

Situated at the heart of the bar is Waxflower’s Modbar AV and Modbar Steam. Being small in footprint and sophisticated in design, Modbar was the obvious choice in seamlessly blending high level coffee making capabilities into the bar’s setting.

 

Exclusively using Stella Coffee – a brand owned and operated by Tim Varney, an old-time friend of La Marzocco and resident Waxflower DJ under the name, Timed and Marked – the roaster’s high quality and delicious coffee is proudly used by the bar staff for their daily run of afternoon and evening espressos, milk-based coffees, filters, and their signature espresso martinis.

 

Working with Modbar for the first time when joining Waxflower, Joshua is thoroughly impressed by the simplicity of the machine. Easy to operate and clean, he shares that he has even had no trouble training bar staff on the machine who have had no previous barista skills.

 

“My favourite feature would have to be the automatic back flush. It’s a game changer.”

 

As the team gears up for the summer season, they look forward to a season filled with more fine food and wine offerings, special DJ guests, as well as introducing patrons to an atrium area at the back of the venue. Planned as a natural extension to the venue, the atrium will host special events. Stay tuned to hear more in the coming months.

 

To learn more about Waxflower, visit their website, follow them on Instagram or even listen to their recorded DJ sets via Soundcloud.