If there is one thing I love about Melbourne, it’s living in a city where many of the bars are hidden down lane-ways. It makes me feel like I am a character in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, whose stumbled into Narnia from the cobblestone streets, and I can’t find my way back home.

Most of these bars require you to know someone who knows someone, to give you directions to the latest secret destination. I fondly remember my initiation into the Melbourne bar scene during my first visit from Perth in 2001. After perilously navigating cobblestone lanes in my heels, we finally came across the right lane-way. My first thought was there was no way I was taking my heels down a lane-way littered with rubbish, but our source was reliable, so venture on did I.

At the end of the lane-way was a deserted looking warehouse door. Not even sure if we were at the right place, we pushed against the door to discover a set of rickety wooden steps – again, my heels did protest. After making it to the top of two flights of stairs, we were finally met by a cash register to indicate, that yes it was indeed a bar.

Turning the corner, the interior completely changed. Hanging from the roof was a giant chandelier and a grand piano was nestled in the middle of a dance floor. Hello Honky Tonks. However, after some time, the path to the secret doors become well trodden and the atmosphere seems to lose its sparkle and the quality of the crowd doth diminish. Narnia would hardly be as special if they were selling tickets at the wardrobe door now would it?

Although Penny Blue is not a new bar, nor is it as difficult to locate, it was still a delightful discovery. Located on Driver Lane in the city, it is positioned next to MOO restaurant, which takes its name from the old Money Order Office it now inhabits. Penny Blue appropriately takes its name from the second postal stamp produced in Australia.

Entering Penny Blue, I was immediately enamoured by the intimate cool and loungey atmosphere and the large ornate french chair covered in cushions, which has enough room for three. It ever so delicately beckons, come sit on me, invite your friends, pull up a pew, and let’s converse into the early hours. Not only did the conversation flow, but so did the wine and tapas. If I was taken by the Christopher Guy decor, the wall to wall selection of wines equally as impressive, as was the tapas.

Penny Blue is the perfect place to meet friends on a week night, or as a place to start your night on the weekend.

Penny Blue

2 Driver Lane Melbourne