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Stokehouse Cafe

Cool, calm and mostly terrific, a bayside beauty sports a healthy new look.

Michael Harden
Michael Harden

Stokehouse Cafe has been given a beach shack-inspired makeover.
Stokehouse Cafe has been given a beach shack-inspired makeover.Eddie Jim

Where: 30 Jacka Boulevard, St Kilda, 9525 5445
See: stokehousecafe.com.au
Open: Mon-Fri, noon-late; Sat-Sun, 8.30am-late
Cards: AE MC V eftpos
Wheelchair access: Yes
Cheers: Location-appropriate cocktails.
Jeers: At night, without the view, the room feels a little bland.

Downstairs at Stokehouse has always been the rattier, more raucous member of the family, especially compared with the clean-lined, view-blessed beauty of the upstairs restaurant. To be frank, past incarnations haven't done the cafe any favours, with a cluttered look and an atmosphere that often ranged from ''slightly chaotic'' to ''losing it completely'' when the weather was balmy and the visiting hordes rushed towards the beachside seating like seagulls to a chip.

Fast forward to now, after a recent light and airy, beach shack-inspired makeover from design crew Projects of Imagination (Chin Chin, Builders Arms, Coda, etc) and things feel much calmer. This is particularly apparent in the clean-lined minimalist bar area, with its lengthy, marble-topped bar, elegant timber furniture and generous glassed-in beach frontage. With a grey herringbone-tiled floor, predominantly white colour scheme and view over the covetable outside seating area (that continues the beachcomber vibe with its tea tree-roofed cabana), there's plenty to recommend spending some time here with cocktails and snacks.

Bartender's choice: Gin Mule.
Bartender's choice: Gin Mule.Eddie Jim
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That's not to say Stokehouse Cafe has lost all its chaos. Service, though always pleasant, can veer towards the vague. In the bar, it's not clear at first whether you're to order over the bar or wait for one of the waitstaff to drift (smiling) towards you, inquiring if you've been served. It seems you can actually do both, but once a line of communication has been established, things take a turn for the better.

The drinks list starts with cocktails cleverly tailored to the bayside location. Leaning towards carbonated and fruity, they come in single servings, such as the thirst-quenching mint- and ginger-beer-heavy Gin Mule ($14), or in jugs, such as the increasingly resurgent Pimms No. 1 ($30).

The wine list is nicely constructed and well suited to the casual crowd in terms of pricing and trend awareness (gruner veltliner from Austria, Argentine malbec, Victorian pinot grigio). It sports a decent variety of wines by the glass with prices that mostly hover around $10. There's an Australian bias to the list, and something of a Victorian one at that.

The seven beers on tap include the excellent Stone & Wood Pacific Ale ($8), while the packaged list plays a straight bat with the likes of James Boag's Premium ($6.50) and long necks of Melbourne Bitter ($10).

Not surprisingly for a place so on-trend with its booze list, the menu at Stokehouse Cafe is very much of the sharing persuasion with a fair bit of hot dog/burger/empanada/meatball box-ticking along the way. The cooking is strong and there are some interesting snacks perfect for teaming with cocktails, such as excellent cuttlefish skewers ($12 for two) flavoured with lemon and chilli. The Sicilian potato salad ($8) is also worth a look.

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With its enviable boardwalk location, Stokehouse Cafe could pump out microwaved pies and cans of warm soft drink and still pack 'em in. That it not only treats its customers with respect when it comes to quality but also chooses to renovate the space and grant a generous amount of room for a beachside bar is cause for more than faint praise. Best of all, it has done so without sacrificing all of its ratty raucous persona.

Bartender's choice

The size and location of Stokehouse Cafe were major factors when the decision was made to overhaul its cocktail list a couple of years ago, bar and assistant manager Lee Smith says.

''We're a high-volume place right on the beach,'' he says. ''So we need to keep it simple and steer clear of the bourbon and Scotch side of things. Our policy here is to keep the drinks bright and fruity rather than deep and dark.'' One that has remained is the Gin Mule.

''People keep ordering it summer and winter,'' Smith says. ''So it's become something of a house special.''

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Gin Mule

45ml Tanqueray gin

15ml el Jimador tequila

20ml fresh lime juice

Ginger beer

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Mint leaves

Lime wedges

Build the drink in a tall glass filled with ice. Give it a quick stir and serve.

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