Bar Lourinha

There's a special place in Melbourne's dining heart for this little bar with its kitschy mix of hanging frames, knick-knacks and splash of retro-style green wallpaper. Matt McConnell's fun take on Iberian food sings with bright, uncomplicated flavours. It's all made for sharing, so take a place at either the bar, communal high tables with stools, or cushioned banquette by the front window and chat to the skilled staff who know a thing or two about food and wine. Start with menu mainstays of octopus banderillas - bite-sized skewers of pickled octopus and anchovy-stuffed olive - or the sublime signature carpaccio-style yellowtail kingfish, followed by a seasonal special of heirloom carrots, plump figs and creamy labna. House-made pork sausage with white beans and parsley, and slow-cooked fleshy 'pork butt' drenched in a bright, sweet piri-piri sauce will have you crying 'perfecto' before dessert arrives: perhaps a silky sweet pomegranate crema with pistachio praline, or a sophisticated chocolate, hazelnut and espresso trifle.