Discover The Speakeasy Chic Of The Mill House

Melbourne is a city famous for its rooftop bars. Paring alfresco good times with a handsome view is a formula many of the city's top watering holes swear by, but The Mill House, located in the basement of a beautiful 1853-bluestone, Tomasetti House, has taken a different approach.

Situated on Flinders Lane, Melbourne's premium drag for the best dining and drinking, this surprisingly large bar and eatery channels the vibe of a prohibition speakeasy, featuring old world materials finished with 21st-century finesse.

The interiors, by trendy Sydney design firm H&E Architects, make the most of the building's natural assets. Rugged stone walls are crisscrossed with copper pipes, exposed beams and reclaimed wood accents. Low ceilings and wide floors, banked by raised horseshoe booths and cleverly judged lighting, create an intimate atmosphere without a hint of claustrophobia. 

Of course, no speakeasy worth its salt would be complete without a well-stocked bar and The Mill House, in addition to its ample offering of craft beers, cocktails, and wines including house-made sangria, boasts one of the city's largest ranges of Moonshine, the hooch of choice during America's 1920s booze-ban.

Pub Grub With Latin Flare

When head chef of the Mill House, Augustin Ortega, devised the venue's menu, he knew he had a lot of boxes to tick. His kitchen needed to turn out food for CBD lunchtimers and a bar crowd after easy bites, but also technically accomplished cuisine, fitting with the restaurant's location on Australia's most respected culinary street.

Fortunately, Ortega's varied training made him uniquely qualified for the task. "I'm originally from Peru, so I am interested in Latin flavours and ingredients, but I learned to cook in Montreal in the classical French tradition, with some American influences thrown in. Then, when I moved to Australia, I worked in some great fine dining restaurants in Brisbane, where I learned about Australian cooking and the European techniques you find here," he explains. "Our menu is about offering upmarket bar food. Take our PFC (Peruvian Fried Chicken). They are chicken wings - Ok, that's familiar, that's reassuring. But what is behind those wings? We cook them sous-vide; we flavour them with a panca chilli that we import from Peru, along with other Latin flavours. So these dishes, even though they are familiar gastropub staples, are executed using some pretty sophisticated techniques."

Ortega's commitment to maintaining high-level culinary standards can be easily seen in the quality of his produce. "Everything is local. Whenever possible our meats are sourced from the Gippsland region. All of our fresh produce is Australian, preferably Victorian," he shares.

"Being a chef on Flinders lane, there's a certain standard that's expected. You need to be up on the trends and aware of what's around you, but also you need to be confident in what you're offering. Our menu is, in part, geared towards a bar crowd. It's for people having a drink who also want something to eat. But it was also really important for me to have some technical dishes that can attract diners who have a certain level of expectation from the kitchens on Flinders. I'm proud to be here."

Try at the Mill House:

King Fish Ceviche
As Ortega says: "You can get a dish that tastes exactly like this in the best restaurants in Lima."

Empanadas
Order a few of these Latin American street food staples. Pair with a glass of house Sangria.

Braised Wagyu Beef Brisket
Melt in your mouth, slow cooked meat, lightly spiced with green chilli and Chimichurri.

A Fine Time For Moonshine

Moonshine is a spirit with a deliciously chequered past. So named as it was often brewed under cover of darkness by the light of the silvery moon, it is traditionally made by distilling corn mash. Today, it's been refined to become a high-quality speciality product, but it is often still bottled in mason jars as a nod to its dodgy heritage.

The Mill House has 15 varieties on offer, served either neat to sip, over ice, with juice or mixed in a cocktail. We recommend you give these a try:

Melbourne Moonshine; Sour Mash Shine

Described as "Warm white lightning with a Southern kick," this old-school moonshine has a sharp flavour with a smooth mouthfeel. One for the brave and the curious.

Ole Smoky; Harley Davidson Moonshine

This boozy homage to motorcycle royalty has a charred taste that will be familiar to fans of Tennessee whiskey.

Freedom; Apple Pie Moonshine
For those who like their spirits a little sweeter, this fun flavoured speciality is a taste of pure Americana.