Martin FrimetMelbourne's Madame messes up her make-up
March 25th 2008 23:02
As opening glimpses go, the view as you step outside onto the large open courtyard at the Madame Brussels bar must be up there with the best this city has to offer.
It’s an image that seems to speak of everything that is good about Melbourne all at once. First, on every side, are the glamorous etchings of a young and busy city in the shape of dozens of clean, interesting office buildings which poke their way into the sky like fine, flexed fingers.
Surprisingly, however, an easy wind seems to get caught at this 3rd floor rooftop, and that speaks of other things than air conditioning and office politics, a refreshing catch that takes you far out of the city and its harried charm almost at once. Best of all, look upwards and the wide sky is often painted in the prettiest pastels or else sparked with stars.
It is a view that is easy to fall in love with and fall in love with it is exactly what the owners of Madame Brussels seem to have done. Everything about this place is delicately stylised and suggests a desire to succeed with a suitably strong, Gallic strut. Thus, a team of almost impossibly-coiffured waitresses hand round leather-bound menus which offer a range of diffident, different cocktail choices amidst a chaotic flail of shapes and squiggles.
Unfortunately, it’s an image that feels more than a little over-mannered and asks for a little too much attention in itself when the view outside is entertainment enough. Worse, the drinks themselves are either overpriced (bottled beers that start at $9) or overdone (an espresso martini and a fruit punch that both tasted like they were trying too hard to make a point without knowing what they were really meant to be.)
A big space in a great spot and with a view that asks to be recounted and revisited, Madame Brussels has everything going for it; I just wished its owners would realise that and stopped trying to strait-jacket it into style.
Madame Brussels
Level 3
59-63 Bourke Street
Melbourne
It’s an image that seems to speak of everything that is good about Melbourne all at once. First, on every side, are the glamorous etchings of a young and busy city in the shape of dozens of clean, interesting office buildings which poke their way into the sky like fine, flexed fingers.
Surprisingly, however, an easy wind seems to get caught at this 3rd floor rooftop, and that speaks of other things than air conditioning and office politics, a refreshing catch that takes you far out of the city and its harried charm almost at once. Best of all, look upwards and the wide sky is often painted in the prettiest pastels or else sparked with stars.
It is a view that is easy to fall in love with and fall in love with it is exactly what the owners of Madame Brussels seem to have done. Everything about this place is delicately stylised and suggests a desire to succeed with a suitably strong, Gallic strut. Thus, a team of almost impossibly-coiffured waitresses hand round leather-bound menus which offer a range of diffident, different cocktail choices amidst a chaotic flail of shapes and squiggles.
Unfortunately, it’s an image that feels more than a little over-mannered and asks for a little too much attention in itself when the view outside is entertainment enough. Worse, the drinks themselves are either overpriced (bottled beers that start at $9) or overdone (an espresso martini and a fruit punch that both tasted like they were trying too hard to make a point without knowing what they were really meant to be.)
A big space in a great spot and with a view that asks to be recounted and revisited, Madame Brussels has everything going for it; I just wished its owners would realise that and stopped trying to strait-jacket it into style.
Madame Brussels
Level 3
59-63 Bourke Street
Melbourne
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