* Copy courtesy of Scribe Publications *
Old Vintage Melbourne - A Culinary Chronicle is the third book in the Old Vintage Melbourne series by Chris Macheras and this time the author is turning his seasoned eye to Melbourne's rich food and drink culture over the years. Pleasingly dished up in alphabetical order, the author presents approximately 120 culinary venues across Melbourne, comprising everything from hotels, restaurants, pubs, bars, cafés, markets and even a caravan.
It was pleasing to see so many family owned businesses continuing on from generation to generation, while others evolved and changed hands over the years. It was always sad to learn a venue or building had been demolished in the name of progress, especially the Federal Coffee Palace and Menzies Hotel. Meanwhile, fire destroyed some of the venues included in this book while others closed down in 2020 during the pandemic and failed to open again. The foreward by Stephanie Alexander was enjoyable but an index at the end would have been a very welcome addition.
I enjoyed lingering over the photographs and wondering how many special events had been celebrated there; first dates, marriage proposals, business deals, birthdays and anniversaries, along with the inevitable hangovers, relationship breakdowns and seedy workplace Christmas parties. Not to mention the staff waiting tables, pouring drinks and making delectable meals in hot kitchens.
Enhancing the reading experience were the inclusion of items from some of the venues like menus, matchbooks and coasters, all supplied by Di Sandilands from Pubcrock. The photographs for each location appeared to come from a variety of sources and I especially enjoyed reading the appetising contents of the few menus included.
Many of the venues I have visited came in the latter half of the book, with the Limerick Arms on Park Street in South Melbourne; the Mitre Tavern (where we attended a weekly trivia night for several years); Planet Hollywood; The Cuckoo; Vlados and the Windsor Hotel to name a few.
Many years ago I regularly visited the Manchester Unity building to see a chiropractor but had never heard of the murders that took place there so I had to set this lovely large hardback edition aside to find out more about the three jewellers who were killed during a diamond heist in 1978.
Many of the photograph captions didn't include years which was disappointing, but I'm assuming this information just wasn't available in the archives from which they were sourced. Unfortunately, the book could have done with a tighter edit of the image credits accompanying each of the venue profiles. The profile page for Donovans in St Kilda credits a photo that isn't included. The Gaylord Indian Restaurant in Tattersalls Lane features a scrumptious looking photograph of a feast for the taste buds but mentions it pictured on the right, despite it being on the left. The book states the price of a dish relative to 2025 when the book was published just a few days ago, which was another lost opportunity for accuracy and relevance. I noticed a further typo and another image credit error while reading, giving me the impression the book was either rushed to print or poorly edited which is a real shame.
The research behind Old Vintage Melbourne - A Culinary Chronicle is vast, with contributions from many of the family run businesses no doubt taking a determined effort to track down. The profile on milk bars was the most nostalgic given I grew up in a general store and I enjoyed seeing the signage, decor and fashions captured in the photos that span many decades.
Old Vintage Melbourne - A Culinary Chronicle will be a trip down memory lane for many Melbournians and visitors to this great city and is a terrific snapshot of the past. Reading it made me hunger for some of the menu items, and wish I could browse the buffets and perhaps even kick up my heels to the live music on offer back in the day.
Carpe Librum!
See my other reviews in the series:
Old Vintage Melbourne ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ in 2021
Old Vintage Melbourne 1960 - 1990 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ in 2022
