Head down the stairs to discover a glowing basement of vintage Mexican film posters and a buzzing crowd at Melbourne's Bodega Underground. True to the Melbourne bar scene this is a place that exudes character and fun, with over 80 varieties of mezcal and tequila, the cocktail list is impressive, to say the least. Bar snacks are fusion food creations like dumpling tacos, paying homage to its Mexican heritage and Chinatown locations.
Where can you find 3000 vintage movie posters from the golden age of Mexican cinema, dumpling tacos and 80-plus varieties of mezcal, tequila, raicilla and sotol? Bodega Underground, of course.
Hospo mates Julian Downing (ex-Lucas Group) and Geoff Machirus (Wonderland, the Royal Saxon) switched on the red neon sign for their first solo-venture over the weekend; they say it's Australia's first "mezcaleria", aka a subterranean homage to agave-based spirits.
It's in the basement next to the Crossley Hotel (although an independent venue) where cocktail bar East End Den once was; now decked out in Jesus and Mary statues, dripping candles and the aforementioned movie posters which Downing and Machirus painstakingly pasted onto every surface of the venue by hand (with no help from their mates).
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