Dexter

I often get the feeling with Dexters that maybe it is one of those places where only the friends of the owners hang out. It just has that of clique vibe. Or so I thought. After spending an evening (and most of the night) there drinking, laughing and listening to music — I realised that I was completely wrong about my assumption.
The reason I thought it was clique was because everyone I saw hanging out at Dexters was so relaxed that I had just assumed they must be the ‘in-​crowd’.
So apart from the homely vibe that Dexters has — what else does it offer? Well live music most nights of the week. And it has speakers set up throughout the venue so you can hear said live music from every room. They also have a simple food menu, which is surprisingly decadent considering all they have to cook with is a little oven grill. They do coffee and breakfast during the day and wine and drink during the night.
The wine list is pretty good as is the coffee. So if you are sick of drinking home made coffee or having a tipple of wine on your back deck, then check out Dexters for the same homely vibe, only different.

This little venue hasn’t been too sure of its identity for the last couple of years. Opening early and serving the days trade with coffee and breakfast, yet really wanting to sleep in and serve the afternoon crowd boutique beer and cocktails into the late hours of the evening. Situated on the quite side of Queens parade, this is one of the first cool places to hit this strip. Catching the afternoon sun beautifully, this place is full of laughs and banter, cheers and beers.
Recently gaining the long awaited go ahead to host live music, you can catch the beautiful acoustic tunes of some of Melbourne’s music royalty in the cosy back room. Dinner provides some top nosh and can be teamed with a beautiful choice of delectable wines. The spacious beer garden out the back could use some work, but the décor of the inside more than makes up for it. Also if it’s still a bit cold at night, grab a cognac and head up to the open fireplace on the delightful second story to keep you warm.

I went here with a group of friends for a drink on a cold Friday night. A lot of whiskey and lemonades later I had to say, the place felt like my lounge room. I loved it. It’s not pretentious, like a lot of bars and cafés in the area. The staff weren’t snobby either.
I’ve heard they do a pretty good breakfast and coffee so it seems these guys can do whatever they want. There’s something about that back room that makes me want to just settle right in and stay for a while. Like you can instantly relax, a cocoon of non-​forced squishy couches (why on earth do bars stock all those terrible overly-​soft couches? They always just end up holding everyone’s spilt drinks and broken dreams) which is lovely and warm when you need it.
Just like home.

The owners of Clifton Hill’s bohemian little Dexter Bar Café must rue the day that Michael C. Hall took the title role in ‘Dexter’. That hugely popular — and kind of far fetched — television series about a bloodstain-​pattern-​analyst-​turned-​serial-​killer which I can’t help but think of every time that I’m asked to go to Dexter’s for a drink.
For Dexter Bar Café is the friendliest, sweetest little place you can imagine. With patterns more likely flocked or fairytalesque than rendered in blood; and moonlighting as a great bar rather than as a calculated, cold blooded, and very well informed killer.
Serving a charming menu of teas numbering hibiscus, and meals such as Peking duck frittata; Dexter’s boasts nice little touches such as plant pots idiosyncratically decorated with fake moustaches and gilt patterned walls. And its coffee? Great. Strong, full bodied — ‘scuse effusive wankery — and great.
Staff are lovely, water is forthcoming; décor is charmingly, brightly ramshackle; and there’s more than the occasional bright green wall. In short Dexter’s café is the antithesis of that other Dexter. The only thing bloody about Dexter’s? It’s well priced Bloody Mary’s. Now those I can get on board with.