Clever Polly’s

Like a home away from home.
They know what they do and they do it well.
Bravo

Oh my god, it has taken us 8 months to stumble upon this place and I’m so glad we did.
On our way to walking to Erol St to buy ourselves a bottle of Riesling to have with our Thai, we stumbled upon this beautiful little bar that also had a wine bottle shop.
The lady who served us was extremely helpful in choosing a wine to go with dinner which was just perfectly matched.
Having been so impressed once we finished at ‘in season Thai’ we headed back to Clever Polly for dessert and a dessert wine.
We ordered the peach meringue ginger parfait dessert with two different dessert wines as recommended by the lovely french staff member, which both complimented the dessert perfectly!
Will be back real soon to explore more of the interesting menu and be recommended more delicious wine!
Nice to meet you Polly…

Melbourne is a treasure trove of hidden gems and Clever Polly’s is an exciting recent addition. Even living in the area, it took nearly six months to notice it. In fact, it took crossing paths with one of the staff, a veteran of the café scene, to become aware of its existence.
Nestled amongst a block of hairdressers and small bars, Clever Polly’s is an interesting concept of a restaurant crossed with a boutique wine bar and bottle shop. Its design like that of a typical café with a large communal table, long bar and a scattering of small tables — and it could almost be seen as one on a passing glance if it weren’t for the giant wall of wine bottles.
Seating on the bar gave an intimate view of the small and simple kitchen, consisting of a few induction cooktops and a toasting oven, and a focal point of the shiny red hand-​cranked meat slicer. This is matched by the simple of powerful food menu. There is a selection of cured meats, starters, mains, cheeses and desserts, each with a handful of items. The menu caters for all with a mix of vegetarian, seafood and meat options.
On this visit I went straight a main dish and opted for the Saltgrass lamb with beetroot, mustard greens and balsamic juice with a side of kipfler potatoes with chipotle mayo. My eyes have been opened to the world of beetroot. There is not one but three different style of beetroot in this dish — beetroot jam, pickled beetroot and golden beetroot. These unique flavours mix well with the tender and flavoursome lamb cuts, topped with a nice bite from the mustard leaves. The kipflers were a great side, cooked in duck fat and herbs and a spice kick, but not overpowering, from the chipotle mayo.
Intrigued by the dessert selection, I finished with the Ginger poached peach on a bed of lavender and honeycomb parfait, topped a slice of burnt honey meringue. Words cannot describe this tantalising flavour combination. The sweet parfait and meringue combined with the still sweet but slight hint of spice from the ginger poaching. Divine.
Coming from the children’s book Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf — a story about a clever girl who outsmarts a wolf — Clever Polly’s really is a testament to its name, with its exciting and smart dining concept.

Shhhh… Clever Pollys is one of the great secrets of Melbourne. A small, warmly decorated space with amazing food and really warm ‘treat you like a regular’ service. Then there is the wine! A thoughtful list of minimal intervention wines from Australia & abroad, backed by staff with deep knowledge and willingness to share & educate.
A great place for a drink with friends over a glass or two.
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This cozy little wine bar on Victoria Street is the perfect place for a glass of vino, a boutique beer, and a bite on a winter’s night. They have an extensive and impressive wine list, but beware the sticker shock: Hardly any bottles under 60 dollars and glasses mostly going for 12 – 16. I ordered a very interesting glass of red from the Piemonte region of Italy but was surprised that the pour was so small: Much less than the standard around town. So, I was a bit cranky at first, what with the seemingly poor value of the wine. However, the wine WAS fab and they had a great selection of hard to find Belgian beers by the bottle (as well as the yummy Mountain Goat India Red pale ale on tap) so my frustration with the monetary situation was tempered a bit.
I’m happy to report that the food at Clever Polly’s is good value. There is a small seasonally focused selection of share plates and each one was solid. We started with a rich veal terrine with confit raisins and walnuts. it went perfectly with the delectable and fresh complimentary brown bread and was a moreish delight. A porcini mushroom dish was a bit sweet for my liking as it was served with a creamy cheese and very sugary, almost caramel like sauce but it was still tasty. Braised beef cheeks with a tangy pineapple ketchup were nice, though could have been improved with a starch to offset the sweetness and acidity of the sauce. My favourite dish was the slightly charry green cauliflower with a purée made of the same. Wonderfully complex flavours. It’s always impressive to me when a restaurant can produce innovative and delicious veggie dishes. Vegetarians are well catered for here. So are meat eaters, with lots of charcuterie and the aforementioned veal and beef.
Service was friendly and relaxed and the vibe was good. Another win for my new favourite hood.

I have no idea who Polly is, but I will say that she is damn clever. In fact, let’s nominate her for a Nobel-​Frickin-​Prize and get it over and done with.
Fill an intimate space with warm lighting, pack it with natural wines and craft beer, throw in friendly staff and then shove in a tiny open kitchen producing great value and interesting food and you have yourself a winner.
I really enjoyed my first experience here. The bread and olive oil is outstanding and a good way to line the stomach. You’ll be offered more bread, but show some restraint because you’ll want to save room for proper food.
The menu is short, inventive and for the most part exceptional value. A slippery jack, liver and coffee dish clocks in at only $ 17 and is a really terrific combination of flavours and textures. A smoked sweet potato with onion purée was cheaper still and very satisfying even for meat-​o-​saurs like us. The Wallaby «carpaccio» is mis-​leadingly named. It’s less carpaccio and more rare steak meaning it’s terrific value for those wanting a hunk of protein; the contrast of creamy macadamia nuts a great addition. The cheese plate ($ 30 for three small slithers), in comparison to these house-​made dishes, seemed a tad expensive.
Like Stephanie, I thought the glass pour was a little stingy and found better value in the carafe and bottle prices. Most of the wine is natural, which means you’ll be trying some very interesting vino if you plunder the entire list. I don’t know of any other bottle shop and/​or restaurant in Australia that specialises purely in natural wines so I was pretty much in heaven with the selection. Also, did you know that natural wines generally have less/​no preservatives added meaning less of a hangover in the morning?
If you choose carefully this can be a really great experience. My advice is to stick to things that are cooked in house and drink bigger portions of wine!
Pro tips:
— This is also a bottle shop so buy something to take home, or just pop in when you want a bottle of something interesting.
— Beer lover are also well taken care of with a huge craft selection.
— At lunch time they do a $ 25 lunch special. 2 courses and a glass of wine!