Cocktails and Charcuterie Await at Melrose on Adelaide

The cocktail bar Melrose on Adelaide is situated in the centre of the Entertainment District. With daily beer discounts and a happy hour, it’s a cozy atmosphere and a getaway from the busy centre. For important events, it can be transformed into a venue as needed.

When you enter Melrose on Adelaide, a candlelight glow suddenly envelops you in a warm, cozy atmosphere, shielding you from the swirl of snow and the chilly winter winds screaming through downtown. Being here for the first time at a much-needed new cocktail bar that’s nestled away in a heritage building close to the Scotiabank Theatre and the busy Queen and John commuter corridor, where big eateries are continually shining their corporate lights in your face, you will never forget it.

The ambience of Melrose on Adelaide is ominous and enticing, with pleated banquet seats that harken back to classic Hollywood noir. The single enormous space has the feel of three or four individual rooms thanks to the secluded nooks and corners that wrap around columns and the entrance staircase. This makes it ideal for an after-work rendezvous or a date night without the kids. You can quickly leave the bustle and neon of the entertainment zone.

Melrose on Adelaide: Best to Try and Enjoy

Initially, you can start with a dozen oysters. Then try one of our specialty drinks, Into the Rose Garden, a delicate pink cocktail with citrus and floral flavours beautifully stacked atop Aviation gin and garnished with a rose petal, or a perfect old-fashioned with smokey mole bitters.

You can order, for instance, beef tenderloin tartare with capers and lovely beech mushrooms for the following course, as well as a wonderfully cooked octopus with blistered tomatoes and fingerling potatoes. For a restaurant where the cocktails are unquestionably the major attraction, both courses will be served in unexpectedly large servings. If you’d like, you can have the bartender’s freshly made effervescent aquavit fizz, and I try an opulent Negroni Sbagliato with just a hint of Dolin Rouge and a dash of prosecco.

You may get the house and vegan charcuterie selections to nibble on while you sip if you intend to remain for a while, and the beverages are as intense as they are alluring. The vegan charcuterie is more than an afterthought and contains a variety of delicious goodies, including a creamy, garlicky cashew cheese, red pepper hummus, and a spicy vegan chorizo standout. This is a good sign of the times. But one of the night’s most popular bites may be both traditional and decadent: razor-thin slices of bresaola, air-dried and salted beef that has developed a deep, almost reddish colour during the months it was hung to cure, and a pecorino cheese thickly flavoured with the earthy, umami of truffles.

The two final drinks you have can be both caffeinated to feel less indulgent and since the venue encourages you to stay a while and really immerse yourself in the atmosphere. The Cold Brew Boulevardier combines the unlikely pairing of Wild Turkey 101 with Campari and house-made cold brew for a truly unique taste of coffee and cranberry bitterness matched with the cloying sweetness of premium American bourbon. The Spirited Away has a European sensibility, fruity Calvados and Grand Marnier paired with bitter Rinomato Americano.

Melrose on Adelaide will provide you with a great time overall. You will be delighted you’ve slipped into a cozy, drunken getaway from cold in the city, watching the candlelight flicker in our cocktails, rather than going deaf at a superhero movie across the street.