DRINK > Pearl Chablis and Oyster Bar, Melbourne

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Melbourne loves to hide its bars and restaurants away down laneways, underground and on top of building roof tops but Pearl is not easy to find. The Midcity Centre arcade on Bourke Street is not a place you would normally associate with fine dining or fine drinking, but make your way past ‘Breadtop’, the mobile phone repair place, ‘2Peck Chicken’ and the ‘Wu Ming Hair Studio’ up the escalator to the first floor and you will find the surprise.

In what is a tiny space Pearl has over 500 wines from all over Chablis and Burgundy for you to try.

THE FOOD >

With a real focus on the very best oysters you will find an excellent selection waiting for you, changing regularly they come from the best regions around Australia with whatever is freshest and best available on the day.

If oysters are not your thing there are a few excellent alternatives to accompany your chablis, such as caviar sandwich on brioche with creme fraiche ($18). Beef tartare, served with fermented chilli, a potato galette and truffle ($14). Portarlington mussels are served with vichyssoise, pernod and saffron (that sounds delicious for $22).

Of course there is a pearl meat dish with smoked Paspaley pearl meat, rock oyster, old vine chablis, cauliflower and beurre blanc ($28).

THE WINES >

With 10 different Chablis available to drink by the glass there is plenty to try (ranging between $18 – $130 a glass), there are also five whites from Burgundy, some excellent whites from Australia and a few interesting randoms. There are a few red wines on offer (five) one Australian the Indigo Pinot Noir from Beechworth ($18) and four from Burgundy (ranging from 28 to $80).

A bit of an unusual skew for wines by the glass 34 white to 5 red, but that is a reflection on the focus of a perfect pairing of chardonnay and sea food and you can see that it makes sense.