Collingwood World

Put this one on the map

Michael Harden

Thursday, January 01, 2009

There must be something in the water at the southern end of Smith Street at the moment. A ragtag collection of lively new bars has sprouted from the carcasses of failed cafes and euthanised shops and rumour has it that there are more on the way.

The street is livelier than it has been in years, helped along by the cool air blowing around the corner from Gertrude Street. Most of the action happens on the street, the crowded kerbside smokers' areas often packed tighter than the interiors of the bars. But with the fairly recent opening of Collingwood World there is now a place to rise above it all. Those hoping for a black-and-white football-themed shrine through the unmarked door and up a flight of fairly steep stairs will be disappointed. The mood here is more clean-lined minimalism, but with an air of rusticity that can only come from an exposed brick wall. It is a large space and sparsely furnished, so that it feels more like a work in progress than mission accomplished. Upholstered benches and banquettes strategically strewn with cushions define the edges of the room while long metal and wood communal tables stretch across the middle of the concrete floor. The room's main and best feature is the 1960s Melway m...

Full review on The Age