The upstairs dining room at Jimmy Watson’s

During our Melbourne wine bar tour back in March we visited the iconic Jimmy Watson’s in Lygon street, Carlton.

It’s a landmark of the Melbourne wine bar scene, one of Melbourne’s original “wine bars”, being opened at that site in 1935 and the place has a wonderful feel of openness, yet still retains some intimate spaces. A testament to some quality architecture, with Robin Boyd designing the renovation in the early 1960s.

Jimmy Watson was one of the pioneers of Melbourne wine tourism, he initiated trips to vineyards and education sessions about wine at a time when most Melburnians only drank beer.

The staff were incredibly hospitable and while there we were fortunate enough to be allowed to poke around upstairs and dine in one of the upstairs dining rooms. I found some photos I took of our visit, plenty of old age empty wine bottles with a layer of dust to prove how long since they were consumed in that room. The dining room must have hosted countless dinners and discussions about who should win that year’s Jimmy Watson trophy.