Hairy Canary

Ph: 9654 2471; 212 Little Collins St, MELBOURNE 3000

Bar, $$ -, ** for Ambience
Open Mon-Fri 7.30-3am Sat-Sun 9-3am; Licensed; AE DC MC V EFT
Chef Kris Malcolm (5-12-08) Owner Cisco Valles & Kristine Becker (5-12-08)

Mietta's Review
This popular cafe/bar is a classic that's busy at both ends of the day - beaut breakfasts, great for lunch, excellent for a drink after work, cool late and good for a coffee or a glass of wine, anytime. Very groovy and up beat. A great place to sit and watch the flow along Little Collins St.

Other published opinions

Age Good Food Guide 2009 Score: 13.5/20 "When this upstairs favourite gets, well, a bit hairy around happy hour, it can be hard to tell that three skips past the bar an enjoyable dining experience waits. The HG is in its early teens now, and long past the sexy debutante status it once enjoyed, but the industrial glam is wearing well"

The Age Cheap Eats 2006 Still loved by design students, DJs and budding fashion designers, this old-school classic is crowded and noisy but the cocktails are great

The Age Cheap Eats 2005 "LONG and loungey, Hairy Canary might not be the hip hangout of old, but it still chirps with a good-looking crowd who like the combination of buzzy bar and top-flight cafe."

The Age Cheap Eats 2004 "THIS dim-lit loft is a testament to the fickleness of fashion: the pretty young things move on, but hairy canary remains a choice locale for boisterous conversation and top-flight bar fare. Generous Asian and Mediterranean tapas"

Age To Go 17/7/04 Melinda Houston "Take Hairy Canary. The beautiful young things might have moved on but the joint itself still offers great cocktails, a pleasurable wine list and some of the best bar food in the city. It's as noisy and jolly as it ever was"

The Foodies' Guide 2004,Allan Campion & Michele Curtis,'Bars with Great Food-The later it gets,the busier this place becomes.A good spot to pause while you warm up for a big night,and great for tapas;try the flaming saganaki or chorizo sausages.'

The Age Cheap Eats 2004,Somewhere we can highly recommend,Good bar'Hairy Canary remains a choice locale for boisterous conversation and top-flight bar fare.Generous Asian and Mediterranean tapas...The loud crowd vibe thwarts any quiet dining plans,but hairy canary is a great lauching pad for a big night out.'

The Age, Epicure, 16/3/04, Nikki Fisher,'Bars come and go but this bird keeps flying with delicous drinks and mouth-watering snacks to match...We're talking quality not quanitity'

Herald Sun, sunday magazine, 2003, Sally Fisher,'The crowd and atmosphere morphs from young corporates during the day to alternative at night and Hairy Canary is one of those rare birds that can be lots of things to many people.It's a narrow strip of a joint with a fab wood-fired pizza oven'

The Weekend Australian, 11.12.99, Stephen Downes review "The best things about the Canary are the food and the way it's served. Funky stuff too, with a wide choice of tidbits, wood-fired pizzas, tapas with sherries, vegetarian dishes, a handful of mains and some desserts."

The Age, 11.05.99, John Lethlean review "A refreshing approach to food and wine that is far closer to where most Melburnians are at with their eating out than many traditional restaurants. Score: 15 out of 20."

Virgin Airlines, Melbourne Guide,April/May 2002,' Show just hip you are by taking your mates out for lunch [there]

Liquid-Bar Culture & Beyond, Winter Edition 2003,'Hairy Canary was serving up tapas before most of its loyal crowd had even heard of the bite-sized Spanish indulgence...prides itself as a cultural melting pot, which is reflected on the menu'