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Gertrude’s Greats

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Gertrude’s Greats

Gertrude Street is one of Northside’s most-loved pavement strips, all leaf-clad and dressed up in dreamy retail fronts, spilling watering holes and streetside dining. (Something good to come from pandemic restrictions).

From the eclectic fashion forces at play to the wine lists, the feeling of culture is potent on this trail. Whether you’re a Southsider looking to branch out, or a newcomer to the radius, here are some of Harrolds’ favourite Gertrude Street institutions.

Gertrude Street has something for every mood and mode of leisure

Marion

A cool neighbourhood wine bar can do no wrong. Marion brings all the characteristics of one in spades. Expect delicious drops, street-lining tables, warm wait-staff, flexi share plates and otherworldly burrata. It’s the kind of place you can knock off for a quick sip or linger for a bottle.

Good Times Pilates

This Good Times Pilates studio is built on community and chilled-out movement. Founder (and local) Cat Webb is all about welcoming and non-discriminatory Pilates, inclusive of every body regardless of age, gender, ability and so on. Sessions are reformer-based and the space is a light-filled, warm embrace, filled with slick Good Times merch, good smells, fun artwork and great humans.

@goodtimespilates

Morning Market

Freshly fluffed breads, rainbow-reminiscent flower buckets and hot coffee: it’s what makes Morning Market go ‘round. This dual location (also in Prahran) bakery-café hybrid has charm and exquisite produce to blame for its sheer irresistibility. A must-stop for lazy Sunday mornings or quick workday sanga al fresco.

Poodle

From the branding to the finishes to the feeling that you’re not in Melbourne anymore, Poodle has something special going on. Glamorous Victorian facades give way to dim-lit, dramatic interiors. You’ll feel time-warped by its retro (but regal) fitout and fall fast for small European delicacies. They’re even hosting some bottomless brunches in the very near future, so you can sink a few Wet Poodles (code for martinis) in your Harrolds Sunday Best.

@poodlefitzroy

Takeawei Ceramics Mural

Australian Abstract Artist, Rowena Martinich’s most recent work to date is a sunny new retail space on Gertrude Street in Fitzroy, dubbed Takeawei Ceramics. The apartment above offers Gertrude Street accommodation (where you’ll also find Rowena’s artworks on display in each room). Creating vast, dynamic explorations of colour is Rowena’s forte, while Takeawei itself houses handmade Australian ceramics, dazzling in quirk and functionality.

Hungry, thirsty, spendthrifty or just ready for a stretch, Gertrude Street has something for every mood and mode of leisure. Next step is a lengthy scroll of @peopleofgertrudestreet to meet the faces you’ll be passing on your next lap of this lauded Northside mile.

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