Sasha Murray

Broadsheet • 9th May 2024

Masses Bagels Just Might Be Melbourne’s Most Popular Market Stall Right Now

Carlton Farmers Market regulars are already well acquainted with Masses Bagels. It’s hard to miss the stall thanks to a constant line of customers eager to get their hands on bagels, tartines and bialys before they sell out. And they always sell out. Founders Jack Muir-Rigby and Carmen Newton had what Muir-Rigby describes to Broadsheet as a “life-changing” bagel when the pair were living in Japan. They returned to Australia in 2019 and started making bagels together for fun while Muir-Rigby was

Broadsheet • 3rd April 2024

First Look: Spanish Cold-Cuts and Anchovies Rule at New Collingwood Sandwich Shop The Continental

It’s been three years since Chris Wright, Miles Brooks and Jonathan Reisacher opened their ’70s-inspired Collingwood wine bar, Gum. The trio was waiting for the right time to open a Mediterranean-leaning food venue, and when the Turkish restaurant next door – once a popular taxi driver hangout – became available, everything fell into place. The Continental joins an ever-expanding wave of sandwich delis around Melbourne, but here Spanish ingredients are the focus. “We’re huge fans of the Mediterr

Broadsheet • 8th March 2024

How London-Based Producer Fred Again Took Over Our Lives for a Week With His Surprise Australian Tour

Not many musicians could announce, sell out and perform a Sydney Opera House show in less than 24 hours. But that’s the magic of London-based producer Fred Again (aka Fred Gibson). For some, it might seem like he is only just stepping into the spotlight. His resume says otherwise: Grammy awards; a headlining gig to close out Coachella; writing and producing credits for big names like Ed Sheeran and Stormzy; and frequent collaborations with friends Skrillex and Four Tet. Fred started his career i

Broadsheet • 14th February 2024

Skip Dinner and Drinks and Head to Melbourne’s Best Outdoor Date Spots This Summer

Summer is all about fun and spontaneity, and your dates should be no different. For those of us on dating apps like Bumble, first date suggestions usually involve drinks, dinner or coffee – often inside, in the comfort of aircon and flattering lighting. These dates are classics for a reason: short enough if you don’t hit it off straight away but just long enough to get a feel for the other person. But if you’re looking to change it up and date differently this summer, a playful outdoor activity

Broadsheet • 19th January 2024

Nine To Try: Melbourne’s Best Specialty Iced Coffees To Keep You Cool This Summer

If you’re as passionate about iced coffee as Ben Affleck is, our city’s coffee shops have you covered. Affleck – a Boston boy if there ever was one – has a particularly strong affinity for Massachusetts coffee chain Dunkin’, formerly known as Dunkin Donuts. But here in Melbourne, of course, it’s the specialty coffee shops and cafes that make the best (and most creative) iced brews. In recent years, Melbourne coffee makers have been getting inventive, turning out more than just iced long blacks a

Broadsheet • 18th January 2024

Road Test: All the Facial Sunscreens Worth Stocking Up on This Summer (and How To Save $20 on Your Order)

Finding the right facial sunscreen is hard work. You can get away with a cheap supermarket bottle of body sunscreen as long as it’s labeled SPF50+. But there’s more to factor in when you’re buying a product for your face. If you have sensitive skin like me, the wrong sunscreen could cause you to break out. If it’s for everyday wear and on-the-go use, it needs to be small enough to fit into your bag. And some of the best have a hefty price tag to match. To save you the work, I spent the summer br

Broadsheet • 4th January 2024

12 To Book: Epic Dance Parties and Day Festivals in Melbourne This Summer

Melbourne label Butter Sessions is throwing its first party of the year at Northcote club 24 Moons. Miami DJ duo INVT will play an exclusive Melbourne set, while Gunna/Kurnai, Gunditjmara, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta DJ Naycab will go back-to-back with Gunai/Kurnai and Yorta Yorta DJ and producer dj pgz. Label heads Sleep D will close out the night with their last Aussie DJ set for the summer.

To help you navigate where to boogie this summer, we’ve rounded up some of the best ones to add to your

Broadsheet • 12th December 2023

Dance, Fuel, Repeat: All the Top Melbourne Eateries Cooking at New Year’s Day Festival Sun Cycle

Melbourne is always ahead of the curve when it comes to New Year’s Day festivals, and Sun Cycle is always a favourite. The dance-fuelled music and arts festival is returning to the sunny Coburg Velodrome on January 1, 2024, featuring sets by local and international acts across three vibrantly designed stages. Sun Cycle is, of course, best known for its music (this year’s headliners include Welsh electronic duo Overmono, psychedelic-jazz band Mildlife and Danish singer-songwriter Erika de Casier,

Broadsheet • 11th December 2023

First Look: Restaurant-Favourite Micro-Bakery Akimbo Bread Finally Opens a Retail Store in Northcote

The name Akimbo might ring a bell. What started as a lockdown hustle for Sunda-trained chef-owner Lindsay Oates blew up fast. He’s gone from selling slow-fermented country loaves, hot cross buns and fougasse on Instagram to supplying some of Melbourne’s top restaurants and bars – including Aru, Bar Bellamy and Sunhands. Now he’s scaled up again, opening a bricks-and-mortar retail space on Victoria Road in Northcote, along with business partner and friend Louis McCoy. At the new Akimbo Bread, eve

Broadsheet • 5th December 2023

Melbourne DJ and Producer Moktar on His Upcoming Set At Sun Cycle NYD and Celebrating His Egyptian Heritage Through Music

In the less than three years since Moktar released his first EP, the Egyptian-Australian DJ and producer has established himself as one of the best in the techno and club music scene, both locally and abroad. Moktar grew up in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire surrounded by music (his father is a conductor and Arabic and folk music composer) and started DJing in high school. He took an extended break from DJing to pursue live music and production, performing as half of electronic duo Pholographia for mu

Broadsheet • 17th November 2023

Now Open: Two Chefs with Michelin-Star Cred Bring Inner-City Wine Bar Vibes to Warragul With Messmates Dining

“I can’t believe we’re in Warragul.” That’s been the reaction of many visiting Messmates Dining, a new restaurant in Gippsland that feels more like a London wine bar than your typical Victorian destination diner. Messmates is a family affair, owned by siblings Chris and Jodie Odrowaz, and their respective partners Jess Odrowaz and Michael Clarke. “It was perfect timing” Jess tells Broadsheet. Last year she and Chris (ex-Square and Compass, Mammoth Cafe) closed the Warragul cafe Main Street, whic

Broadsheet • 3rd November 2023

How To Create a Calming Day Spa at Home, According To Pamper-Loving Content Creator and Model Cheryl Law

For many of us, a good facial or massage is the ideal way to unwind. That’s the case for Cheryl Law, a lifestyle influencer and model who has done “pretty much every skin treatment under the sun”, from non-surgical facelifts to LED treatments. But for Law, setting up a day spa at home can be just as relaxing.

“It’s a whole lot more convenient,” says Law. “It’s the same mentality as the gym: it has to be accessible, or you’ll just say, ‘I’ll do it later.’” Law says a DIY spa day is a great way

Broadsheet • 25th October 2023

Now Open: A Jet-Black New Studio in Collingwood From Functional Fitness Group Revl

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intimidated at my first class at Revl. Hot Pilates and yoga have been my thing for years and, when I do head to the gym, you’ll rarely find me lifting weights heavier than five kilograms. Looking around the jet-black studio – filled with fit regulars, squat racks and unfamiliar machines – I felt out of my depth. Co-founded by Ben Woolford and Josh Mildren, Revl is a group of functional fitness studios offering personal training techniques in a supercharged group s

Broadsheet • 11th October 2023

Rising Stars Performing at The Powerhouse, a Huge Boat Party and Surprise Performances: An Insider’s Guide to SXSW Sydney’s Music Program

Held in Austin, Texas for the past 37 years, South by Southwest (SXSW) is the world’s largest culture and technology conference. This month, it’s coming to Sydney with a packed calendar of events spanning the arts, screen, technology, games, AI, robotics and, of course, music. SXSW Sydney’s music program is being led by Claire Collins, who oversees both the music portion of the conference (four days of panels, talks and workshops across all the aforementioned categories) and the music festival (

Broadsheet • 10th October 2023

Brekkie Bowls and Tuna Sangas to Steak Frites and Wine Bars: A Local Boutique Owner’s Dining Guide to Armadale’s High Street

High Street Armadale is known for its shops, but it’s also home to some of Melbourne’s favourite cafes, wine bars, takeaway sandwich shops and everything in between. Just ask Ilana Moses, the woman behind luxury fashion boutique Grace, located in the heart of the strip. Moses, a lawyer-turned-retailer, first opened Grace 16 years ago. She wanted to bring top fashion labels – such as Alexander Wang and Proenza Schouler “and these incredible brands that weren’t represented here” – from Paris, New

Broadsheet • 3rd October 2023

Japanese-Scandi Cafes, Cult Banh Mi and a Micro Mezcal Bar: What To Eat, Drink and Do If You’re Visiting Sydney for SXSW

From October 15 to 22, Sydney will host some of the world’s most visionary thinkers for the inaugural Asia-Pacific instalment of South by Southwest (SXSW). It’s the first time the groundbreaking festival and conference has ever been held outside of the USA, let alone its home in Austin, Texas. The line-up is nothing short of impressive, with headline speakers including music artist Chance the Rapper; Charlie Brooker, the creator of dystopian series Black Mirror; Coachella co-founder and CEO Paul

Broadsheet • 28th September 2023

From Lavish Manhattan Skyscrapers to Melbourne Boutiques: How Tali Roth Moved Her New York Interior Design Studio Home to Melbourne

Tali Roth is in the business of imagination. “I really, truly, love any form of creativity,” says the Melbourne-based interior designer, who recently returned from living in New York. “I get lost in that dream world when I’m bringing something together.” Following her creative instincts has been key to Roth forging a successful career in high-end interior design. Known for her distinctly warm style that couches touches of ’60s and ’70s flair (Roth jokes her work is “based around a party mood,”)

Broadsheet • 19th September 2023

Josh Niland Reckons We Should Be Rethinking the Idea of “Fresh” When It Comes to Fish. Here’s Why.

There are pioneering chefs, and then there is Josh Niland. Niland is credited with driving the “fin to scale” – or “scale to tail” – movement, which is focused on using the whole fish and not just fillets. Niland and wife Julie Niland run four acclaimed seafood venues in Sydney: the fine diner that started it all, Paddington’s Saint Peter; fishmonger The Fish Butchery; elevated fish‘n’chipper Charcoal Fish; and Petermen, the à la carte restaurant where Niland’s “fin-to-scale” mission remains but

Broadsheet • 14th September 2023

Eleven To Try: Melbourne’s Best Restaurant Bread and Butters

It’s not just the bread receiving the royal treatment, but also the butter. Remember those tiny, hard yellow discs served on equally small silver trays? They’ve been replaced with expertly cultured churns and towers of whipped butter. If it’s not butter, it’s infused olive oil, soft cheese, or even sweet spreads.

Yes, you can still find old-school bread baskets around town, but most restaurants have elevated their bread from humble appetiser to a leading role. Now, diners begin their meals by d

Broadsheet • 14th August 2023

Inside Saint Haven, Collingwood’s Luxe Private Wellness Club Inspired by Soho House

Inspired by the exclusive international members-only hotel Soho House, Collingwood’s Saint Haven is a private wellness club where a select few can work out, recover, relax, eat and socialise. As you’d expect from the hefty membership fees (ranging from $130 to $1000 per week), it’s off-the-charts luxurious and arguably Melbourne’s most exclusive gym. Opened by property developer Tim Gurner in April 2023, its 500 members wear high-tech Oura smart rings to track sleep, activity and recovery levels

Broadsheet • 7th August 2023

Now Open: Bar Magnolia Is a Casual Neighbourhood Wine Bar Serving Classic French Bistro Fare on Sydney Road

Wine bar and casual fine diner Bar Magnolia was conceived in a setting many know well – after-work drinks. Winemaker Lawrence Scanlon and chef Mia Coady-Plumb, who met while working at Brunswick’s now-closed all-day diner Theodore’s, were at knock-offs when they discovered they’d make a great pairing for a venue. “In hospitality … once you have a few drinks, you start talking about restaurants, food and wine – complaining about everything and talking about your ideal thing you want to open,” Sca

Broadsheet • 26th July 2023

From Silver Service to Sandwiches: Barry Susanto on Leaving Fine Dining to Open Richmond Corner Store Warkop (And Why You Feel Like You’ve Heard This Story Before)

No one in Melbourne does sandwiches quite like Barry Susanto, the owner and chef behind Indonesian sandwich shop Warkop. Susanto first moved to Melbourne from Jakarta – his hometown in Indonesia – almost 13 years ago. It was then that he decided to train to become a chef, going on to work at popular restaurants such as Luxbite and now-closed Hellenic Republic. His last post was a three-year sous chef stint at Julian Hills’ Yarraville fine diner Navi. “[The Navi team] have become more like a fami

Broadsheet • 17th July 2023

Sammich Up: 7 Italian Deli-Style Sandwiches To Eat Around Australia

But you don’t have to deal with that slice of day-to-day stress or travel all the way to the windy streets of Chicago to try a sandwich like Carmy’s. From old-school delis where family recipes have been passed down through generations, to a slew of shiny new sandwich shops doing things a little differently, here are some of Australia’s best deli-style sandwich shops – including a few that have taken on the challenge of re-creating Chicago’s iconic beef sandwich.

These are the kinds of sandwiche

Broadsheet • 11th July 2023

Hector’s Deli Is Making Chicago-Inspired Beef Sandwiches for One Weekend Only

Hector’s Deli chef and owner Dom Wilton appears to have a lot in common with Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, the lead character in the hit comedy-drama series The Bear. If you’re not familiar with the show, it follows award-winning young chef Carmy (played by Jeremy Allen White), who leaves the high-pressure world of fine dining in New York City to take over his family’s chaotic Italian beef sandwich shop in Chicago. The Bear’s highly anticipated second season – which premieres in Australia on Disney+