Review Smithward - Collingwood

We love this intimate wine bar. Our food was so delicious and paired with a couple of sensational Victorian wines. The lobster croquettes were a highlight as was the friendly and unobtrusive service. Can’t wait to return!

Fabulous ambience and service! The decor is effortlessly chic and the menu is spot on. We loved all the wines and nibbles we sampled-I’m still dreaming about the chicken liver pate. So refreshing to see a menu with all Victorian wines and hear which region they’re from and each of the winemakers.

A little gem! We spent a wonderful time at Smithward. Great selection of wine and amazing food, everything is locally sourced and homemade. The porcini tortellini are SENSATIONAL! (We had to order them twice 🤣)

What a hidden charmer this little wine, cheese and chat bar is. The staff are super-courteous, friendly and knowledgeable, the wine is superb and varied, and the snacks are cleverly paired. Inexpensive and delicious, do yourselves a favour . . .

As always, a lovely experience. Very good wine, tasty food (incl gluten free options), cosy intimate environment and warm, knowledgeable, professional service. I've been several times and it never disappoints.

Lovely and quaint wine bar with amazing selection of Victorian wines. It's small (~7 seats total) so reservations recommended, and almost necessary on weekend nights. All food was spectacular, especially the sourdough bread and raclette!

So happy to have found this beautiful little place. Everything in there is of the absolute highest quality. We tried three different wines - all delightful - and the food was amazing. All delivered with first class service. Can't wait to go back and sample the rest of the menu.

Maybe my favourite small bar in Melbourne. Delicious wines, perfect wine snacks of various sizes that are seasonal and so considered. Graham is an impeccable host. Love it here.

Lofty expectations surpassed. Thank you for a delicious dinner, great wine and beer! And the wine glasses for our house!

Love love love this place. Perfect place for wine and deliciousness.

Great service and staff. Good curated picks of beer and wine.

You should visit if you're in Melbourne, excellent food and wine, great people. I will be there next time I'm in Melbourne!

Utterly delightful. Beautiful simple food, excellent wine and lovely service.

If i lived within cooeee I'd be here every afternoon /evening. Lovely people, great produce, amazing wines, gorgeous space, random tunes, what more could you want?

Great French-inspired wine bar featuring an interesting range of often unusual wines. You must have the fresh sliced charcuterie with house made pickles and sourdough, or the hot and gooey cheesy raclette - both just amazing. And the best part? It's a smaller more intimate bar - quiet and used by more refined locals in the know.

Great little bar

I’ve been a few times now and to be honest o thought I’d already reviewed this place but alas. <br/><br/>The service here is excellent, extremely professional, attentive and unpretentious. Perfect.<br/><br/>The wine list is great, and they have a nice select of wine from the Melbourne region, think Sunbury! Lol<br/><br/>I’ve been to a winery in Sunbury but I’ve never seen their wine in a wine bar until now. So I tried it again and it’s fantastic, full of medium tannins, oak and berries. <br/><br/>Once again my partner and I tried the cheese board w some home made sourdough yes yes yes! Lol<br/><br/>The cheeses were blue, French and I can’t remember the third cheese but there was some honeycomb and some jam? I think it was pear. <br/><br/>But overall this little bar is small, cosy w some outdoor seating when the weather is better. This wine bar is definitely worth a visit! <br/><br/>I forgot to take photos of the wine/drinks but I’ll definitely be back. And this wine bar is almost on the corner of Smith and Gertrude Streets. Enjoy :)

This tiny little wine bar is most notably known for their raclette as well as serving up local Victorian wines. The menu is very slim, between the three of us we managed to order enough to make a meal of it.<br/><br/>We start off with some Spanish white anchovies on a bed of potato crisps. The anchovies had been marinated and was acidic and sour, paired well with the chips and gave off a salt and vinegar flavour profile. The baked mussels were delicious in their tarragon and garlic butter sauce, a little bit of sourdough on the side to mop up what's left.<br/><br/>The chicken liver pate was not as smooth as we'd like but the flavours were more pronounced. The sourdough lavosh was the perfect vehicle to hold the pate, that paired with pickled fennel brought a brightness to the dish. More sourdough (standard) was brought to us to help us finish off the pate.<br/><br/>We could smell something in the distance, surely it was our raclette. Sure enough it soon appeared on our tables, it was a mild cheese but you get the tasty grilled parts paired with some creamy potatoes. I'd love to try their rac'n'mac Thursdays, thinking about it makes me drool.<br/><br/>The owner then introduces us to our cheese/charcuterie board, he definitely knows where he sourced his produce and what particular pairings they go well with. First was the Tunworth Camembert cheese, very creamy and slightly pungent, went well with the sweetness of the honey pickled pear. The pork neck had lovely streaks of fat and I really enjoyed the smokiness of it, paired with some preserved peach. The corn-fed duck salami was paired with some burnt orange, a classic duck and orange combination and was slightly peppery. Of course all the products can stand on their own but the pairings just give it another layer of complexity.<br/><br/>A hidden gem, check out their Instagram for some raclette eye candy. Appreciate all the fine detail that goes into their selections, good for a date night but I'd suggest against large groups.

I loved it here! The gentlemen who explained how they source the wine taught me so much and I tried the 3 reds and they were Devine. I will be back often and recommend people here. It’s really chilled and awesome wine!

Good local wine bar and definitely support it.<br/>Lovely to see them serve Vic regions wine and some particular Victoria high country wine!<br/>Impressive for French style grilled cheese with potato! Some great selections of cheese too.<br/>Can't wait to go back another time! 😄

Good local wine bar! Stopped by for the $15 Wednesday night special that includes a small dish and a glass of wine - both getting the tick of approval. The bar itself is quite small and lends itself to small gatherings rather than big groups.

Small but cosy wine bar that features all Victorian wines and simple bar snacks - perfect for date night or a quiet catch up. The bubbling oozy raclette is an easy choice and the charcuterie platter was a delightful spread. Staff were happy to talk about the local delights they feature. Will have to return to try their weeknight specials!

Another week and another raclette place I've managed to find. This week I tried out Smithward, a very very small wine bar in Smith Street that basically just serves cheese and wine - my favourites. Small, dark and romantic this place exudes date night with a number of specialty dishes on selective days of the week!

Love love love this place. Gorgeous wine, delicious food and amazing raclette that's scraped off hot and bubbling onto potatoes, right in front of you.

Hands down, favourite wine bar in Melbourne. If you're into a cosy wine bar with character you have to come here. On top of the cool vibe the menu (wine and food) is so delicious.

Tucked down the south end of Smith Street in Collingwood you will find Smithward Wine Bar, a little treasure trove created by owners Graham Hill & Georgina Russell to share their passion of wine & food with the people of Melbourne and beyond.  This classically European inspired wine bar offers a stunning range of wines, delicious bar food to match & service that is outstanding.

Awesome food, ambience, local wines to go with the simple food. <br/>Really enjoyed Graham's knowledge of the food and wine. The passion and care for what they choose to serve comes through and you can just relax. Great idea for a date or just a casual hang. It's also small so it's quite cosy.

Great wine and cheese with friendly, professional service.

A firm favourite of Collingwood locals and welcome explorers, Smithward is the brainchild of Graham Hill and his wife Georgina Russell. . Stepping into this venue, the focus is clear - wine. A long wooden bar immediately greets you when you enter dividing the seating area up front, from tables in the rear.

I've been here only a few times but it's the place that's always front of mind when I wanna go for a quiet, cozy drink with my wife. It's got wonderful atmosphere and there is lots of attention paid to the most interesting details. How you do anything, is how you do everything. That's what this place reminds me of. Really friendly service.

Although I've only been here twice, this is an amazing place to go for a drink and have high quality snacks. Whether it is to catch up with friends, date night or even alone, the atmosphere and owners are awesome and intimate. Not only are they super friendly, accomodating but such a focus on service and knowing their products. Its the little things that make this place just such a great local - the smoked almonds that goes so well with my drink, their friendly smiles and the slightly overfilled wines :)

This place is fabulous. Tuck yourself into a corner and, after a couple of wines, you're in Europe. A small selection of cheeses and special bar snacks that are made and served with love. Carefully sourced local wine list with new additions regularly. They also happen to make the best martini in Melbourne. If you want to break the back of a bad mood or get rid of the residue of shit week, this is your place. Only the good stuff lives here.

I love this place! It's small enough to feel intimate even when busy, and the wine and cheese lists are put together with care. Must-see in the neighbourhood.

Great local wine bar. Excellent wine list with great variety. Food is also excellent and the service is very friendly and helpful. Overall, a really good experience.

I was flabbergasted to see a 2.9 rating when I looked! So, I'm going to jump in with a higher rating—as they deserve it. We went there almost three months ago (and were decently drunk), but can say that the Raclette & Potato, the three Charcuteries and wine were superb in terms of produce, preparation and selection. All agreed. It's a unique establishment, with a nice dark, cosy vibe and great offings, without the pretence. When it's this good, you don't need a huge menu. I suspect we'll be back soon :)

It's obvious there's a lot of passion behind this place. A wine list that's small but full of quality Vic wines I've never come across before. The grilled cheese is beyond words. Super friendly and a welcome relief from the rest of Smith Street

Just perfect. Understated little bar with a classic Paris feel. Staff are knowledgable and friendly without being over the top. The wine and food list is a small, thoughtfully curated collection of quality local offerings. The range of seating - larger space & table at the back, view to the street perch at the front, cute tables on Smith, or sit up at the bar for a chat - provides something for everyone. Just perfect.

Perfect for a spot of wine and night cheese. Good wine list, good people, generous cheese portions and delicious, crusty bread. Gets the job done without resorting to being an exhausting fest. <br/>