The newly opened 97-room boutique-style hotel from the Zagame Group has turned the table on how the industry traditionally approaches “Food and Beverage.” Where food generally takes precedence, the hotel has opted to put their best booze foot forward, renaming the entire department to “B&F.”
Zagame’s House, positioned on Carlton’s Lygon Street, conceptualises much of what founding brothers Robert and Victor Zagame appreciate in their own homes and travels; beverages always taking centre stage. Their mission: to ensure that each guest is introduced to a new drink that meets their unique taste.
Where hotels have traditionally developed a beverage to be paired with the food on offer, Zagame’s House’s award-winning chef, Chris Bonello, has curated a menu to complement the exceptional beverage listing, championing the best of local and international drops.
Guests will find locally hand-crafted cocktails on arrival, premium liquor selections stocked in the mini bars, Mansfield Coffee Merchant’s coffee, as well as its very own Wine Shop and Bar, Lord Lygon.
Marcus Radny, B&F Manager of Zagame’s House and Lord Lygon says, “We call it what it is. No, it’s not traditional – it’s simply ‘us.’ Chris has done an amazing job designing a menu that allows us to put the booze first. We love creating that festive vibe, so it was always natural for us to bring beverage to the forefront.” In line with the pedigree of the Zagame’s House staff, Radny is also the producer of his own natural wine label, Gonzo Vino.
Lord Lygon stocks over 300 wines predominately sourced from Victoria’s wine regions, as well as a selection of international hand-picked varietals. The impressive list features the best of local, organic, bio-dynamic, unsulphured wines, free of herbicides and pesticides, all selected by Radny. If you prefer hops over drops, Lord Lygon also features a dynamite curation of beers produced by incredibly creative Victorian brew-masters.
Culled down from an initial gathering of over 1000 wines from all corners of the earth, all selected ranges had very strict criteria to pass, including producers with what Radny calls ‘skin in the game’ – those established farmers of the industry with great respect for the earth. Most of the wines are farmed with organic principles, and some go even further and are made in relation to cosmic energies.
Aside from guests being able to enjoy the diverse selection on site, Lord Lygon Wine Shop is also fully licensed for take away. Through Lord Lygon, locals now have access to an international and exotic selection of bio-dynamic wines, which will become even more accessible with its upcoming e-commerce website offering delivery to homes across Australia.
Zagame’s House and Lord Lygon operate seven days a week, with the bar open to both hotel guests, out-of-town visitors and locals alike.
*Zagame’s House
Recently launched in May 2019 on Lygon Street Carlton, design-driven Zagame’s House is the result of a complete 18-million-dollar transformation of the former hotel operated by the Zagame family for 16 years. The extensive renovations were led by Robert Zagame, Architect Robert Ficarra, Interlandi Mantesso Architects, and interior design team Linda Whitfield, Surround Style and Kas Makohon, Lukas Partners, with many of the furnishings and artworks being sourced and selected from boutique, local suppliers by the Zagame brothers themselves. Distinctive commissioned artworks completed on-site by artists Ryan Foote, Rosie Wood, Lulu Zagame and Karl Gordon spearhead the eclectic aesthetic of the hotel and showcase the creative DNA of its location.
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