For the past two years, Carlton North’s Sleepy’s has been quietly building a culture around food, coffee and wine along the Nicholson Street strip. It’s headed up by hospo constant Steve Chan, who’s delicately lined the space with a mix of his Chinese heritage and deep-seated understanding of vino, coffee and a decent meal—what’s resulted is a day-and-night hybrid drenched in community spirit.
Bucking the trend of the Euro-leaning wine bar, Steve considers Sleepy’s “a yummy wine bar” before anything else. On pour, you’ll find everything from local pet nats to more traditional varietals coming from far and wide, some sourced via his connections in the wine game and others at a local level.
“[Some wine] comes from the regulars. We've had a couple of locals walk past and be like ‘hey I've actually started making wine, do you want to buy our wine?’ Then, a good friend has a chilled brand called Six Eyed Scorpion here. There are so many cool cats doing good things in the industry,” said Steve.
Like the wine, Steve focuses on a menu with good times in mind, while not forgetting to pair it up with that considered list of plonk, too. There’s a punchy, Chinese riff on spaghetti and meatballs, using his grandma’s Lion’s Head meatball recipe for the protein while subbing out the spaghetti for springy Hokkien noodles; an umami-laden spin on cacio e pepe also makes a bold appearance alongside a playful iteration of anchovies on toast youtiao, a fried bread or Chinese doughnut that often complements a bowl congee.
“Our culture pairs nicely on an Italian platform, so unknowingly a lot of our bigger dishes are outtakes on pastas. Along with our spaghetti bolognese riff, now we've got a risotto riff which is dope, and a spin on gnocchi, too."
And in the AM? Next to a cracking coffee and those mi goreng toasties that have become almost famous along Nicholson Street, a comprehensive congee offering is up for grabs, too. Take your pick from three bases—ginger, mushroom or chicken—then go ham on up to 10 different toppings. It’s a contemporary spin on Chinese cuisine, and Steve attributes his take on the dishes he grew up with to learnings from peers as well as his folks’.
“Mum's from Shanghai, Dad's from Guangzhou down south. For a while, I didn't realise, but I'm hella privileged to have most of China's food at my fingertips.
“I didn't realise, even if you're Chinese that most of the time you have a skew through the food landscape, like it's either one or the other. So I’m very lucky in that way.”
And while this understanding of Chinese cuisine is extensive, what’s on the plate in front of you isn’t the only area where this Steve puts in work. For Sleepy’s, community plays just as big of a part in their ethos, where on any given week you’ll find guest chefs taking over the kitchen—including ex-Glou and Bar Etta’s Yolanda Whelan leading an all-vegan three-course feed—along with other experts in their field joining Steve in the kitchen over the coming months.
Two years in, Sleepy’s has carved out its place in Melbourne’s hospitality hood, without having to label itself as a cafe or a wine bar exclusively. Rather, it’s a space where people can enjoy all of the above around a like-minded community.
“The easy part for me, and I want to stress my team here, too, is that I want to make hospitality sustainable and enjoyable. So just come in and be who you are and hopefully, people will like that, and I’m just glad that people have done that.”
Find Sleepy’s at 787 Nicholson St, Carlton North. They’re open for coffee and breakfast seven days a week, or drop in for their evening service Wednesday through Saturday.
For more of Melbourne’s food and drink scene, head this way.
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis