One or Two

The Anchovy Toast is a cocktail. Monkey Shoulder scotch, XO sauce, chilli and sourdough, in a chilled tumbler, with a crostini of anchovy mousse balanced on top. Melbourne's breakfast, in a glass, in Chinatown.

Why go

Andy Chu spent eleven years behind The Everleigh, Above Board, Black Pearl and Byrdi before opening this on Celestial Avenue in 2023. It is his first place, it holds about two dozen people, and his framing of the whole thing is drinking less and drinking better. The back bar carries fifty small-batch whiskies across Japan, Scotland, Ireland, Australia and Hong Kong, where he is from, poured as flights or as highballs. The cocktail list is where the movement is. Four sections: All Time holds the margarita, martini and old fashioned and never changes, while Original, Reimagination and Guest Bar rotate every few months. Guest Bar takes recipes from bars elsewhere in the world, most recently Night Hawk in Singapore, and rebuilds them on Australian ingredients.

Order this / avoid

• Order: the Anchovy Toast. A whisky flight if you want to see what the back bar is actually for. Whatever the Guest Bar is pouring. Emily Morrison on the Slipper Transistor, on peanut butter and cassis: "It could have been a garish dessert cocktail in less capable hands, but this execution is pure sophistication" ref.
• Avoid: turning up mob-handed. There are 24 to 26 seats. Closed Sunday and Monday.

What locals & experts say

• Emily Morrison, Time Out Melbourne, five stars (2024): "Every cocktail is playful and intriguing, ostensibly designed with childhood whimsy, but the flavours pack a genuine, adult punch... Only those with a proper understanding of their craft could master this balancing act with such success." ref
• Broadsheet Melbourne on the intent: this is Chu's first independent venture and "it's all about drinking less and drinking better." ref
• Not at the Bar Awards. One or Two appears in no category of the 25th Australian Bar Awards finalist list published in July 2026, which is a quieter signal than the five stars on its own, and worth knowing.

Good to know

• Where: 18 Celestial Avenue, a cobbled lane in Chinatown. Plain black door.
• Timing: Tuesday to Saturday, 4pm to 1am, as at the 2024 review.
• Booking: walk in.
• Pair it: Supper Inn is across the alley, which makes this a first-drinks room rather than a last-drinks one.
• Safety: Victoria publishes no per-venue hygiene rating. Safe Food Victoria's register of court convictions under the Food Act 1984 was read in full on 1 August 2026 and does not list this venue. ref

Jeff's take (his words)

• Note: none. Melbourne has no saved-places export in the repo, so nothing here can be traced to Jeff's own words.

Verdict (Chef Jeff ladder)

should-visit — Andy Chu spent eleven years behind The Everleigh, Above Board, Black Pearl and Byrdi before opening this, twenty-odd seats down Celestial Avenue in Chinatown, and his stated brief is drinking less and drinking better. The back bar is fifty small-batch whiskies across Japan, Scotland, Ireland, Australia and Hong Kong, poured as flights or highballs. The cocktail list is built to move: the classics stay put and three other sections turn over every few months, including a Guest Bar that takes recipes from bars overseas and rebuilds them on Australian ingredients. The drink to order is the Anchovy Toast, which is scotch with XO sauce, chilli and sourdough, served with an actual piece of anchovy toast on the glass. Emily Morrison gave it five stars in 2024 and named the reason: playful drinks that land like adult ones. Supper Inn is across the alley, so this is where the evening starts.