The Woods of Windsor

This place is a bit fancier than my usual taste, and its in a place like this that I pretend to be a real grown up. I tried a couple of different boutique beers and had a good long chat with an amazing friend and the laid back nature of this venue accommodated us nicely.

Came back to hangout longer and have dinner. And yup, I’m still a fan. Great place.
We sat by the window and ordered drinks all night, and food: oysters, mushroom balls, ribs, sliders, and a salmon salad.
Everything was really yummy, and the drinks were good, and the staff very attentive and friendly. I like this place a lot.
Only thing is, it can get expensive quick when ordering drinks/​food over extended time. But I’m a fan now and would certainly come back here again. :)

It’s been a while since I had visited. I recall Woods of Windsor being more expensive… But tonight we all had 2 – 3 glasses of lovely wine, food, cheese and with a 20% tip it came to $ 75 a head. Not bad
But not great. The food portions tend to be on the small side. Although excellent flavors and well put together dishes. I’m not a fan of truffle but the arancini with truffle is delish– perfectly balanced so the truffle is not overpowering as I often find it. The sliders are pretty good, again with well balanced flavours (the mushroom option is super good) but perhaps just a couple of dollars more than you’d pay for the same quality elsewhere.
Skip the fried chicken. Most other places on chapel do it better and it won’t set you back $ 14.
Cheese is always excellent and these guys do a great cheese platter. Yum yum and good value too.
Woods of Windsor is a fantastic date restaurant and was great for us too, a few girlfriends catching up.
But it’s not the best value in the area for this standard of food and service — that title goes to Carlisle Wine Bar.
All in all, a very pleasant evening in a decadent setting and great for winter time.

I love the old style charm that Woods has to offer, this place is certainly a change from the normal venues down Chapel street.
The staff are extremely friendly and accommodating.
The insignia menus which inform you of their cocktails.
A great intimate place to sit, chat over some amazing cocktails and exquisite surroundings.
Oh, the bathrooms are very fancy indeed.

Having wanted to come to the Woods for a long time, a birthday treat for a friend presented me with the perfect occasion to visit.
The room has so much going on, but not in an obtrusive way. I love the little touches that made me feel like I was in a bar in Western Europe — ‘water closet’ printed across the glass door leading to the bathrooms, the dark wood panelling, the accents of the waiters.
We went with the chefs menu, which was a great way to sample the menu. Excellent olives and house made bread, generous serve of serrano, the cured trout was a standout with dehydrated fish adding a chewy, salty tang to the sweetness of the beetroot, crème fraiche and quinoa on the plate. Moreish. The braised brisket was a little sweet for my taste and the mushrooms could have done with a touch more seasoning. Lemony donut to finish was just enough to finish the meal.
Excellent wine list at a great price, especially the selection of wines by the glass all at around $ 8 – 11.
Loved it, will definitely go back — I can see myself quite happily whiling away an afternoon with a cocktail and a great book during the winter months.

I love this place.
Great selection of drinks, delicious food that is perfect to share and a great atmosphere that manages to be somewhat classy without the price tag to go along with it.
Staff are friendly and always happy to check up on you without being intrusive. Full table service offered.
Given its popularity I would suggest booking a table, particularly on a Friday and Saturday night, even if you only plan on having drinks. It fills up fast and isn’t the sort of place where you stand around to drink.

I’m calling it — this place would have to be my fave Windsor bar. And I have been to *a lot* of them…
Visualise dark interior, quirky stuffed animals adorning the wall, slick professional staff, an impressive drinks list and lots of delicious shared plates for all to feast upon.
Recommend the cheddar and chive hush puppy (deep fried ball of awesome), kipfler potatoes, olives, mushrooms and pork ribs. YUM!
This has become a bit of a fave place for a group of us to come along, plonk ourselves on the bar stools and talk/​drink/​eat for hours on end.
Recommend you do the same.

The Woods of Windsor definitely serves up some good food and cocktails that have made me come back again.
Try the duck pâté starter followed by the lamb. The cocktails are a feature of this place as well. Te pork and the beef were a little disappointing.
The service here was attentive and personal. Top notch.

Quirky taxidermy-​filled cocktail bar Woods of Windsor offers warm and professional service in a fun setting. Bringing a bit of charm to the area that you would normally find in the North side of town.
The atmosphere was calm and friendly. Great place to cool your heels if you want to linger over a drink.

The Woods of Windsor was my birthday treat to myself (though I dragged a friend along to keep me company). I came here for the cocktails, but I left thinking about the food. I woke up the next morning thinking about the food. Weeks later, I’m craving the food.
The cocktail list was elegant, and though I’d never heard of a Patricia (despite it being listed as a classic), it was fresh and delicious and I’d like a recipe, please. Gin, lemon juice, rose water and Laurent Perrier made for a really simple but lush drink.
I’d done a pre-​visit online snoop around the food menu but it wasn’t until we were in the dark and decadent belly of the Woods that I settled on the Chef’s Menu – a four course degustation of whatever the head chef saw fit to serve that night (all from the menu, but this was definitely the best way to not have to choose for myself). My friend is a vegetarian, and the chef didn’t hesitate in offering a vegetarian alternative for any of the meat courses.
Everything was absolutely delicious, but the one course that’s really stuck with me is the spanner crab starter. It was out of this world. It’s possible the other courses didn’t stick with me because we also decided to do the matched wines, and they were fairly generous servings. My friend wasn’t really in the mood for wine but he went with it anyway because I can’t resist a matched wine list, but after trying the first glass his initial feelings had completely dissipated. The wines were perfect.
It’s also important to note that every gent who works here (no ladies on the night we dined) is absolutely lovely and easy on the eye. The setting is gorgeous and the soundtrack matches the setting perfectly. I only wish I was wearing a drop-​waisted dress and a cloche hat.

I had been wanting to go here for some time to eat after popping in for a drink when the Woods first open.
As you walk into this venue you know your not walking into a typical Chapel St restaurant; you are greeted by warm friendly professional staff;then as you look around you you notice strange stuffed animals, rich color, mood lighting.
There is a great little bar area at the front of the building and dining area towards the back. We started in bar for a round of Aperol spritz and then some Champagne as you can’t have a night with out Champagne. Just saying!
Now as we wanted to have a show case of what Nick can do, we asked if he could choose our causes. All we had to do was let them know dietaries. Uncured pork, wheat & eggplant.
As I was the person with all these I got special dishes and house made crisps instead of bread. trust me this was the best thing ever.
I would have t say that the one dish that stood out for me was the crab, radish and pressed watermelon that had shaved foie gras it was amazing…
If you have never had the chance to go then it is a must.
Not convinced then you should see the cheese board…

Tucked neatly away in the favourable end of chapel street; the woods of Windsor
seeks to serve as your missing and quite possibly favourite old style, old world
cocktail bar. None of the show-​pony pretension or show ponery that absolutely
reeks of Hoo Har bar here.
This is slower paced, more attention to detail, and definitely belongs down this end
of the street. Well on this side of the river at least. As hark, over the other side, holds some stiff competition. Regardless, the woods still maintains its edge as a fine destination. The cocktail list is very much of the apéritif and unami style, that’s savoury to most of you. I Tried 3 cocktails; The reverend William Moss, clover club,
and another, the name of which escapes me. But old world style.
There are some sweet drinks contained within, but it mainly sticks to the older
style of classic and established cocktails. It’s sort of the bar that one would expect
to find in high end London. This being Melbourne, it’s also the sort of bar you’d
expect to find here. Hopefully it’s a long standing venture, and not just a quick love
affair phase, at which point, everything is over

Walking into Woods of Windsor is like walking into a beautifully curated magazine, say Kinfolk Magazine for example. There’s the ridiculously beautifully trimmed beards of the bartenders, a 1920s pre-​prohibition feel and don’t get me started on the taxidermy animals loitering amongst the bottles behind the bar!
I ordered an Eastside (Like a Southside but with cucumber) and when you’ve got less than 15mins to order, drink and go before your dinner reservation you thank the cocktail gods it is an easy drink. That said, should you have more time up your sleeves its easy drinkability may not work in your favour as it may result in drinking multiples in quick succession

Wind back your clocks 70 years and step on in to The Woods Of Windsor for dinner or drinks at the bar, under the watchful gaze of a the mythical stuffed Jackalope on the wall.
This place is delightful — from the beautiful monogramed menus, the classic tunes, crystal glasses — down to the resplendent bathrooms that are fitted out with trinkets, photos and a box of toiletries if you need to touch up your hair or make yourself smell pretty.
I only had time to sample drinks — a Negroni and Southside that were finely made but head plenty of time to take in the scenery and appreciate the effort that has gone in to make this an experience of a bygone era at every level. Next time I will be back for the eats as the cheeses landing on the tables behind me looked incredible.