Kirbie opened on Clarendon Street from restaurateur Kirbie Tate, who has spent close to a decade in the same South Melbourne space, previously running the cafés Wynyard and Giddiup and, most recently, the Korean-Japanese wine bar James. With Kirbie, Tate set out to recreate the kind of all-day European café she encountered while living and working in London, somewhere that shifts naturally from a coffee-and-pastry morning through to a wine-and-snacks evening without changing character. The 40-seat venue is intimate by design, with a handful of tables inside, a small courtyard for sitting, and a connecting laneway where guests are encouraged to stand and snack. The food leans towards low-fuss, high-quality comfort dishes: pan con tomate with anchovies and manchego, crudités with whole-braised beetroot and labneh, meatballs in a rich sugo, and mussels with fennel and Pernod. The wine list mostly champions French and Italian varietals, and the venue operates as BYO alongside its own bottle list. Kirbie caters for dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan diets, and the space is available for private functions and wine tastings outside regular service. Open every day except Sunday evenings and Mondays, it's positioned as a flexible neighbourhood spot suited to everything from a solo lunch to a date night or drinks with friends.