McConnell goes up a level Cumulus Up is more of a food bar with wine than vice versa. CUMULUS Up is a European-style wine bar, upstairs from Melbourne institution Cumulus Inc, Flinders Lane, with food from the boss, chef/director Andrew McConnell. The reality? Actually, it's more like a food bar with wine. The menu extends well beyond nibbles and the food is excellent, but there are only five whites and five reds by the glass. Interestingly, on the night of our visit the place was half empty at drinkies hour, but full to the gunwales by dinnertime. The cuisine? Magic abounds on a menu that runs from kale fritters and fried snails to grilled quail with walnut cream and rib fillet. Staff are into the art of matching wine to food. A bite of the duck waffle with foie gras and prunes, then a sip of the Giuseppe Cortese Langhe 2010 nebbiolo ($85) and you're planning your next visit. Highlights? The wine service: seemingly everyone you talk to here can speak fluent Wine. The space: civilised, urbane, cleverly lowlit. Lowlights? Some wine mark-ups are anxiety-inducing: there's a reason nearby wine bars are busier. And I would have liked to have known in advance that my "corned wagyu silverside" would be served cold and like a deli meat. Will I need a food dictionary? Not unless you expect large black ham to be a reference to colour. The damage? Okay, if all you're after is a glass and a nibble. cumulusinc.com.au