The Toff in Town

The Toff in Town is a Melbourne live venue listed for up to 300 standing patrons on level two of Curtin House. Its defining feature is a split personality: a compact band room sits beside a bar built around railway-carriage booths with sliding doors. A show here can feel stage-focused on one side and lounge-like on the other, with both experiences contained within the same late-night floor.

A second-floor arrival

In 2000, investor Tim Peach and partners bought the worn six-storey Curtin House and began restoring it for creative tenants, food and entertainment. The Toff opened on its second floor in 2007, co-owned by Camillo Ippoliti, whose Cookie restaurant already operated one level below. Its launch made the building’s reuse concrete in a purpose-built late-night music room: brass, leather and marble sat alongside secret doors, a cabaret-style performance area and private rail-carriage booths. Architect Phillip Schemnitz linked the look to the illicit atmosphere of nineteenth-century Swanston Street, then associated with red-light and gambling precincts. The technical side carried equal ambition. A 2011 AudioTechnology report documented paired Soundtracs/Digico desks, a dedicated mix room two floors above and a Nexo Geo S-8 line array with CD12 subs, giving the venue an in-house setup designed to record performances as well as present them.

The room on a show night

Programming keeps both halves active: the performance space hosts bands and DJs, while the carriage side also takes DJ sets. Late-night Tuesday jazz is a recurring free fixture, and the current calendar ranges across electronic, indie, pop, R&B, rock and Latin-leaning nights. Expect a close floor at the stage, red curtains around the band room and a cocktail bar beside it for a pre-show booth or post-set reset. A rear outdoor area and front balcony provide breathing room between sets.