In all seriousness, is there anything better than roast chicken? That most glorious combination of succulence and crunch (helped along with a good whack of butter, of course) that defines good roast chook is why it features so highly on ‘last meal ever’ lists. And the roast chicken at Belleville, a rollicking good-time space in Chinatown, is pretty heavenly indeed.

Free-range, organic chicken is first brined for 12 hours before going onto the rotisserie where it’s glazed in miso butter until it’s gloriously golden, tanned to a crisp. With the miso adding MSG-free moreishness, you almost don’t need to choose a sauce to go with, though the ‘medium’ coriander, ginger and chilli adds a good lick of Asian accents, while the ‘hot as F#@K’ adds layers of chilli flavour atop a punch of heat. With some best-in-class beer battered fries with chicken salt and and a bright kimichi and apple slaw you have a meal that’s memorable for all the right reasons.

There’s a good range of mixed-race snacks to start; five-spice duck and Chinese sausage potstickers and yakitori meatballs; juicy pulled pork betel leaf and a kimchi quesadilla ($9.50) – all of which makes more sense the later it gets at night.

A dozen beers on tap are joined by a Vic/Tas wine list with a good showing of smaller producers, while cocktails are shaken and stirred in a dedicated bar off the large main room. A DJ preaches from the pulpit later in the week, while young city suits hit for humpday lunches.

From the same brains behind the Section 8 container bar around the corner, Belleville shows the same smarts of good booze, beats and eats – plus the addition of that best-ever roast chook.

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