Halford brings a touch of class to the lounge

Halford

Cnr Hay Street & Cathedral Avenue, Perth
halfordbar.com.au

Does the lounge bar really exist any more? The lounge bar was the upscale, more inviting and comfortable room in a pub back in the day, but then the title was affixed to pokie rooms. Not quite as classy, folks. But there is one operator who is bringing back the class to the lounge bar, with the opening of Halford in Perth.

Opened by John Parker, who also owns The Standard in Perth, and sitting in the basement of the old Treasury building, Halford is plush environment with two spaces: the bar, in which there’s high table seating (and heavy, lead window shutters — the room was once the Treasury’s record keeping room and needed to be watertight and secure), and there you can watch the bartenders do their thing. The second room — the lounge proper — has blue velvet lounges, offers table service and provides the kind of space you’re not going to want to leave.

The drinks list here is both appealing to drink, and appealing to look at, with one of the more distinctive menus we’ve seen. Parker had artwork commissioned for each drink on the list, and we think it pays homage to a certain 80s aesthetic — without being kitschy or tacky.

They’ve got a big focus on gin (they’re working with a distillery to produce their own) and you’d be remiss not to order their house Martini, the Halford.

Like the clubs and lounges of the classic cocktailing era, this a drink worthy of house’s name: it’s gin, Lillet Blanc, and an apricot brandy rinse, and it’s delicious.