After a few exhausting days visiting distilleries it was a welcome sight to see this bar and enjoy a few tequilas and a cold beer. Many of you reading this know that La Capilla is now as famous as many of their tequilas having recently been awarded one of the top 100 bars in the world by Drinks International magazine. Mind you, our humble Australian magazine’s similar “best bars list” has also heaped high praise on this world renowned dive bar.
Tag: bars
They say that three is a trend, right? Well then there’s definitely a street—hip hop thing happening in Sydney right now. First there was Black Penny in Surry Hills and then PLAY Bar, both with an emphasis on hip hop and, well, all things urban. Now Redfern is getting in on the act with new bar, Hustle & Flow. Hip hop is the order of the day here, as the owners Tim and Lisette Duhig are promising to represent the four “r’s” — Rap, RNB, Redfern and Respect.
Nearly tens months on since the tragic death of teenager Thomas Kelly in Kings Cross the precinct is still suffering through a drop in trade. Bartender has spoken with a number of owners — some off the record — who have said that trade is down significantly, as high as 60 per cent in some cases. “The four to six month mark immediately after the incident absolutely smashed the traffic coming through Kings Cross, due to all the negative publicity the precinct received,” said Ben Walsh, who’s bar, Goldfish, has had to curtail its business hours and service in the wake of recent legislation introduced to reduce violence in the Cross.
Hey Sydney Bars! Bar Week’s trade events are now all confirmed so it’s time to start looking for amazing consumer-focused drinks events to be included in our timetable.
Have you got a great idea? It could be a drinks dinner, a spirits symposium or a tiki safari night for the punters, whatever it is you’re thinking of we’d love to hear more. We want to get behind the bars that are going to put on the most inventive nights for consumers, but we only have a handful of spots on the calendar. Using a brand or brands from our sponsors line up gets you pushed to the top of the list (full line up announced in June)
We broke the news in our November issue that celebrated Wellington operator, Christian McCabe, was setting up shop in Melbourne. His new venue, The Town Mouse, opened just before Easter in Carlton, on the old Embrasse site. McCabe has teamed up with his sister, Amber McCabe (Longrain) and Jay Comesky of Melbourne’s St Ali to run the front of house.
There’s a lot going on at Alfred & Constance. In fact, there are four venues in one. And more drinks lists, food menus and nooks and crannies to peruse than one outing will allow. It seems the era of Brissie’s pumping super-nightclubs is coming to a close with patrons clamouring for more eccentric and intimate places to spend their downtime.
One thing that is inescapable in Adelaide is wine. It’s everywhere, and it’s little wonder given the rich, plentiful supply they have in them there Hills surrounding the city. So the advent of a new wine bar might be a little pedestrian; does Adealide need another wine bar? Well Cantina Sociale does things a little differently.
After 15 big years, countless bottles of tequila, and more hangovers than anyone cares to remember, Sydney institution Cafe Pacifico will close its doors this month. Problems renegotiating the lease and leaky ceilings left owner, Phil Bayly with no choice but to move on.
Here’s a charitable idea we can get behind: head to new Melbourne bar, Shebeen, buy a beer like Tusker (which is from Kenya) and see the profits from the sale of said beer go to help Kenyan farmers get access to tools, education and insurance so that they can get out of hunger.
Beneath the now-defunct Bull & Bear Hotel on King William Street a new bar, Jack Ruby Bar & Diner is taking shape and has opened at the start of April. According to bar manager Joshua Dolman (ex-Sangria), the bar is “named after the nightclub owner who famously shot down Lee Harvey-Oswald before he could be put on trial for the assassination of JFK.
The Zetter Townhouse, London, was nominated for two awards 2012’s Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, taking out the World’s Best New Cocktail Bar award. We met up with its Aussie ex-pat bar manager, Ben Clark for a couple of drinks when he was in Sydney recently.
Why in Brisbane in particular, does location seem to be one of the most important factors to consider when opening a new venue? Are the people of Brisbane less adventurous than in other cities? Is it correlated to our infrastructure? Is it simply a lack of population?