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Just Open: The Hutch at the Hamlet, Braddon - Canberra's smallest bar

Natasha Rudra

Shai Lambert, Al Kirk, James Goodrick, and Nathan Judd at Hutch bar at the Hamlet in Braddon.
Shai Lambert, Al Kirk, James Goodrick, and Nathan Judd at Hutch bar at the Hamlet in Braddon.Jamila Toderas

It's Canberra's tiniest bar – licensed to serve just four people and with just two bar stools in a little shipping container at the Hamlet in Braddon.

Welcome to the Hutch – a very small tapas bar with big dreams.

There'll be Canberra beers, a menu of "flat pack tapas" charcuterie, and lots of community spirit.

The Hutch is definitely the smallest bar in Canberra, measuring 1.2m by 1.8m – and might be one of Australia's smallest (the current "smallest bar" is the Oasis Roadhouse in rural Queensland where the bar area measures 1.38m by 1.42m).

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A team of Braddon architects are the brains behind the bar: Nathan Judd, Shai Lambert, Al Kirk and James Goodrick. They all work together at Judd's firm, Nathan Gibson Judd Architecture.

And they can pinpoint almost the exact moment they came up with the idea for the tapas bar - in fact, it's immortalised in this photo taken by Canberra Life, the lifestyle and entertainment arm of the Canberra Times.

The owners of Hutch tapas bar having their lightbulb moment in this Canberra Life photo.
The owners of Hutch tapas bar having their lightbulb moment in this Canberra Life photo.Supplied

"We had just eaten our first BrodDog and we all looked at each other and went, 'Man, something's missing, what's missing? No one's having beer.'"

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So they set out to rectify the problem – putting together designs for a tiny tapas bar at the Hamlet and coming down after work to build the caravan themselves.

They'll be pouring Canberra beers. Zierholz is on tap, thanks to brewer Christoph Zierholz who sponsored their hardware and fridges, and there are plans to add a third tap with a rotating roster of other local beers. And there'll be bottles of Pact Beer from Kevin Hingston.

"We'll keep it local Canberra brewers, Canberra food, because we're also doing charcuterie and pickles and olives, things that you want to have when you have a beer or a glass of wine," Lambert says.

Judd says the "flat pack, Ikea-style tapas" menu is takeaway boxes filled with charcuterie and other nibbles put together by Travis Cutler from the Ainslie IGA's cult deli.

"He's got a really good selection of meats ready for us to go," Kirk says.

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They can serve four people inside the bar but it won't be a scrum to get in the door – the liquor license covers the entire Hamlet beer garden so you can purchase your drinks and take them to your table. And you can still BYO.

The Hutch Bar opens on Saturday, October 17, from noon. The boys will be pouring beers Wednesday to Friday from 6pm after a full day's work at the architecture firm. On Saturday and Sunday, they'll open from noon.

The Hutch Bar is at the Hamlet on Lonsdale Street, Braddon.

Know a new foodie venue or bar opening soon in Canberra? Tell us on food.wine@canberratimes.com.au

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Default avatarNatasha Rudra is an online editor at The Australian Financial Review based in London. She was the life and entertainment editor at The Canberra Times.

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