Upstairs Bar at The Commoner

IF THE definition of a truly successful restaurant bar is one that develops  its own personality while still being aesthetically and philosophically linked to the mothership, the Upstairs Bar at Fitzroy’s Commoner is a blushing poster child for high-achieving success.

 While mirroring the unique, attentive quirkiness of the downstairs restaurant, The Commoner’s bar has a moodier, darker level of eccentricity that somehow manages to feel both homely and sophisticated. It also has a thing for weathered sheep skulls, which always adds another level of appeal.

The award for best use of sheep skull goes to the sculptural chandelier in the first of the bar’s two rooms at the top of the steep, narrow stairs — a blend of barbed wire, chicken feathers and cutlery that sets the mood in the timber-floored room. There’s another less flamboyant chandelier in the front room that overlooks Johnston Street, plus whitewashed brick walls, tealights in china teacups and a banquette upholstered in old Swiss army blankets.

A wealth of small details — a pile of oranges  on a barstool, an old meat grinder spending its retirement as a decoration — sometimes skirts close, but never crosses, the border into twee.

There’s a relaxed looseness to the service style here that’s also very appealing. There’s no dedicated bar person, just regular visits from the downstairs service staff, all of whom are good with a suggestion. One of the best of these was the recommendation to try a Mendoza Bulldozer ($14), a simple combination of Pedro Ximenez sherry and Cardenal Mendoza brandy that makes perfect, delicious sense on a cold and chilly evening.

An excellent little collection of bar snacks — pieces of house-made morcilla served with a parsley salad ($7), a soft-boiled egg with salt-cod brandade ($6) — can be ordered individually or as part of a ‘‘Feed Me’’ option for which the small bites keep coming until you call a halt.

There’s also flexibility with the wine list, a reasonably priced mix of old and new-world labels, with a slight lean towards the Spanish and Portuguese.

Though still a pup, the Commoner’s Upstairs Bar already has its own personality and sense of place. Being a place fond of sheep skulls sporting feathered headdresses, how could it not?