Hannah's

Where 49 Rathdowne Street, Carlton, 9036 4949; epocha.com.au
Open Mon-Fri, 3pm-late; Sat, 11.30am-late; Sun, 11.30am-5pm
Cards AE MC V eftpos
Wheelchair access No
Cheers Backgammon for everyone.
Jeers The inevitable bunfight for a seat on the glorious balcony once the weather warms.

Backgammon and a handsome balcony are a step up from the basement.

BIN-STREWN LANEWAYS AND dimly lit basements are all very well, but when out on the tear, it can be nice to opt for somewhere with a little elevation and a view that's soft and green, rather than man-made and rowdy with graffiti.

Making such a choice could lead to a more sedate and contemplative night - hell, you might even end up playing backgammon - and, as quickly becomes apparent at Hannah's Bar, there's little to be lost and much to gain from mixing things up a little.

Hannah's is the upstairs bar at Epocha, a venture by former Press Club manager and sommelier Angie Giannakodakis and her business partner, Guy Holder. It is situated in a beautiful double-storey Victorian terrace overlooking the Exhibition Gardens. In a former incarnation, it was a lingerie restaurant called Cobbs, but after an atmospheric makeover by designer Rabindra Naidoo and hands-on input from the owners, the mood has swung back towards the building's original purpose - a family home - while also giving it a sophisticated clubhouse feel.

Downstairs is the handsome, dark-hued dining room, while up on the first floor is Hannah's Bar, with an excellent balcony, complete with fancy iron lacework, views over the gardens and an overwhelming feeling that it's going to take some sharp footwork to secure a seat during summer.

Inside, it's all timber floors, rush-seated chairs and custom-built tables that double as backgammon boards. The tables aren't quirky design puffery: there are as many backgammon sets available as there are tables, and the idea of people sitting in this room, under its dark ceiling decorated with a hand-painted map of 1890s Carlton and a constellation chart, playing a few games gives some indication of the kind of laid-back European vibe that permeates the place.

The wine list has a Euro focus, too. The by-the-glass selection (about 15 or so, starting from $9 a glass) includes sparkling wine from Greece, muscadet from France, verdejo from Spain and chardonnay from Italy. The bottle list ranges even further to some eastern European labels, a practice that's increasingly evident on smart lists around town.

The cocktail list is a compact collection of classics, again with a slightly Euro lean. The Charlie Gibson ($18) mixes Tanqueray No.10 gin with a rinse of Dolin vermouth and juniper, and comes with lovely little pickled onions (including a small dish of extras for the pickled-onion fanatic) that are made in-house. Dolin Rouge vermouth is also used in a nicely constructed version of the Negroni ($17).

There are good snacks to be had here, too, including spiced chickpeas ($4), crisp pigs' ears ($6) and excellent duck liver pate ($9), alongside some mollycoddled cheeses of both the local and fancy foreign variety.

The location of Epocha (and Hannah's Bar), just off the city grid, does mean it may take a little more planning than the regular laneway/basement hang-outs. But the sight and scent of the park, the warmth of the welcome, the backgammon sets and that excellent balcony make it worth taking a few steps off the beaten track.

Bartender's shout

"We've really gone with the classics with our cocktails - drinks from the 1880s to the 1920s, pre-Prohibition really, so drinks that people were drinking in Europe at that time," a co-owner at Hannah's Bar, Angie Giannakodakis, says. ''The European approach is what we do here."

The drinks were also chosen to suit a space where food is of equal importance.

"We wanted drinks that were not too perfumed - cleaner and more food-oriented," she says. "So there is some method in the madness."

Giannakodakis has nominated The Last Word as a cocktail that represents the Epocha approach.

The Last Word

20ml Tanqueray gin

20ml green chartreuse

20ml Luxardo Maraschino

20ml lime juice

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass with a slice of cucumber.

The Age Good Bar Guide 2012, edited by Michael Harden, is available as a free app from iTunes or from bookshops for $10.