Hairy Little Sista

After-work drinks can be as simple and fun as blowing the froth off a couple of beers with a few colleagues, giggling about nothing more controversial than what you saw on TV last night. Easy peasy, on the tram by 7pm.

But they can also be a minefield laced with explosive confessions to the boss, regrettable flirting with that guy from HR and unfortunate misreadings of drinking laws such as the immutable “Beer then wine is fine. Wine then beer: oh dear.” A good venue with carb-loaded food can help keep workplace socialising on track.

Three doors down from 15-year-old bar Hairy Canary is its oversized younger sibling Hairy Little Sista. The Sista was born just a month ago though it’s more accurate to announce that she was reincarnated from her fairly-fine-dining progenitor CH2. CH2 opened three years ago with a sustainable focus but couldn’t sustain itself during the dreaded GFC

I think Hairy Little Sista makes more logical use of the large ground-floor site in Melbourne City Council’s deep-green office building. The bar, couches, high benches and scattering of dining tables seem to suggest snacking more than proper meals.

Most of the menu at Hairy Little Sista replicates that of Hairy Canary so cramming into the small bar for patatas bravas, pressed up against Lee from reception (aagh), is as pointless as a performance review. Instead, spread out at Little Sista. Kitchen labour has been consolidated, resulting in the creation of Melbourne’s shortest pizza delivery run.

Pizzas, like the pretty tasty mushroom and provolone, are wood-fired at Hairy Canary and ferried three doors down to the Sista before the thin crust has any chance of losing its steam and crunch.

Other dishes include those yummy patatas bravas, chicken meatballs and really good eggplant chips with coriander mayo. Some dishes are more about texture than flavour: the potato and baccala cigars shatter pleasantly but the taste is subdued. Pumpkin, chickpea and spinach salad offers a welcome fresh counterpoint to the fried parade.

Snacking does mean sharing and sometimes you don’t want to split chips with that bloke who elbowed you out of a corner office. In that case, you can hunker over your very own pasta or risotto: check the blackboard. And, if sparks are flying in more pleasant fashion, you can order paella for two and talk shop till the hirsute Sista sends you packing.

Got any other good Friday night haunts for after-work drinks? Post a comment below...

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