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First look: To All My Friends craft beer bar in Cook

Jil Hogan
Jil Hogan

New craft beer bar To All My Friends in Cook.
New craft beer bar To All My Friends in Cook. Supplied

To All My Friends is Canberra's newest suburban watering hole, now open at the Cook shops.

The venue is the creation of Shayne Taylor And Natalie Legg, owners of neighbouring cafe Little Oink. The duo had plans to open a pub some time in the future, but when the space next door became vacant, they snapped it up and brought their plans forward.

"To be honest owning a cafe was never my big dream, but I've always wanted to be a publican," said Legg.

"I grew up in a country town - so people went to church or went to the pub. We were a pub family. And I've always thought of a pub as being a community place and that's what we want to bring here."

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The main focus of the venue is the bar, with a drinks list that is dominated by craft beer. There are eight beers on tap, with half dedicated to local brews, plus an extensive selection of beers by the bottle. There is also a small locally-focussed wine list to start, which they plan to develop further.

A simple menu offers up exactly what you're likely to want with beers - bar snacks, share plates and an interesting list of pizzas, cooked up in a pizza oven freshly imported from Italy.

There is plenty of space - a mix of tables, booths, and stools at the bar inside, plus seating out the front and on a back deck. And kids are more than welcome and well catered for.

The venue's name is a nod to 1980s flick Barfly, starring Mickey Rourke.

"It's a bit of a cult classic me and my mates used to watch when we were at uni," said Taylor.

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"There's a scene where he buys a round for the bar and he toasts the whole bar, "to all my friends". So it's something we used to say when we were having a drink."

To All My Friends is open Wednesday to Sunday, noon-late. 24 Cook Place, Cook.

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Jil HoganJil Hogan is an food and lifestyle reporter at The Canberra Times.

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