Brisbane's top 10 bars for 2017
Brisbane has more excellent bars per capita in than anywhere else in Australia and just because The Powers That Be would prefer we didn't have fun after 10pm (ID scanning, gee whiz), it doesn't mean you have to retire to the backyard with a box of cooking wine and wait for the laws to be overturned.
Get out there and support your local independent bars, folks. Here are 10 of the best boozers where you can have a ripper time and say goodbye to the cares of the day.
Brooklyn Standard
Eagle Lane Brisbane 0419 711 773 brooklynstandard.com.au
A basement CBD boozer with brick walls and old baseball photographs that wouldn't look out of place in an American college bar. Grab a Budweiser boilermaker accompanied by thumping blues, funk and soul before hitting sister venue Coyotito next door for killer tacos and dirt cheap margaritas.
Cobbler
7 Browning Street, West End cobblerbar.com
There's an intimidating amount of whisky at this handsome West Ender, which could have been a jazz club in another life. While it's worth exploring Islay from the comfort of armchair, there's also botanical brilliance to be found in the house-special cocktails. Essential Brisbane drinking.
Electric Avenue
23 Logan Road, Woolloongabba 07 3891 2316 electricavenuejr.com.au
A highly varnished joint with taxidermy, mid-century lampshades and vintage dolls of varying creepiness. Old fashioneds and Old Bay fries are the right idea downstairs while upstairs there's a Narnia-style wardrobe leading to cosy whisky bar Jack Rabbit.
Gerard's Bar & Charcuterie
Shop 13A, 23 James Street, Fortitude Valley 07 3252 2606 gerardsbar.com.au
The carpark views aren't much, but a cracker wine selection (check the juicy Lucy Margaux house-blend) means this chic off-shoot of Gerard's Bistro is always ripe for a saucisson session. Start your adventure with manzanilla and beef-fat pipis before moving to the Brunswick Hotel for a tower of VB and Brisbane's finest karaoke.
The Gresham
308 Queen Street, Brisbane thegresham.com.au
Ryan Lane is a bloke who cracks tinnies with the same enthusiasm he applies to bourbon or a well-mixed martini. He leads one of the best bar teams in Australia at this heritage-listed joint, which comes into its own on Saturdays when the suits stay home, the nips get bigger and Maggie May is turned up to 11. In Rodenbach and Rod we trust.
La Lune Wine Co
Shop 3, 109 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane 07 3255 0010 lalunewineco.com.au
The wine bar Brisbane has always longed for, with Burgundy by the glass, Balter on tap and punchy dishes like veal tongue with parsnip, raisins and treviso. Natural light and century-old oak panels create a space to settle into and sommelier Olivia Evans will fill your glass with all the delicious things from Basket Range fruit bombs to Domaine Dujac.
Lefty's Old Time Music Hall
15 Caxton Street, Petrie Terrace leftysoldtimemusichall.com
The number one boot-scootin', whiskey-shootin', horn-tootin' live music spot in town. Whether you're keen to sip Michter's in your best pearl-snap shirt or smash Young Henrys after a Broncos win, the fine folks at Lefty's will see you have a good time. A state treasure.
Maker
9 Fish Lane, South Brisbane
Ed Quatermass runs a tight ship at this (very) small black-on-copper bar from the champions behind Gauge and Sourced Grocer. Not only can he mix razor-sharp cocktails, pull XXXX Bitter with the best of them and crack brilliant wines like Delinquente vermentino, he also toasts a mean manchego sandwich. Sometimes a yakitori grill will charcoal chicken in the laneway and it's magnificent.
Savile Row
667 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley 0431 617 403
Find the orange door and slip through a black curtain into this bolthole that's a haven for Tinder dates and negroni-clinking mates. Illuminated by a giant chandelier, the backbar glimmers with more than 900 bottles of booze, most of them whisky. Take your Blue Blazer upstairs to claim a spot on the balcony.
Seymours Cocktails & Oysters
19 Caxton Street, Petrie Terrace 07 3369 0555 seymourscocktails.com.au
Brisbane certainly has the humidity of New Orleans, so it's only right it has a gimmick-free NOLA-style bar, too. The kitchen sources top-tier oysters, which it shucks to order and serves with champagne, stout or a black velvet for the best of both worlds. Hunker into a booth and order a textbook sazerac.
The Good Food Guide goes national this year with hats awarded across Australia. The Good Food Guide 2018 will be launched in October with our presenting partners Citi and Vittoria and will be on sale in newsagents and bookstores.
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Callan Boys is editor of SMH Good Food Guide, restaurant critic for Good Weekend and Good Food writer.