The Bowery Bar – Fortitude Valley
Brisbane’s cocktail connoisseurs would have been rubbing their hands with glee when The Bowery opening in 2003.
Classy, but a place you could call your ‘local’. ‘Regulars’ saunter in and out, some sitting and reading the paper, while professional bartenders greet by name and, without a word, produce ‘the usual’. Early Saturday evering, however, produces a different crowd to later on in the night.
The Bowery, on Ann Street in Fortitude Valley, is modelled on a 1920’s style speakeasy. You will find Jazz bands during the week and DJs later on a Friday and Saturday night for a mainly corporate, media and art crowd.
The smell of fresh mint on the bar, jazz music, comfy leather booths, extra extra chilled glasses and bartenders who can tell you what you want before you speak it all make for a very fine evening (or afternoon). The mojitos were spectacular but this bar specialises in classic cocktails mixed up with gin, whisky or rum –averaging $16.
Is it ‘the best’ bar in Brisbane? Officially it is the best bar in Australia in 2008, according to Australian Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide Awards. You be the judge.