DRINK > BARS Archives - ALMANAK MAGAZINE

DRINK > Lucinda Wine Bar, Hobart

If you are walking down Collins Street, Hobart you might easily miss Lucinda hidden away in a beautiful historic building but the signage is very subtle. Step inside and you will find a small room with a large central table and bench seats around the outside. They also have a larger room,…

ByCrispyJune 14, 20240Comments

DRINK > MELBOURNE

DRINK > V Wine Salon, Melbourne

V Wine Salon is located in the slightly unlikely West End of Melbourne's CBD. For those who are less familiar with region it is close to the Southern Cross Train Station which tends to make it an area less obvious as a destination for fine dining or fine wine-ing. But…

ByEd ItorMay 28, 20240Comments

DRINK > MELBOURNE

DRINK > Above Board, Melbourne

A serious cocktail bar. Only 16 seats and no standing permitted. That is the message for the now widely acclaimed Above Board. Located off Smith Street Collingwood it is not easy to find but this is an area where cocktail bars are serious and Above Board take that to a level more akin…

ByCrispyMay 9, 20240Comments

DRINK > MELBOURNE

DRINK > Pearl Chablis and Oyster Bar, Melbourne

Melbourne loves to hide its bars and restaurants away down laneways, underground and on top of building roof tops but Pearl is not easy to find. The Midcity Centre arcade on Bourke Street is not a place you would normally associate with fine dining or fine drinking, but make your way past 'Breadtop', the…

ByAl ManakMay 7, 20240Comments

DRINK > KYOTO

DRINK > Wine Bar Fleur Parf, Kyoto

It is a quiet street in the Shimogyo Ward of Kyoto where we found Wine Bar Fleur Parf, it is hidden at the end of a long passage (lit by lamps on the ground), past a beautiful courtyard garden to the bar at the back. There you find a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle…

ByCrispyApril 8, 20240Comments

DRINK > TOKYO

DRINK > Bar INC, Shibuya

INC is only a few streets away from the chaos of downtown Shibuya but it is in a quiet district with only a few bars and restaurants in the otherwise residential neighbourhood. Bar INC is a brand new (opened in Feb 2024) stylish underground oasis mixing smart cocktails with an excellent…

ByCrispyMarch 31, 20240Comments

DRINK > TOKYO

DRINK > Mikkella Bar, Shibuya

Sharing the same space as the About Life Cafe (read our review here) in the evening they pull down some venetian blinds that cover the coffee shop and pull up the venetian blinds that open the bar. The rest of the space is the same… It is tucked in a back street of…

ByEd ItorMarch 30, 20240Comments

DRINK > TOKYO

DRINK > Bar Soul B, Tokyo

Bar Soul B is a bar we have walked past more than a dozen times, each time thinking we must go down and check that place out, never doing so. But last night we decided it was time, a rainy night in Shibuya and we wandered down in the damp from a delightful…

ByCrispyMarch 29, 20240Comments

DRINK > SYDNEY

DRINK > Busby’s Bar, Paddington (Sydney)

Busby's feels a bit more like a bar you might find in Tokyo or Kyoto rather than Paddington and that is due to the resurgent popularity old vinyl and enjoying those good tunes in a funky dark space. But Busby's is in Paddington, Sydney not Japan so it has a focus on wine…

ByLulu MasterdonFebruary 16, 20240Comments

DRINK > TOKYO

DRINK > Gen Yamamoto, Tokyo

You have eaten an omakase (degustation course) before but have you experienced an omakase cocktail bar? Probably not. With only 8 seats this bar has a slightly reverential experience as cocktails are elevated beyond mere libation to fine palate experiences. You have to make a reservation (at least a week in advance) as…

ByEd ItorFebruary 15, 20240Comments