The Stag’s Head is a Dublin landmark with a mood to suit every personality. The main bar is a tribute to tradition: polished mahogany, walnut and ebony, leather chairs, stained glass windows, chandeliers, and dark oak whiskey casks sunk into the walls – from where the eponymous stuffed beast keeps watch.
Barristers, journalists and brokers lunch in the old smoking lounge. While upstairs, students and assorted blow-ins turn it bookish, rowdy and random. This bolthole was the first pub in Ireland with electricity and featured in Educating Rita.
James Joyce, Michael Collins and Quentin Tarantino have all frequented. The latter was turned away for trying to score a sneaky after-hours tipple, but did return the next day for soup.
The iconic Parisian nightclub and bar, Silencio has just this month opened a chic, impressive and very inviting waterfront beach house in Europe’s party capital of Ibiza.
Its new partner club, El Silencio is nestled in a serene and dreamy cove in the east of the island, set against the backdrop of the famous Cala Moli.
Featuring four main spaces including a main restaurant by the company ToShare (managed by Pharrell Williams and Jean Imbert) is set to be the hottest new day club this year as the Spanish party island starts to welcome back visitors after a dismal 2020.
Complete with movie screenings, music festivals and private parties, El Silencio will no doubt follow in the footsteps of it’s much sought-after and popular Parisian cousin.
Now please pass us an icy cocktail, all this European party talk is making us thirsty.
Get around this new spot on Brunswick Street brought to Melburnians by Shayne Dixon – he’s a co-owner of Beermash over on Smith Street – and brewer Adam Betts.
They opened this dark and moody spot just before the pando hit, which is not great, especially when the concept is this solid. There are 27 beer taps, but only a dozen are pouring froffs (interesting crafts brews from around the world in case you were wondering).
On the others you’ll find beer-focused cocktails, natural wines and cold-brewed coffee. When we went to press, Ides chef Peter Gunn was rustling up the food – pickled oysters, fried chicken wings, wagyu pies – but the kitchen will be taken over by someone new every three months.
One of the great things about discovering a speakeasy, is searching for it. Don’t expect to find a sign for Floreria Atlantico but if you enter a flower store (thankfully open till the wee hours) then head through a door the basement, you will be find this hip Buenos Aires speakeasy.
The cocktail menu takes its inspiration from the European countries from where people immigrated to Argentina including American bartenders and their cocktail culture, the English and the Dutch who brought their gin, the wines Amaris of the Italians, Spanish, French and Portuguese. There’s also sumptuous tapas and parilla (grill) for visitors who need a bite to eat.
Rather than being a generic speakeasy or a facsimile of the USA-style speakeasy, Floreria Atlantico located near the docks celebrates Argentina’s own country’s rich and varied treasures and pays homage to its rich culture products and people.
If you’re still not over your Euro summer plans being ruined, drown your sorrows at this light, bright and welcoming bar bringing a touch of the Mediterranean to Adelaide’s CBD.
Expect to see all your favourite aperitivo snacks on the curated menu, which features a mouth-watering sample of pickled and preserved goodies, alongside cheese and charcuterie boards and yummy small plates.
Drinks-wise, Paloma offers its take on an Aperol spritz using fino and mandarin, while the wine list pays homage to local and southern European varietals. It may be a teeny bit different to sunning yourself in a Spanish plaza, cocktail in hand, but when the vibe is this good, we promise you won’t notice the difference!
Like all great ideas, Dirty Sultan – Brisbane’s first Turkish shisha lounge – was concocted during a backpacking trip around Europe.
Drawing inspo from bars in Greece, Turkey and even France, pals Tom D’Arcy and Dilan Ildes have taken all their favourite elements (think Middle Eastern flavours and a super-luxe aesthetic) and brought them to sunny Brisbane. The result is an exotic rooftop establishment loaded with daybeds, lanterns and plenty of greenery.
Shishas come infused with grape, watermelon and strawberry, but for something more substantial, the falafel popcorn or Nutella baklava hit the spot. Wash it all down with one (or many) of the ridiculously good cocktails, like the Leyla, a Turkish mojito made using pomegranate and mint.
Originally launched to coincide with Dark Mofo 2019 as a multipurpose cultural space, In The Hanging Garden has reopened as a permanent – albeit still flexible – fixture of Hobart’s hospitality and live music scene.
The enormous precinct, which features a tiered beer garden, outdoor dining area, bar, band room and nightclub, spans an entire city block, and is mostly covered by a huge cathedral-like roof. Faux lawn, potted plants and tables and chairs are dotted throughout the lower level of the venue, while the upper level is home to Oryza and Bruny Island Cheese Co., whose menus change with the seasons. The venue’s house bars also sling exclusively Tassie wines and a rotating list of seasonal cocktails.
Whether catching an acoustic set, heading out for a dance or simply meeting friends for a quick after-work drink, it appears as though this lush, urban oasis in the heart of Tassie’s capital truly has something for everyone.
Those of us who live in Victoria have long travelled to Healesville to sip, sample and take home Four Pillars’ excellent gins. Now Sydneysiders get their chance.
The new digs incorporate a lab, with a German copper still called Eileen doing its thing, and a shop where you can stock your home drinks trolley. But there’s also the gorgeous Eileen’s Bar.
James Irvine has devised the drinks list, which is heavy with gin cocktails – check out the Tash Sultana, made with sherry cask gin, muscatel, pineapple botrytis, fig vinegar and caramel – but also includes wine, beer and cider. Chef Matt Wilkinson has come up with some great drinking snacks to go with it. Salt and gin vinegar chips or a plate of party pies? Don’t mind if we do.
Boasting the brightest neon lights on the skyline and 360-degree views, Chill Skybar is the perfect place to escape the heat and urban bustle of Ho Chi Minh City.
Experience cocktails in the clouds on the open-air terrace of the AB Tower’s 26th floor, or cool down in the glass-walled restaurant and lounge. Join the high-class crowd – no singlets and thongs allowed – quaffing cocktails, ordering big from the bottle menu and slinging down shots of cold vodka topped with caviar. But if you’re watching your dong, head up late in the afternoon for a spectacular sunset and half-price happy hour.
After a couple of rounds, you might even be inspired to dance the night away as resident DJs spin discs on the deck.
Dust off your boots, grab your gal or guy and two-step your way around the Broken Spoke – an Austin institution.
Owned and run by the same couple since 1964, this dusty dancehall is what honky tonk Texas is all about. Long neck beers, the best chicken fried steak in town (whatever that is), and wooden table and chairs where ladies wait for men to ask for their hand to dance. It’s all the real McCoy here – sagging wood floor, low ceilings in disrepair and a dance floor with pumping country music both live and DJ.
It’s rumoured to be Willie Nelson’s favourite hangout – not to mention countless other country music stars. It ain’t fancy, but it’s sure as hell fun. A treasure for Texans and tourists alike.
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