creatively attired cocktails at Grandma's Bar, Sydney
Lately there have been more coffee times than cocktails on my horizon (perhaps it’s the winter chills). So when a good friend’s birthday came around last Monday, and she was unexpectedly free from work, we decided cocktails were in order. We settled on Grandma’s Bar in Clarence Street and it proved the perfect location for a little Monday night cocktail spontaneity.
It was a cool, crisp Sydney evening, but downstairs at Grandma’s all was warm, cosy and decidedly floral. Comfy armchairs, formica coffee tables and floral foot stools adorn this small establishment, with the bar itself rightly taking centre stage. We settled in for the evening, sampling the generous, but not overwhelming cocktail list and a few of Grandma’s finest toasted jaffles.
That’s right: jaffles.
And at $7.50 they’re a fill-me-up bargain in anyone’s language, arriving on Grandma’s best floral china – gorgeous.
It’s a measure of the place and its staff that what could be pretentiously kitsch is actually the exact opposite. This tiny bar is of the genuine and inviting variety. Something tells me they wouldn’t mind a bit if you brought your own crocheted blanket and curled you feet up on the couch. I stopped short of testing this theory, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had produced a rug upon request.
Each drink was delivered with its own paper doily coaster – a cute thematic touch.
Given our individual tastes, we managed to sample a good range of cocktails on the list and the bar staff were very helpful and ever-ready to offer suggestions accordingly. I tried the following…. well, thanks to the generosity of my girlfriends, I tried a little of the all the cocktails we selected, but technically this was the fave from my selections:
Fog Cutter (made with Tanqueray gin and all manner of other tropical delights). I blame being excited about our spontaneous girl’s catch-up for not taking down the ingredients as diligently as I normally do, but suffice to say it was a lovely, crisp citrusy concoction and I’d highly recommend it.
In fact it was second only to the fresh, aromatic flair of the Basil Grande (vodka, strawberries, basil leaves, Chambord, Grand Marnier and cranberry juice).
Fog cutter
Rum Swizzle with a Basil Grande background
As we wandered up the steps and back out onto Clarence Street, bellies full of
toasted jaffles and cheeks warmed by excellent cocktails, we all agreed that
more Monday night spontaneity was most definitely in order. And judging by the smiling patrons we spied through the basement window, whiling away their Monday evening,we weren’t the only ones who’d be back.
