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There’s a reasonable explanation as to why the décor at Disco Pantera feels like a Saturday Night Fever dream. It’s because interior designer Cass Siow has beautifully articulated the vision of brothers Ross and Gordon Purnell (Hawksmoor, Panda & Sons): to capture the nostalgia of a New York cocktail bar from the 1970s.
Siow struck gold with her delivery of the convivial venue, which features electric-blue leather banquettes, chrome bar stools, oxblood walls and Nick Dahlen screenprints that pop off the back bar. Add to this the vintage lighting, floor-to-ceiling Picasso tapestry, deadstock vintage tiles, Walt Disney art illustration studio lamps and a glittering disco ball and you have yourself an excursion to disco utopia.
To venture into this vortex in Quay Quarter Laneways is to become part of an eclectic crowd keen to bop along to everyone from Kylie Minogue to Lenny Kravitz, David Bowie and Blondie. Prepare to be transformed by the music – curated by a rotating roster of weekly DJs – as well as the food and drinks brandished by charismatic venue manager Andy McCorquodale (ex-Old Mate’s Place, Tio’s), who deserves big-ups for his A-grade banter. Apart from the great disco vibe going on at the bar, the venue feels very inclusive and welcoming thanks to the culture created by McCorquodale and his team.
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When it comes to drinks, McCorquodale knows his stuff. We follow his suggestion of a happy hour Toreador – a mix of apricot brandy and tequila, which he explains inspired the Margarita – along with a beautifully balanced, bittersweet Negroni served with a segment of orange.
According to co-owner Gordon Purnell, the name Disco Pantera is ‘two-fold’. “It comes from the inspiration from 1970s’ New York and the spirit of disco where everyone comes together regardless of who you are and where you come from.
“We wanted to create a unique but connected identity for the two spaces. Pantera is synonymous with night magic, a darker, more mysterious counterpart to downstairs venue, Tigra, which celebrates the energy of Barcelona,” he says.
In its heyday, disco was a genre that went beyond hitting the dance floor in white polyester. It was about the notion of pulling people onto the dance floor and having a good time. Disco Pantera does all that and then some.
The food and drinks menu designed by Ross Purnell, a keen home cook and entertainer, is also a drawcard, making Disco Pantera a popular place to visit any day of the week (except Sundays, when it’s closed).
Slip on your spandex jumpsuit to enjoy considered bar bites such as the anchovy soldier, served on a rectangle of pan con tomate and sweetened with fennel jam. Or the rich and earthy blood sausage which plays nicely alongside a puddle of zesty gremolata, red chilli and lemon. The concise menu also includes natural Sydney rock oysters, a caviar service of Yarra Valley salmon roe with crème fraiche, chives and gems, as well as beetroot with goat curd flecked with toasted macadamia nuts. There’s also focaccia by Made by Faby served with a decadent pool of duck fat.
It’s a smart move to divide the two-storey space into two venues that offer two very different experiences
Practise your John Travolta disco finger as you strut your stuff up the stairs from sister venue Tigra and perch at the bar, the best seat in the house at Disco Pantera. It’s there that you can linger over a glass of wine or cocktail while watching McCorquodale and his team in action. There is a snack menu available at Disco Pantera on weekdays (a condensed version of the Tigra menu) and a daily happy hour between 4 and 6pm. There’s also an extensive wine list featuring varietals by the glass and signature cocktails such as the Cleopatra Martini and Pantera Creaming Soda that celebrate disco-era cologne.
The motto of Disco Pantera may as well be: “Don’t Stop ‘til you get enough’. And while it might have been our first time to the boogie wonderland, it most definitely won’t be our last.
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