Grasshopper had no Mr Miyagi to show them the way of the small bars licence. These guys had to forge ahead alone, macheting their way through the jungle of bureaucracy to become one of the city’s very first small bars. Head down the stairs to the low lit subterranean bar and polish those spectacles – the cocktail list here takes a bit more study than most. The drinks are numbered 71-80 and it lists in great detail the ingredients, quantities and vessels required for each one, like reading a recipe book. Order a refreshingly bittersweet beaker of #75 – fresh mint, gin, absinthe, white grapefruit juice and tonic water – or a #74 for a gentler concoction. Its mix of fresh mint, honeyed whiskey, orange juice and chilled assam black tea is exactly what you would expect a Long Island Iced Tea to taste like if you’d never tried one (for everyone else, this is what we wish they tasted like). If you want a substantial meal try for a seat upstairs at the tiny restaurant, but if bar snacks will suffice, stay downstairs and order up a plate of fried chicken tenderloins. They’re crunchy and golden but need a little salt, or a very generous swipe of part-owner John Toubia’s mother’s garlic sauce. As one of the first city small bars they have found an easy rhythm that is keeping the CBD punters happy as clams. No bugging out here.
