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Jam Record Bar is a new addition to George Street’s lively centre – positioned in among The Ivy and Bar Totti’s and all the other CBD Merivale venues – but it’s one of those bars that opened and felt like it had been part of the fabric of the city for as long as the rest of them. Patrons fill every spot in the small bar like it's an old favourite, vying for a seat or a spot to put their drink, and they also pour out onto the street. I’ve never been in or walked past and not seen Jam Bar pumping.
Jam has been described as a Tokyo-inspired record bar, but I’d say it’s doing its own thing –serving up fun and delicious Japanese-style cocktails and snacks in a cute, peach-coloured setting, with DJs spinning vinyl from a little booth at the back end of the bar. The vinyl records (15,000 of them) are a key feature of the decor, filling the floor-to-ceiling shelves that line each wall, like books in a library. Except that Jam is the exact opposite of a library. Instead of strict, shushing librarians, you’ll be served by staff with that signature warm Merivale service –they encourage fun, noisy vibes while having a bit of fun themselves.
It sure is noisy – not the type of place you’d go for a first date or intense catch-up with a long-lost mate. You probably wouldn’t even go to settle in for a whole night. There’s a constant turnover of revellers in and out, competing for somewhere to prop themselves, or enjoying a little boogie while people navigate around them. Jam bar is jam-packed – somewhere for people who like to be in the thick of it. Not one for the social distancers.
On this night, my mate and I manage to bags a prime pozzie in front of the DJ, who tonight is spinning some sweet soul sounds.
The drinks list doesn’t peddle the usual suspects – the cocktails feature some Japanese ingredients we need to google. Japanese beers and Suntory -196 flavoured pre-mixed drinks round out the list. That said, they have a fully-stocked bar with all the usuals, so you can also order a wine, or a Martini. (As the night progresses, we do order the latter, and it’s textbook.)
We start, though, with some of their signature cocktails. The Nihonshu is a mix of Tengumai Junmai Ginjo (a high-quality Japanese sake – thanks, Google), mandarin soda and salted lime. I love the smooth, clean sake base paired with the bright, citrusy sweetness and effervescence of the mandarin, and the zesty richness of the salted lime. Balance in a glass.
Then there’s the Obi – with Ki No Bi Gin (a smooth gin thanks to a rice spirit base), house-made yuzucello (yum), lillet blanc (a fortified white wine that brings floral and citrusy flavours with a slightly bitter finish), plus orange bitters (for even more citrusy tang).
Despite this place not having a kitchen (you can watch as your food is prepared at a small bench alongside the bar), the snacks are my favourite part of this place. It’s not the sort of joint you’d linger at for dinner, but as far as bar snacks go, they’re salty, creamy, crispy, Japanese comfort-foody perfection. Take the prawn ebi fry sando. A round, juicy, golden-crumbed prawn patty sits between two perfectly circular pieces of cloud-soft white bread with crisp iceberg lettuce and a pimped-up tartare.
The Murray cod skewer is three chunky cubes of fish with perfectly charred skin on a stick, topped with crisp spring onion slices, served on a bad of fermented chilli sauce. And then the “Fillet-o-fish spring roll”, which is exactly as it sounds – oishii! (And, yes, the food menu is seafood-focused.)
Jam is the new kid on the block, but everything from the snacks, to the drinks, décor and music seems so finely tuned that it feels like a long-time confident member of the Merivale mile, a place for cool kids to squish in together for a Japanese-style Marg and some intimate crowd-watching.
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