Contemporary cocktails and old-school table service in an Art Deco-style basement bar make this one of Adelaide’s first choices for upscale refreshments.
For first timers to this subterranean bar, there’s a little bit of sleuthing to be done first. Down a flight of stairs off a tunnel between two city laneways you’ll find an inconspicuous unmarked door. Push it and you’ll find yourself in a dimly lit 1930s-style cocktail lounge (the venue’s named after Mae West, the Golden Age screen icon) with emerald-green leather booths, Art Deco-style mirrors with brass detailing, and friendly old-school table service. If that’s not enough to transport you to another decade, the soul tunes pumping overhead should be just the ticket.
The bar has hosted takeovers by some of the industry’s top guns including Melbourne’s Black Pearl, Sydney’s Dead Ringer and London’s Dandelyan (in times of open borders, of course), so you know they mix in good company.
Sure, you could order one of the beers on tap (a smart selection of Mismatch, Little Bang, Bridge Road Brewers and Young Henry’s) or a local drop from the tight wine list (one white, one red and one sparkling, thank you very much, plus a vintage Champagne for when the occasion calls for it). But cocktails are king here – shaken, stirred, swizzled and spritzed – and a step beyond the classics. Trade in your Negroni or Espresso Martini order for fresh, forward-thinking drinks that make use of kombu and wasabi, paperbark-smoked apples, yuzu, pearl barley and jasmine silver-needle tea.
The produce-driven menu is built with sustainability and seasonality in mind, and is divided into three sections: “From the Market”, where you’ll find cocktails made with fresh local ingredients; “From the Cellar”, where you’ll get concoctions made with fermented or preserved produce from the previous seasons; and “Hall of Fame”, an all-killer no-filler list of favourites from the bar’s six years including the Peel St Corpse Reviver (a hair-of-the-dog blend of ginger, honey, lemon and gin topped up with frothy lager) and the Bill Murray (apricot, lemon, mint, egg whites, Japanese whisky and apricot liqueur). There’s also a thoughtful selection of non-alcoholics made with as much care as their boozy counterparts.
If you want a booth on a Friday or Saturday night, it definitely pays to book ahead. Otherwise you could perch midweek at the bar and ask staff for a “pot in a shot” or “dealer’s choice” for an off-menu treat. “You get something pretty new and exciting that we get to chat you through,” says Corletto.
If you’re after a meal, head upstairs to sister site Bread & Bone for hot wings, hotdogs, burgers and bourbon-glazed brisket. Or if you’re in the mood for something lighter, pound the pavement along laneways Peel and Leigh streets, where you’ll find plenty of late-night dining.
