The rum love here is so strong the team has written a 100-page booklet explaining the origins of the sugar-based spirit. But you can also just order a banging cocktail.
When the team from beloved rooftop bar Old Mate’s Place heard whispers that their building’s basement was looking for occupancy, they twirled their toothpicks thoughtfully around their Mai Tais and figured, why don’t we expand ourselves downstairs? Originally, they opened the rollickingly raucous Ginny’s Canoe Club, but the plan was always for that to be a temporary placeholder while they plotted the main act – a rum-focused, old-school tiki bar called Old Love’s.
Co-owner Dre Walters has an enduring love for the Caribbean classic spirit thanks to his time behind the bar at The Lobo and the now-defunct Grandma’s Bar, and he wanted Old Love’s to be a place where the smooth stuff took centre stage. And it most assuredly does. Not only are there around 280 different bottles on offer, as well as 20-plus mostly rum-based cocktails on their books, but there’s also… a book. It’s a nearly 100-page book that tells the fascinating backstory of rum in all its forms and origins, from Jamaica to Cuba to Australia, written by Dre himself and presented to every customer on arrival for perusal at their leisure.
“My year 12 English teacher would probably be flipping tables knowing I wrote a book on rum,” says Dre, who claims that writing is not his forte (though you wouldn’t know it from the elegance and eloquence of his work). But you’re not here to read – at least not primarily – you’re here to drink good drinks, and on this front Old Love’s has your back.
Like Ginny’s, Old Love’s is dark and sultry and cool, like an island speakeasy with the blinds pulled down to keep out the hot breath of the tropical sun. It’s also hard to find from the street; look for the green door with “Villa Rose” over the mantel, or if you’re focused at street level, the palm tree logo printed on a knee-height window.
Once inside, it’s a proper rumble in the jungle – all palm trees and island artifacts, ostrich-feather chandeliers and monochrome botanical prints. Calypso, samba and hip hop dominate the stereo and fine times dominate the vibe.
Well, where to begin? It depends on how rum-nerdy you want to be – or become. A fine place to kick things off would be to try a rum you haven’t heard of before. Maybe it’s an organic cacao rum from Belize or an oak-aged number from Grenada. Flip through the rum book (it doubles as a menu), choose what tickles you, then the team will juice a little sugar cane fresh from their bar-top presser, add a squeeze of lime for balance and present a pure rum expression that gives you a true sense of Old Love’s DNA.
From there, cocktails will call your name like a siren to a sailor. The Pet Dragon is based on the Kingston Palaka from San Francisco tiki bar Smuggler’s Cove, which gets its shimmering tang from Li Hing Mui powder, a salted-plum condiment that’s big in Hawaii and throughout Asia. The local twist comes from Australian mountain pepper, while the Cuban Payphone riffs on a London Calling, and purrs with the low-saline hum of fino sherry. Or just get a Mai Tai. You know it makes sense.
Old Love’s is all table service, all the time so if you’re unsure, have a chat for some professional direction or grab a seat at the bar to eyeball everything on offer.
