Penny Blue
Editorial
There's something that whispers 'Antipodean gentleman's club' about Penny Blue, with it's vaguely tropical, laid back, ambience with worn leather lounges, suede and brocade textures, rattan chairs, cushions everywhere, ottomans even - scattered haphazardly around the floor. All this slightly faded opulence imparts the feeling of discreet decadence and a touch of contained debauchery. I loved the private lounge booths and intimate gold-hued lighting, after all, this is why we hunt out these little hole-in-the-wall bars, to feel all secret-squirreled and hidden away in our city's warm bosom, while sharing confessions over a few quality adult beverages.
Renowned for its amber nectar, Penny Blue has a serious connoisseur's beer list that takes full advantage of some of Australia's best-crafted brews. There's a strong leaning towards local brews like 3 Ravens Blond (all the way from the wilds of Thornbury), a smooth German-style ale. They also have a generous smattering of international brews from Belgium, Canada, Germany, Czech Republic and New Zealand.
The cocktail list has an 'olde worlde' European feel; I tried the Muddle of Nervous Words, with baby beet muddled in pomegranate molasses, with Lark Pepperberry gin, and crushed lemon and apple. After which I was well warmed up and no longer a muddle of nervous words. The Forcefull Monk is a raspberry Bombay Sapphire/Yellow Chartreuse delight, and the Penny Red a divine signature 'tail with vanilla and cinnamon infused spirit, blood orange, passionfruit and Spanish vanilla liqueur'. And don't forget the real French Champagne here as an aperitif. More of that please.
Regular DJs from 6pm on Friday nights play chill house, funk and modern jazz fusion in the slightly curious DJ cage - I'm not sure if it's to protect them from us, or us from them, but I like the way it takes the main focus off the DJ. If you get hungry, there's the sister restaurant MOO (short for Money Order Office) downstairs, or the short bar grazing menu, including saganaki toasties, cod fritters and a poached salmon salad.
Meri Harli, March 2010
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Scott
July 13, 2010
This place is great, cocktails kept the girls happy while we worked through the beer list. the staff clearly love beer and were great. we were there on a Tuesday and it was quite busy. definatly coming back
Josh
October 10, 2010
Very hard to find this place but once I found it, OMG! I love this bar!! bartenders are really fun and it seems like they enjoy working there. I was told the beer fridge was "a candy store for grown ups" classic! My clients were impressed and so was I. Drinking beer whilst listening to hungry like the wolf is so bizarre, yet very funny. this place made my night.
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