Get the first look inside Fortitude Valley’s new character-filled boozer, Barry Parade Public House
For many bartenders and publicans, their mental image of a neighbourhood bar is the one depicted in Cheers – the place where everybody knows your name. As cliched as it may seem at this point – some 30-odd years since the sitcom went off the air – that feeling of familiarity is, undeniably, key to the success of any local watering hole. Daniel Gregory, Brennen Eaton and Lachlan Henry know this, which is why they aren’t shy about mentioning Cheers when they talk about their aspirations for their newly opened Fortitude Valley haunt, Barry Parade Public House.
“It’s a bit corny to say it, but it’s a place where you walk in and you know people’s faces and their names,” says Dan. “It’s like walking into someone’s living room, a friend’s house or walking into your own house – it’s a place that’s warm and welcoming. If you’re a new person coming in, you get welcomed quite quickly.”Barry Parade Public House opened last night on, well, Barry Parade – a street that cuts through a quieter pocket of Fortitude Valley framed by St. Paul’s Terrace, Boundary Street and Wickham Street, which serves mostly as connective tissue between the entertainment precinct and The City. Housed in a heritage building constructed in 1928, Barry Parade looks to give discerning drinkers – be they local or otherwise – a place to get some good-natured hospitality without needing to head into The Valley proper.
“Being stuck between the rat race of The City and the chaos of The Valley, hopefully we can be in that middle ground and be one of those places where you can just escape from the craziness, I suppose,” says Dan.
It’s one thing to want to create a neighbourhood bar, but pulling it off is another thing entirely. Thankfully, Dan, Brennen and Lachlan have absolutely nailed the venue’s fit-out, highlighting and foregrounding the building’s character elements while implementing a few of their own. Looks wise, Barry Parade is textbook – the Platonic ideal of a bar, combining classic form and a dash of quirkiness into a cosy 60-seat package.
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On one side of the front room sits the bar, a sturdy hardwood centrepiece illuminated by orb-shaped pendant lights and backed by spirit-laden shelving. A timber banquette sits opposite, with two group-sized tables positioned in diagonally opposite corners of the room. The pre-70s terrazzo flooring adds a textural pop, while the walls are either coated in forest green or timber panelling. Out back, past the kitchen, is a roofed deck area with more bench-style seating.
“Hopefully, the front room will be one of our draw-cards, especially if you’re a single drinker,” says Dan. “We’re trying to make that space where it just has a good atmosphere, whether you sit at the bar or have a table.”
While Barry Parade looks like the place where you could easily sink a few jars, the drinks offering here is a few notches above your run-of-the-mill schooner slinger. Credit that to Dan and Brennen, a pair of accomplished bar veterans who have shaken, stirred and sluiced drinks at some of Brisbane’s best bars, including The Gresham, The Bowery, Canvas Club and Alba Bar & Deli, to name a few. Here, the crew is balancing forward-thinking mixology with evergreen staples, retaining a sense of accessibility while still offering something snazzy for those with a more experimental palate.
“It’s a tricky one, to offer something that’s new and innovative – a draw-card for someone who wants to come from across town,” says Dan. “It’s a smaller bar, so you can get away with doing something a little bit more quirky and a bit more labor-intensive.
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“The cocktails for us will always be a high rotation. We’re pushing some little boundaries and techniques – so you can come and get something quirky for a cocktail – but you can also just have a knock-off beer and you don’t have to think about what you’re drinking or analyse the wine you’re having.”
As of launch, Barry Parade’s cocktail list features the likes of the Strawberry Sundae Milk Punch (an ode to the Ekka strawberry sundae made with Wheatley cocoa butter vodka, strawberry gum, cream sherry and waffle cone milk), the Broken Spanish (a tiki-style number with oloroso sherry, Flor de Cana 7yo, brown butter falernum, lime and pineapple), and the Old Pal (Rittenhouse rye, dry vermouth and Campari served down with a lemon twist). The back bar is also stocked with a solid array of rare and vintage spirits – a trove of left-of-centre independent bottlings and whiskies worth exploring.
The bar’s three beer taps are currently pouring an Australian lager and a pale ale from Coopers, as well as West Coast IPA from Banks Brewing. The fridges are stocked with an assortment of Australian craft beers from the likes of Bodriggy, Madocke, Revel and Hope Brewery, but you’ll also spy XXXX Gold tins as well. As for wine, the Barry Parade team will be expanding its cellar over time, but right now you can get a grip on some top-notch Australian gear, as well as French champagne.
Guests will also be able to fill up at Barry Parade – the kitchen will be serving a prep-heavy menu of nibbles and larger plates with a European feel and a Creole influence. Snacks include chips of the day (on opening night the team was dishing out Toobs), LP’s smoked mortadella and Saison truffle salami, while the likes of pommes Ann-ish and duck and andouille gumbo.
When it comes to neighbourhood bars, you can never have too many – especially if they’re like Barry Parade Public House. Though classic in form, there’s a level of thought at play that sets it apart from its no-fuss inspirations. Like Cheers, the team hopes Barry Parade can bring back the same faces and give them a place to call their own.
“I hate the word institution, but yeah, longevity is our goal, I suppose,” says Dan. “But to be honest, it’s about seeing the same faces come back and enjoy themselves. If we can get a room full of people that have been here more than once or twice, it would be a goal.”
Barry Parade Public House is now open – head to the Stumble Guide for more details.