Every Snack You Make, Every Bite You Take: 5 Bars Where Snacks Rule

Getting the bar snacks right can help your drinks taste better as well as add to the vibe of the evening – in fact, bars can become infamous based on the snacks they serve. 

The world-renowned Shady Pines Saloon is known as much for the peanuts it serves as it is for the larger than life bar team. These small nibbles have become ingrained in the bar’s identity, telling you that you are in American-style saloon territory here.

Understanding the right bar snack is crucial to the drinks served – if the bar is heavily cocktail-focused an ill-chosen bar snack can disrupt the flavour of the drink, prior to taking that first sip.

Here are five bars where the snacks are perfectly in tune with the drinks served:

Find an intimate wine bar ideal for romantic rendezvous and after-work catch-ups at Icarus on Peel Street in the heart of Adelaide’s CBD. Whether dining alfresco on balmy nights, indoors where curved booths await those looking to enjoy a lively conversation, or a cosy table for two in rustic surrounds of well-worn brick and softly glowing candles, this will be a meal to remember.

 

Snack on plates like wood-grilled octopus, nduja, saffron aioli and chickpeas, Goolwa pipis, tomato and fennel or beef tartare, smoked bone marrow and potato cake; while those with heartier appetites opt for ribeye on the bone with charred onion, jus and sides of sautéed kipfler potatoes and marmalade-glazed baby carrots with crispy carrot tops.

A warm-lit space to chill out with a wine, fine fare or dine privately is what awaits at Wakefield’s Bar & Wine in Ainslie. Wakefield’s is the ideal neighbourhood wine bar, nestled around the corner and upstairs from Edgar’s Inn – one of Canberra’s best-kept secrets.

 

This stylish wine bar exudes rustic charm with exposed brick, dark timber and moody lighting, ideal for after-work drinks, or a romantic interlude with someone special. Pair the ‘Pretty Little Ditty’ cocktail with bar snacks such as crispy five-spice duck wings, honey, lime and coriander, artisanal salumi and accompaniments or burrata, radicchio and fennel jam.

Discover a lively Japanese izakaya serving tapas-style dishes infused with native ingredients at Miss Lucy on Clarence Street in Port Macquarie. Open late, expect a cosy ambience and innovative menu featuring a fusion of traditional and modern Japanese flavours in fun and funky surrounds of neon lighting, white-washed brick and comfy lounging couches.

 

Start a grazing adventure with furikake fries seasoned with roasted sesame seeds, dried nori and shiitake mushroom salt, served with kimchi aioli; following on with steamed pork shumai, black sesame oil, black vinegar, chives and soy, or Takoyaki – bite-sized fried octopus balls, creamy Kewpie mayo and chopped chives.

Melburnians seeking after-work drinks and a bite to eat in Southbank head to The Melbourne Cellar Door on Dukes Walk at South Wharf. This trendy wine bar is a sibling to The Valley Cellar Door in Moonee Ponds and rocks a chilled-out vibe of wine barrels, fairy lights and leather couches to recline on while sipping a vino, or craft beer of choice.

 

If wine is your thing, you’ve come to the right place with more than 500 bottles lining the shelves as well as rotating craft beers on tap to go with pizzas, burgers, charcuterie boards and pasta dishes. Sip a glass of Shiraz as you enjoy Korean fried chicken tossed in housemade chilli sauce with crushed roasted peanuts, or baked prawns and chorizo with Spanish onion, tomatoes, garlic butter and focaccia.

Those looking for a good time and Japanese-inspired tapas head down Clarence Street in Port Macquarie to find Stick Bar. This hidden gem is well worth a detour to visit with craft cocktails and yakitori delights served in surrounds of recycled timber, glowing amber pendent lighting and an eclectic mix of artwork.

 

Grab your mates and perch on a stool at the bar while sipping a signature Flissy Floo cocktail with yuzu gin, Nigori strawberry cloudy sake, housemade blueberry and butterfly pea flower coulis, lemon juice and orange bitters. Pair a butter-poached brioche lobster roll with yuzu koshu mayo and shish with a glass of Eden Valley Chardonnay, or devour Argentinian beef yakitori sticks with housemade chimichurri sauce. Finish sweetly with a strawberry crispy waffle ice cream sandwich.