And, looking past all the hype, it’s definitely worth your attention.
Hospitality.
Despite all the hype surrounding Death & Co – its celebrated history in New York, its iconic cocktails and now its arrival into Australia and Brisbane – the original East Village bar was and always has been about the hospitality, according to venue manager Samantha Katsikas.
Death & Co is of course by definition a hospitality venue. But we’re talking about the deeper, more intentional (as Katiskas likes to say) kind of hospitality that’s par for the course in the United States’ larger cities but has only become more common in Australia in recent decades.
“Our cocktails aren’t just recipes,” Katsikas says. “They’re the result of that two decades of collective development across all the bars.
“[But] equally important is that conversation we have [with the guest] … It’s taking the time to really understand guests, what they’re in the mood for, reading the moment, reaching into that history of Death & Co, and creating something that feels personal.
“Everyone’s coming in and experiencing it differently. It’s intimate, intentional.”
Death & Co opened early December in the subterranean space beneath The Regatta previously home to The Walrus Club (the venue’s presence in Australia has been facilitated by a partnership with Regatta owners Australian Venue Co).
This is a heritage-listed venue so the bones of the place, with its original brickwork and timber beams, remain the same. But the fit-out now feels more precise, with the venue leaning into its secluded nooks and candlelit corners.
The bar has been reworked to better accommodate conversation with the bar staff, and the banquette refurbished with booths added. There’s also The Studio, a cocktail lounge that will feature live music after the New Year.
“It was surreal [seeing the completed venue],” says Katsikas, who earlier in the year spent a bunch of weeks training in the United States for the opening. “I’ve only been involved for a matter of months, but for some people it’s been years.
But talk about the venue and the vibe and the hospitality all you want, punters are ultimately going to Death & Co for the cocktails.
As Katsikas says, the barkeeps will make you anything you want – or guide you on a Dealer’s Choice from the Death & Co archive depending on your preference of spirit and preferred flavours – but the core list includes the Martini-inspired Telegraph (Four Pillars dry gin, pear, eucalyptus, pine and juniper), a riff on a Margarita called the Soul & Fury (El Jimador Blanco tequila, Ancho Reyes chilli liqueur, raspberry, red capsicum, lime), and a variation on the Gimlet called the Buko Gimlet (Four Pillars navy Gin, cachaca, coconut liqueur and coconut water, panda syrup).
Death & Co classics such as the Naked & Famous (mezcal, yellow Chartreuse, Aperol, lime juice) and Oaxaca Old Fashioned (reposado Tequila, mezcal, agave nectar, Angostura bitters, orange twist) are also present and correct.
Away from cocktails, there’s just a handful of wines spread evenly across sparkling, white, red and skin contact, and a short menu of beers and ciders.
For food, there’s a menu of snacks that are more substantial than you’d perhaps expect and should keep you around for another drink or three. Expect truffle popcorn, kingfish crudo with coconut, lime and green chilli, blistered shishito peppers, a lamb burger, and buttermilk fried chicken skewers.
“I want everyone to feel like no matter what experience they want, where they’re coming from, that they feel like they belong there,” Katsikas says.
“I think we’ll surprise the occasional punter who comes down from the Regatta for a Martini. That happened the other night and it was fantastic. They had a great time.”
“Australia’s style of hospitality has been evolving,” the Chicago-born Katsikas continues. “And Brisbane’s been doing a really great job of that as well, evolving towards a hospitality centred around the guests and making sure whenever someone walks through the door it’s like we know them. I think that’s the best experience.”
Open Sun-Wed 6pm-1am, Thu-Sat 4pm-2am
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Matt Shea is Food and Culture Editor at Brisbane Times. He is a former editor and editor-at-large at Broadsheet Brisbane, and has written for Escape, Qantas Magazine, the Guardian, Jetstar Magazine and SilverKris, among many others.
