Death & Co, a key player in the global craft cocktail game, is here to take you from date night to late night with cocktails it’s got a reputation for – and scandalously dim lighting.
What does the name Death & Co mean to you? Maybe you’ve never heard of it. Maybe you think “undertaker”. Or maybe you’re in the well-travelled (or well-researched) cocktail circles that recognise it as one of the more influential American bars of this century.
Since launching in New York’s East Village in 2006, it’s been credited for its role in the global craft cocktail movement and expanded to Denver, Los Angeles and Washington DC. And now? Melbourne, its first international outpost. A second has opened in Brisbane.
It’s the result of an unusual partnership with Australian Venue Co, a gigantic hospitality group that runs 200-plus venues nationwide – mostly pubs like the Espy and the new Hickens Hotel. But managing the bar is Cara Devine, who’s respected in Melbourne’s drinks scene as an author, longtime bartender and co-owner of Northcote’s Goodwater.
Despite its name – and barely-there signage – Death & Co is very much alive and already kicking on its third week at the top end of Flinders Lane, where Trinket Bar once was.
A host greets us at the door, delivering a Death & Co crash course as he leads us through a hallway swathed in red-velvet curtains, the daylight behind us instantly disappearing. It’s 6pm but it could be midnight, and the romance is palpable, with date nights in full swing through the candlelit ground-floor bar, where back-to-back booths line one side. (A cordoned-off “party pod” is bookable for groups of six who want to properly lock in.)
The venue has two levels and we plonk downstairs in the even more intimate cellar bar, hugged by plush, copper-coloured armchairs you could lose hours in. And so we do, with service that’s kneel-down-next-to-you enthusiastic, starting with a “hey, you two!”
The first round is exceptional. Among Death & Co’s most globally regarded cocktail creations is the peachy-pink Naked and Famous, which deserves (the second part of) its name. The modern classic is a de-spritzification of Aperol, shaken up with mezcal, Yellow Chartreuse and a heavy hit of fresh lime. It’s not rocket science, but when it’s this elegantly executed, refreshing and re-orderable, who needs liquid nitrogen?
My next realisation: Melbourne needs more onion rings, especially if they’re this much of a hole in one. Trust an American bar to come through on that front. Beer batter is shatteringly crispy, vinegar salt adds just enough acidity, and the loops are skilfully stacked upright, forming a half dome, so they don’t get sweaty and thus soggy.
Other snacks include gildas, pudgy triple-cheese scrolls served warm with Vegemite butter, and a dry-aged-beef cheeseburger. There’s enough for dinner if you so desire.
‘It’s 6pm but it could be midnight, and the romance is palpable, with date nights in full swing.’
But you’re really here to drink. The Telegraph takes a run-of-the-mill gin martini and gives it the native edge of eucalyptus, pungent as soon as it lands in front of you.
Only one drink falls flat. The Sound & Fury – a margarita riff that’s meant to balance red capsicum, raspberry and ancho chilli – is maximum capsicum, minimum capsaicin.
Having never visited Death & Co in the US, I can’t speak to how specifically Melbourne’s version emulates them. But what I can speak to is how much sense it makes in our city.
Devine sells it as transposing the spirit of the American bars to Australia with an “unmistakable local accent”. It doesn’t feel like a carbon copy, and that’s important.
Is the offering revolutionary for Melbourne? Not really. But does it need to be? It’s a cracking cocktail bar on track to slot in comfortably with the competition, not usurp it.
If you’re a Death & Co diehard, you’ll find glimmers of what the bar made its reputation on, favouring tradition over too much trickery. But if it’s just somewhere you stumble into off Flinders Lane looking for a decently made drink, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Three more dimly lit date-night bars to try
Mill Place Merchants
Resist the urge to use your phone torch to read the novel-like drinks list, thus ruining the vibe, at this shadowy CBD speakeasy. It’s got old-timey charm and cocktails to match, including some using recipes by “original masters of mixology”.
2 Mill Place, Melbourne, millplacemerchants.bar
Naught Distilling
Eltham’s two-in-one gin bar and distillery whisks you a world away from the industrial lot on which it sits – once your eyes adjust to the darkness. Share a flight of gins made on site, then progress to the dedicated martini menu.
2/32 Peel Street, Eltham, naughtgin.com.au
Bianchetto
Mister Bianco’s sibling cocktail bar is even more seductive, tucked next door behind a gold curtain. It’s an east-side local for lovers – who love Americanos – to nuzzle into one another on the cushy black-leather banquette, pre- or post-Sicilian feast.
26-28 Cotham Road, Kew, misterbianco.com.au
Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.
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