The Fitzroy Street watering hole, Barney Allen's, is as merry, relaxed and welcoming as its namesake Barney, who you'll find busy behind the bar most days.
Part beer lounge, part wine bar and part eclectic diner, this hybrid of venues manages to fuse a laidback ambience with a quality drinks menu. Sunlight shines through the artistic display of green and clear wine bottles like post-modern stained glass while retro paintings decorate the interior walls.
Operated by the team of Ian Hewitson, Ruth Allan and her brother Barney, all formerly of the famed Tolarno Bistro, this place aims to attract a broad range of the St Kilda over-30s crowd.
It's a casual affair, owing to management's deliberate choice not to take bookings or provide table service, but this just ensures patrons' noses are firmly turned down, averting snobbery at the outset. You can choose from more than 20 house wines available from the large central square bar which occupies most of the deep red interior. Take your pick from the many tap and bottled beers out to the red settees which frame the casual porch seating on Fitzroy Street.
There's no doubt that the meals and snacks here are designed for accompanying drinking - but dishes such as polenta fingers, crumbed mushrooms, generously sized burgers with crispy hot chips and tender fishcakes satisfy tipsy hunger.
Maya Linden
