Speak Easy Cellars Review

Review by Lauren MortonHave you ever been to a bar and thought ‘Man this beer is great, but it would go even better with some takeaway pad thai”? I know I have. If only there were a place you could BYO your favourite takeaway food, instead of the usual bottle of wine. Well, as luck would have it, there is.

Nestled in the cosy suburb of Ivanhoe is Speak Easy Cellars, a boutique bar that allows you to bring in takeaway your own food from local restaurants and cafes. Essentially, Speak Easy Cellars is a bottle shop at heart, but the great thing is that you don’t have to leave after you make your purchase. You can take a pew, bring in your pad thai and partake in a glass of pinot noir. This concept has proved popular with the locals, each evening bringing a wave of new and old faces.

As well as boasting this unique wining and dining experience, the venue regularly hosts live music nights. Yet another reason to make the trip down to this relaxed dive. The exterior of the bar are nothing special. In fact, if you didn’t know it were a bar, you would be excused for thinking it was just another Ivanhoe café. However, this doesn’t really matter; after all, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. Whilst there are multiple chairs and tables, the place to be is on the stools at the window, watching the world pass you by. And let’s not forget the comfortable beer garden out the rear of the venue, a perfect place to soak up summer with an ice cold beverage.

Another standout feature of this concept bar is the knowledgeable staff. The owner of the venue, Syd Allen, has been a home beer brewer for years, and hopes to one day sell his frothy concoctions at Speak Easy. The bar specialises in independent merlots, ales, stouts, rieslings, lagers and Sav Blancs, just to name a few. The more obscure the liquor, the better, according to Allen. The downside of this of course is that many of the drinks can be pricey, but you’re definitely paying for quality here, not quantity.

So what do you do once you’ve selected what drink to indulge in? Select what meal you’ll be coupling it with of course. Thankfully, you don’t have to parade the street to find out what’s on offer, as Speak Easy provides customers with a selection of menus from the area. In fact, many takeaway places will deliver to the bar, and once you’ve got the food in front of you, Speak Easy will even give you a plates and cutlery to enjoy it with.

How has no one ever thought of this before? It’s a phenomenon that definitely needs to be experienced firsthand. So if you’re like me, and believe that this bar is the answer to every drinking and dining prayer in the book, head down with some dim sum and drink the night away.



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