Platform 28 Review

Review By Matt Wilson

Ladies, if you are in the mood for some cocktails with the girls at a swanky metropolitan bar a la the bars the Sex & the City girls go to, and guys, if you are looking to go and have some drinks with mates and meet some of the aforementioned ladies, then Platform 28 might be the place for you.

Platform 28 is a glamorous new bar on the corner of Bourke Street and Village Street, conveniently located down the road from Southern Cross Station for those who do not want to drive into the city or people not having to play designated driver. The bar’s location will attract many different sorts of people, from those who walked across the road from Etihad Stadium after a footy match or a concert, or people who just came from Southern Cross Station and cannot be bothered looking for too long for a place in the city to hang out at, or bar hoppers ready to go any place. The old real estate agent motto “location location location” has never been truer.

The inside of Platform 28 is really chic, with small flames next to the entrance that look cool, and has elements of the old bricks and metals on the walls from when the bar was a railway goods shed, showing the bar acknowledges the location’s history. Further more, the TVs around the bar often show pictures of big old ships and workers in a big warehouse, as well as pictures of fancy upscale cocktails like mojitos and cosmopolitans shown on the TV to entice customers to try these drinks, and a welcome mat with “28” on it to make the bar’s patrons feel welcome. There are various wine bottles displayed behind the bar, showing that it is mainly the posher drinks that are served here, but beers like Carlton Draught and Hahn served here too for those with simpler tastes in alcoholic drinks. There are two outdoor rooms for people to hang out in and get a good view of Docklands, as well as a function room upstairs for private events, so Platform 28 is quite spacious. However, the dance floor is very small, so keep in mind that Platform 28 is more of a place to catch up with your mates over a few drinks rather than to party the night away at.

Platform 28’s atmosphere is a really chilled out one for a place in the vibrant Docklands. Everyone seems quite friendly and will go up and chat with you and invite you over to their table for a drink, the bouncers are not picky over dress code, and the bartenders are friendly and, best of all, quick about getting your drinks. The DJ plays a mix of new and old party songs of various genres that will appeal to different peoples’ musical tastes, from rock classics like AC/DC’s ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’, old school rap tracks like Young MC’s ‘Bust A Move’, and current dance hits like Duck Sauce’s ‘Barbara Streisand’. The patrons seem to be aged anywhere between their mid-20s and 40s, but most of them seemed to be in the middle of that age bracket, so Platform 28 would probably be more of a place the younger crowd would go to for a quick catch up with their mates and have their first drinks for the night before going elsewhere to party harder, while the older crowd are more likely to stick around.

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