Sling Bar Review

Review By Bec Sigrist

If you are a fan of the fine art of mixology the Sling Lounge in West End is your Nirvana. It is here you will find the sexiest and most succulent cocktails in all of Brisvegas. Sling’s cocktail menu gives Tolstoy’s: War and Peace a run for its money. Let me promise you this much, you will definitely have more fun trying to get through the menu at Sling Lounge than the novel but good luck trying to write a review afterwards. Try not to back up a night at Sling with lunch at Grandma’s or you will be wishing her pots of tea were of the Long Island Iced variety. Sling offers no less than 350 cocktails to satisfy even the pickiest of cocktail connoisseurs. Your hardest choice for the night will be to go with a classic or something more risque. Either way your taste buds will be in cocktail heaven.

Sling has a long and narrow bar front which has limited capacity so it always looks busy. There is a narrow hall leading to an outdoor area where you can indulge yourself with a few hundred cocktails and a couple of plates of tapas. Book well ahead to ensure you have a table, especially for large groups. My only gripe is hold your bladder as long as possible as there is only one female and one male toilet in the establishment, and on a busy Saturday night let’s just say the more you drink the less you will notice. There is no room here for your small change, make sure you bring some plastic to get the most out of your evening as cocktails start around the $17 mark.

Sling Lounge boasts the coolest cocktail range in Brisbane, if you are a local and you haven’t experienced Sling; shame on you.




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A Second Review Of Sling Bar

Review By Lucy Smith

When you walk into the front room of Sling Lounge for the first time, you get the impression it’s been around for decades, with its antique furniture, overstocked bar and walls lined with whiskey boxes and wooden deer heads. You could easily mistake it for a hole-in-the-wall joint known well amongst locals and kept secret from the wider community.

However, the West End bar has only been around since 2007, and has quickly become one of Brisbane’s chicest cocktail lounges. The menu (which is already up to its 4th edition) boasts hundreds of varieties of cocktails, ranging from ‘Forgotten Classics’ to ‘Experimental’ foamed and torched beverages; ‘Hot and Creamy’ to ‘Tiki’ islander cocktails. Each drink has an in-depth description on the menu and many come with a background story. The attentive waiter that served us was quick to recommend the “Twentieth Century Cocktail” – a Crème de Cacao and lemon drink, apparently a favourite among staff. It lived up to all expectations, both sweet and sour, and exceptionally tasty. The drinks were consistently well made and presented, and while on the expensive side (around $16 a drink), the quality justified the price.

The larger backroom of Sling has a decidedly different ambiance. Instead of the dark, busy, whiskey bar feel of the front room, it’s more like a trendy garden party. Fairy lights, tea light candles and plenty of foliage keep the mood laidback and festive. There are more tables out the back, where I assume the food is usually served: Sling also has a dinner menu.

The bar is popular amongst twenty- and thirty-something professionals still seeking an active social life, who have not yet settled into middleclass adulthood. It’s the sort of place you’d go for a drink after work, or maybe even the bar to start a big night out in West End. The clientele are all well dressed, and a pair of shorts would be quite out of place in the bar. The atmosphere is lively and artistic, reflecting West End’s famous vibrancy. Unlike many bars like it, Sling Lounge is sophisticated without being pretentious, and the staff are friendly and extremely helpful. On my visit, the only fault seemed to be the music playlist – the upbeat pop tunes were inappropriate for the cultured mood.

Sling Lounge has successfully made its focus all about the cocktails without detracting from aesthetics, service and overall experience. If you’re willing to spend a bit more money for a special night out, Sling is the place to do it.

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