It’s not hard to find a spot to settle in with a drink in hand in the bar hive of the West End. But wander down the same laneways and backstreets on a Sunday arvo and your mission gets a little tougher.
Proof is here to make things easy on you. One of city’s first and finest small bars will open on Sundays – from midday – from April 22.
“It’s a risk trading Sundays but we wanted to give people somewhere to come and relax, recover or start again,” says co-owner Shane Ettridge.
“You might have had a big Saturday night, and you just need somewhere to recover, have a Bloody Mary and chill out. Or it could just be a really relaxed Sunday afternoon with a few friends on the deck.”
The team has cooked up a special Sunday menu to help you along. Expect one of Proof’s famous toasties – the breakfast edition, with bacon and egg – and Bloody Marys with house-made Worcestershire sauce (“We’re calling it ‘Anster-shire’ sauce,” says Ettridge, in honour of the bar’s Anster Street setting).
“We’re also paying homage to the roast Sunday lunch with a porchetta roll,” adds Ettridge. We’re talking slow-roasted pork from Central Market mainstay Marino, carved and stuffed into a panini. All of it will be available at $10 each.
Adding to the lazy Sunday vibes will be newspapers and magazines scattered around for guests to read (with a cocktail in hand, of course).
The Sunday sessions will also coincide with a series of parties throughout the year, including wine launches, Proof’s fifth birthday, and the return of last year’s mega-hit Chardy Party in May. “That’s something we’re pretty pumped about,” says Ettridge. “It was a huge party last year and we feel pretty confident it’ll be another belter.”
The new opening hours will spell a Monday closure but it’s a small price to pay for a first-rate recovery session.
