Paradise Alley

Paradise Alley is in a large warehouse on Easey Street, shared with a few other businesses including the upstairs Backwoods Gallery. Owner Laura Twomey (ex-City Wine Shop, French Saloon) has managed to keep much of the building’s original spirit intact.

A pair of gates opens into a narrow, colourful, slightly dank alleyway that leads to the entrance through the side of the building. The alley is also a 35-seat beer garden, watched over by a large nude mural, and a row of sneakers hanging from an overhead pipe.

Most of the fit-out was built from scratch, such as the Victorian ash timber bar, the intricately welded steel and copper drinks display and the booths in the slightly divey 25-seat pool room. It feels similar to a typical brewery bar, but with a broader food and drink offering including tap beers, cocktails and an up-to-the-moment wine list featuring some of Australia’s best minimal intervention producers.

The food offering has changed since the bar opened in 2017. Before, it was Mexican. Now it’s Southeast Asian, handled by Rice Paper Scissors. Expect dumplings, massaman curry, five-spice chicken ribs and other drinking-friendy dishes to share.