First Look: Get Tom Yum Fries and Sticky Rice Cocktails at Thai Wine Bar Joe Taylor

From the outside, Errol Street’s Joe Taylor still looks much the way it did in the early 1900s. Of course, back then, it was a tailor. Today, behind the original painted glass signage that hangs proudly over the entrance, you’ll find a new wine and cocktail bar with a Thai sensibility. 

The space was previously a bar, also named Joe Taylor, but this new iteration, from husband-and-wife Scot Nottle and Mini Punapaprasurt of Airport West cafe Bola Bake, is a completely separate business. 

“The history of the space is what has influenced everything,” Nottle says. Punapaprasurt sourced much of the interior from antique shops around Bangkok, drawing on elements of her upbringing in Thailand. Mismatched tableware sits alongside linen embroidered with intricate stitching – details that quietly nod to Joe Taylor’s history and create a lived-in and welcoming feel.

A similar nostalgic edge carries through to the menu, which draws heavily on central Thai flavours Punapaprasurt and head chef Taarn Kasemra grew up with. “[There are] all of these things I remember eating at my grandmother’s house,” says Punapaprasurt, former head chef at The Glass Den.

“You won’t find classic Thai dishes on the menu like pad thai or massaman curry,” Kasemra adds. Instead, she leans into homestyle cooking with a refined contemporary touch. You can see her approach mostly clearly in the duck miang kham, a take on the pepper leaf-wrapped snack, served here with pandan-infused pâté and duck that’s smoked in-house for three days. And the spanner crab tartlet, a savoury reworking of traditional thong muan (a wafer cigar) filled with crab, young coconut, nashi pear and macadamia nuts.

Smaller, more playful snacks including shoestring fires dusted in a tangy tom yum seasoning, and preserves served with chilli salt, toasted rice and lime – both go particularly well with a drink. Behind the bar is an extensive wine collection, curated by sommelier Pinitnat “Gigs” Sutarosvatcharathon, who previously worked for wine importer Wine Garage in Bangkok. The list, which changes roughly monthly, includes mostly Australian drops and some European bottles.

Matt Went of Exhibition Street bar 1806 designed the cocktail menu. He’s created drinks that balance technique with ease and playfulness. Cocktails such as the Mango Sticky Rice Martini (vodka, pandan liqueur, mango liqueur and bianco vermouth) draw on the chefs’ childhood memories of the beloved Southeast Asian dessert.

The walls are lined with records sourced from Nottle’s family members, alongside some Thai vinyls found at Collingwood Yards. The team chooses records from the collection to spin during service, creating an eclectic playlist each evening, featuring anything from deep soul to the Grease soundtrack. 

Joe Taylor
7 Errol Street, North Melbourne
0468 865 687

Hours:
Tue to Sat 5pm–11pm

@joetaylorbar
joetaylorbar.com.au