Melbourne is a city known equally for its fantastic bars and its miserable winter weather. With the winter chill turning our favourite summertime beer gardens into vague memories, Brunswick East’s North American-inspired log cabin bar, The Wood Samaritan, should provide relief.

Owners and school friends James Frew and Lauren Turner (both ex-Naked For Satan) have taken inspiration from Edmonton, Canada, where Lauren’s grandmother is from. The oppressive cold of the city means residents spend large parts of their winters indoors.

“They spend so much time inside they fill their houses with little trinkets and knick-knacks,” says Turner. This Canadian influence is behind Frew and Turner’s kitsch, ski chalet-esque fit-out, which they completed themselves. The ceilings are wood panelled, and there’s faux-wood wallpaper on the walls. The beer taps feature a Thanksgiving turkey and a Mountie, and it’s all capped off with an odd assortment of Canadian spoons, wooden bird houses and a full-size canoe. It leaves you feeling caught somewhere between a family ski holiday and a sitcom Christmas special.

Stay in the know with our free newsletter. The latest restaurants, must-see exhibitions, style trends, travel spots and more – curated by those who know.

SIGN UP

Drinks here have a distinctly North American flavour too. The PB&J Bourbon Negroni is Buffalo Trace and peanut butter stirred with strawberry jam, Antica Formula vermouth and Campari. Wood Samaritan’s version of an Old Fashioned combines the hyper-seasonal pumpkin spice (a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and allspice, used in pumpkin pie) with bourbon, bitters and orange peel. The team here also knocks out one of Canada’s great national drinks: the Bloody Caesar. A Canuck version of a Bloody Mary, the Caesar replaces tomato juice with Clamato (a savoury mix of tomato and clam juice) and adds a little house-made cold-smoked horseradish to the mix. There’s mulled wine, too: grenache with mandarin, apricot, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and star anise, and a little apricot liqueur to get you extra warm.

There are five beers and two wines on tap. Brews are made up of a mix of local independents such as Hargreaves Hill IPA and Two Birds Taco, and will rotate. A grenache and a sauvignon blanc from McLaren Vale’s Riot Wine Co are currently pouring. And everything on the extensive list of tinnies – which includes a couple of canned wines – is half price between 4pm and 7pm on weekdays.

The space was formerly a Malaysian restaurant and the old kitchen has been downsized to make room for a dining area separate to the main bar. Frew and Turner put the menu together with help from head chef Nick Ringdahl. The focus is on simple, classic bar food with North American influence. Expect mac‘n’cheese croquettes with smoked blue cheese and chorizo, fried chicken sliders, and smoked salmon with dill cream cheese and crusty bread. There are plenty of tasty vegan dishes too, such as deep-fried pickles; popcorn cauliflower; and jalapeno poppers stuffed with black bean, red onion and coriander. It’s a menu of simple food that goes well with a beer, no matter what the weather.

Wood Samaritan
140 Lygon Street, Brunswick East

Hours:
Tue toThu 3pm–11pm
Fri 3pm–1am
Sat 12pm–1am
Sun 12pm–11pm

thewoodsamaritan.com

This article first appeared on Broadsheet on July 4, 2019. Menu items may have changed since publication.