Fitzroy’s Triple U Brings Chinese Cocktail Culture to Melbourne

Most cocktail bars organise their drinks by spirit or flavour profile. At Triple U, the menu is shaped by Chinese philosophy, translating concepts such as yin-yang and bagua into drinks.

“We don’t take it too seriously. It’s a fun way to start a conversation, then we combine those ideas with local ingredients to create drinks people haven’t tried before,” says co-founder William Wu, a former interior designer. He and business partner Casper Huang wanted to create a quieter alternative to Fitzroy’s bustling pubs and wine bars – albeit one where you’re likely to hear Chinese hip-hop on the stereo.

Set on Brunswick Street in the former Par site, the bar has retained the clandestine edge. Slanted blinds partially obscure the front window, where two slender whippet statues stand guard. Inside, just 23 seats surround a dark timber counter designed for lingering conversations rather than quick drinks.

Big booze-forward cocktails like Martinis and Negronis are in the minority here. The menu instead favours light, balanced drinks featuring ingredients rarely seen in Melbourne bars, such as bitter melon, black sesame, maodou (edamame) and pandan. Others, like Falling Into the Ocean, star the Chinese spirit baiju, this time paired with elderflower, rosemary and lemon.

Seasonal favourites that prove popular could soon be promoted to house status, including After the Rain: a crisp green Collins-style drink where bitter melon is frozen and juiced, then blended with apple, pineapple, gin, lime, tonic and sour apple liqueur. There are also five variations on the Ramos Gin Fizz, the famously labour-intensive shaken cocktail with a thick, fluffy head.

Bar manager Huang, who has more than a decade’s experience working in luxury hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants, has done a careful job on both flavour and presentation.

“In Shanghai, almost every bar has very beautiful cocktails,” Wu says. “Sometimes they don’t taste that good, but everyone takes a photo. Cocktails aren’t only about taste anymore – how they look is important too.”

Friends were skeptical when Wu said he was opening Triple U – which stands for “urban, unique and utopian” – but for him, the connection between design and hospitality feels natural.

“Interior design and running a bar are actually quite similar,” he says. “Both are about creating an experience. Interior design creates the space, and the bar creates the cocktails for the people inside it.”

Triple U
360 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
No phone

Hours
Wed to Mon 6pm–midnight

tripleumel.com