Now Open: The Parq Bar in East Victoria Park Is Flipping the Script on LGBTQI+ Bars

East Victoria Park is probably not on your radar as one of the most “fabulous” places in Perth, but The Parq Bar, a new LGBTQI+ small bar, is hoping to change your mind.

“[When we were in the planning stage] there [were] no queer venues outside of Northbridge, and there are not a lot of queer venues that aren’t nightclubs,” venue manager Annalise Kelly tells Broadsheet. “So there was a demand for a small bar where you could catch up with friends for lunch, and East Vic Park was the perfect home for it.”

Kelly and assistant venue manager Bety Salomiu’s shared vision extends from the menu to the interior design. The bar’s decor – olive green walls with industrial dark wood, exposed brick and black accents – is arguably not what you would expect in a queer bar but, as Salomiu says, “Parq is a little more subtle. We are not a rainbow and glitter venue.”

In steering away from the traditional queer bar decor that is seen in much-loved local venues such as The Court, the duo are carving out a niche in the Perth queer bar scene. “You may not know it straightaway, but the more you look around, the more you realise this is absolutely a queer venue,” says Kelly, pointing to disco balls and artworks depicting RuPaul and Freddie Mercury.

As for food, Kelly and Salomiu have taken a careful approach. “The menu is focused on small plates, [as] the Albany Highway strip has amazing food,” Kelly says. So in order not to compete with these existing venues, Parq is keeping things simple with a small menu. Think retro-inspired prawn cocktail; chorizo and scallops; and eye fillet crostini. There is also a pizza oven – a hangover from the venue’s former life as Little C’s pizzeria – which the team also intends to put to use.

When conversation moves to drinks, there’s no hiding Kelly’s excitement. “It’s been my dream to write a cocktail menu like this. There are nearly 40 classic cocktails and mocktails on the menu, and then nine seasonal, signature cocktails that are a bit more extravagant.”

There’s also a build-your-own gin and tonic menu, where punters can choose between 20 gins, then pick a Fever-Tree tonic and garnish. The Negroni Sbagliato (with prosecco) – the recent viral hit and surprise queer icon – is also on the menu. Beer taps feature local offerings such as Matso’s, Gage Roads and Swanny D.

Drag shows are planned for Friday nights, when two drag queens will perform on the venue’s stage from 9pm to 11pm. There are also plans for boozy brunches and live music later in the year.

Salomiu sums up the bar’s ethos as follows: “Even if a venue doesn’t have rainbows, it can still have that inclusivity. There’s more than one way to be queer, and there’s more than one way to be a queer venue.”

The Parq Bar
838 Albany Highway, East Victoria Park

Hours:
Mon to Wed 4pm–10pm
Thu to Sun 12pm–late

theparqbar.com.au