Take 3: City bars that do killer food too!

Autumn nights lend themselves to the simple pleasure of sharing a tipple and some delicious food to warm you up ahead of the impending cool night. To uncover the best cozy bars dotted all over the city to meet for a relaxed rendezvous as the temperatures drop, Region Media spoke to Emma from the fabulous and fun food-centric Instagram account To Eat List.

“I started To Eat List based on my love of fantastic food! While some people make to-do lists, I have an ever-growing to-eat list driven by a desire to try all the fantastic offerings from Canberra’s vast and constantly evolving food scene,” Emma said.

As someone who lives, works and plays in and around the city, Emma knows all the best spots in the area and shares her top three places to add to your to-eat-list for when wine o’clock hits.

Dear Prudence at Verity Lane Market

Dear Prudence is a new cosmopolitan wine and aperitif bar in Verity Lane Market – and Emma was an instant convert.

“I love the new Verity Lane Market, including the latest addition to join the precinct, Dear Prudence. With its rustic design accents, candlelit tables and chandeliers, you’re transported to the gorgeous hole-in-the-wall style bars of Barcelona as soon as you enter,” she says.

“This fabulous wine and aperitif bar has a warm and welcoming atmosphere and a delicious menu of Spanish-inspired snacks and share plates that make you want to settle in. My favourite tapas to pair with their aperitifs are the stuffed piquillo peppers with Stracciatella, kombu and chips with smoked paprika salt and triple cream cheese with fig.”

Dear Prudence is located at 102 Alinga Street, Canberra City, and is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 4:00 pm until late.

Amici Wine Bar & Deli

Located on Northbourne Avenue, Amici’s look is modern, light and airy, and every surface is polished to shine pristinely. Front and centre of the generous space stands a gleaming deli bench with fat sausages, cured meat and long strings of garlic hanging off hooks, rounds of cheese and massive slabs of cured meat stacked high in the fridge beneath.

Emma says she immediately feels like she is on holiday in Italy on approach to the venue with its flowing vines and gorgeous pastel interiors.

“Thanks to their in-house deli, their cheese and charcuterie game is strong – from delicious blue cheese, cheddar, gouda; Jamon serrano, sopressa and salami; to quince, dried fruit, peppers, olives and fresh sourdough and crackers to mop it all up.

“One of my favourite ways to enjoy antipasto and drinks at Amici is through their boozy brunch, opting for their giant 3-pound baked brie with bottomless mimosas.”

Amici Wine Bar & Deli is located at 59 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra City, and is open 7 days a week from 11:00 am.

Midnight Bar

On the ground floor of the Midnight Hotel, where the city meets Braddon on the corner of Elouera Street and Northbourne Avenue, the Midnight Bar is a sprawling space with plush booth seating.

“With its stunning interior, Midnight Bar offers a lovely oasis amongst all the liveliness of Braddon. They have a fantastic outdoor space where you sit and sip a cocktail, taking in some live music while you watch one of Canberra’s famous pink sky sunsets,” Emma explains.

“They have an evolving range of cocktails which are complemented perfectly by a small but delicious antipasto menu. Think freshly shucked oysters, braised short rib with eggplant, tomato fritter, parmesan cream and sopressa with kalamata tapenade, bread, and olive oil. My fave is their polenta and parmesan fries. I am also a huge fan of their pre-bottled classic cocktails – including their negroni and martini. Not only are they perfectly balanced every time, but they are so Instagrammable!”

Midnight Bar is located at 1 Elouera Street, Braddon, and is open Monday to Saturday from 3:00 pm.