A rooftop bar often isn't the first thing that comes to mind on cold rainy days, however this is exactly what we did last Saturday when it was bucketing down. Walking over to Sazerac Bar, Brisbane's highest bar at level 30 of the Four Points hotel, we were keen for a quiet night of relaxing with some cocktails, a light dinner and some epic city views.
Taking the lift straight up to level 30, we informed them of our reservation. Unlike other places where our table is already designated for us, we were told to take a look around and choose where we wanted to sit. The dining area was separated into three sections, two of which were busy and loud, so we opted for the quieter one.
Despite the rain, we still enjoyed the view from up high. I suspect that seeing the sunset here after work would be really nice.
Both food and drink menu were contained in the same leather bound booklet. Food was covered off only in one page. The rest of the booklet contained a various assortment of drinks.
Always keen on some cocktails, we had a few of their specialties to try.
On the left was the very popular Pink Ninja with Beefeater Gin, Fresh Raspberry, Bols Maraschino Liqueur, Fresh Lemon Juice, Maraschino Juice, Fresh Pineapple Juice and Sugar. This was fruity, sweet and had a hint of sour.
In the centre, my favourite Espresso Martini with Absolut Vodka, Kahlua, Fresh Espresso and Sugar. Rich and strong, it hit the spot and provided a good dose of caffeine.
Finally we shared the signature Sazerac with Half Cognac and Half Rye, served with a lemon chip and a twist. A classic cocktail originating from New Orleans. Akin to an Old Fashioned, it was definitely strong and intense. Not as easy to drink as the Pink Ninja, it was definitely an acquired taste.
Ordering a selection of foods from their bar bites menu, one table was not enough to cover our spread and we shared it across two tables.
First of the dishes we had was the Spicy Sriracha butter milk chicken drumettes with sesame seed and maple syrup. Although the name indicated that it would have been quite spicy, I found it definitely more sweet than spicy. For the price, it was excellent value for money even though the drumettes were a little small.
We also had a serve of Tempura Moreton Bay bug tail sliders with Cajun spice mayonnaise. Again these were good value. The Moreton Bay bugs were lightly battered and delicious, the meat was tender and went well with the cajun mayonnaise. I enjoyed the dense bread but would have enjoyed it if there was a little bit more salad or tomatoes in the sliders.
The highlight of our dinner was the crispy semolina crusted calamari with lemon aioli. Although a fairly common dish, these were unbelievably fresh and tender. Served freshly fried, it went well with the creamy aioli.
We also had a serve of house made vegetarian arancini rice balls with aioli. Again, freshly fried they were great soaking up our drinks. The rice was well seasoned with mushrooms. Although the mushrooms weren't very strong in taste, this was supplemented again by aioli.
From the bigger bites menu, we chose the vegetarian Mushroom Risotto. The rice was tender and absorbed so much tasty broth. For a cold rainy winter's day, it was wholesome, substantial and filling with quite a good amount of mushrooms in it.
Always finishing with a sweet, these were the Churros with Chocolate Sauce. Another deep fried dish to soak up the drinks, these were served warm. I enjoyed how the chocolate sauce was also very liquid which made for a fairly luxurious dipping sauce.
Espresso and Matcha were invited guests of Sazerac, however as always, our opinions are solely our own.
Price Range: $30 - $40pp
Taste: 7/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Environment: 8/10
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