We were heading to Canberra and some friends of ours recommended Molly Bar. I took a quick look on Instagram and immediately knew this was somewhere we just had to visit.

We expected it to be hard to find, given it is a speakeasy. However it wasn’t too hard, since we saw a dashing barman in a vest exiting an old building in an alleyway off Odgers lane in Canberra’s ‘Civic’ area.

Head up the inconspicuous stairwell and you’ll see the tiled/mosaic Molly doormat. Enter into the space and take a moment to take it all in.

The bar is uber cool. A dimly lit space with a mix of booths, lounges and tables, with candles to provide light for you to peruse the menu. An 100 year old piano sits in the corner, ready for live music to entertain the crowds.

Drink wise, you’ll be wowed by the expansive bar which is fully stocked with the most extensive whiskey list you’ll find, with over 300 on the list alone. We love finding new whiskies that we haven’t tried before and Molly had plenty.

We also sampled the Glenglassaugh port cask and loved the briny sweet flavours of this whisky which are reflective of this seaside distillery.

Whilst it specialises in whisky, they’ve also got plenty of gins and other cocktails too. I wasn’t sure what to order and gave my taste preferences to the barman and he whipped me up a cocktail with Gin, Grenadine, Sweet Vermouth, Lemon And Egg white. It was light and sweet and delicious.

It was tough to decide whether this was the favourite or “Alfie’s Bakery cocktail”. We’ve never had anything like it; infused with rum, demara sugar, burnt butter and raisin toast. This stiff drink brought out all those flavours in spades. We would certainly return for this alone.

Although we didn’t eat, since our bar visit preceded a previously booked dinner, the cheese and charcuterie platters looked incredible and we’ll certainly be up for ordering one of these next time.

A visit here will certainly take you back in time, for all the right reasons. It is contextually fitting to the prohibition era, it has a whole lot of class and character and great drinks to boot.

Add the map coordinates to you phone and make your way to the bar. Half the fun is finding it and the rest is waiting for you behind the unmarked wooden door.

Molly.

35°16’44.5″S 149°07’42.0″E.

Hours

Mon to Wed: 4pm-midnight

Thurs to Sat: 4pm-2am

molly.bar