Highly original, genuinely delicious drinks.
The first hint that Byrdi is not your average watering hole comes at first contact. The minimalist, earth-toned space is all curved walls and timber counters, mood lighting, coconut husk flooring and staff decked out in crushed linen. In the absence of a back bar lined with bottles, and with a stainless steel-topped work station, it could be an upmarket skin-care store, a day spa or a sci-fi movie set. Instead, it’s one of Melbourne’s most interesting and experimental bars where off-the-wall ingredients – fermented honey, smoked pears, fermented pineapple, toasted corn husk – are blended, fermented, distilled and centrifuged into complex, delicious and truly original drinks.
It won’t be the right fit for those dead set on a classic Martini or a glass of Champagne, but Byrdi is very easy to like, even for those who don’t consider themselves adventurous. Helped along by quietly enthusiastic, friendly staff who defuse what could otherwise be a pretentious situation, the drinks do most of the heavy lifting, simply by demonstrating that combinations such as carbonated watermelon and salted berries are as tasty and thirst-quenching as they are out-there. It’s like a well-guided drinks safari to parts unknown, a blessing at a time when travel in any form is a precious thing.
It’s fine to swing by Byrdi for a quick drink and a snack as if it were a regular bar. The drinks list makes it easy. There’s a brief selection of wine (two red, two white, one fizz, all natural, all by the glass), organic-oriented beer and cider and, the main event, the drinks concocted on site and divided into three categories: seasonal, ferments and highballs. So it’s easy to grab a stool at the central bar, get yourself a Not Mezcal (made using smoked and fermented Yarra Valley pears to mimic mezcal, and mixed with a pear soda), order a superb snack of green beans in salt-and-vinegar tempura batter and be very happy about it.
Or you can settle back into a comfortable banquette and commit to a snack-and-drink pairing over three or five courses to really explore what Byrdi is all about. There might be grilled cos lettuce hearts, yakitori-style chicken skewers, and prawn toast served with pepperberry mayo. The matches might include a ferment made with honey and marigolds or a seasonal cocktail that combines wasabi, apple, coconut and nasturtium. It’s an experience made more wonderful by the superb glassware, handcrafted earthenware dishes and a room designed to be easy on the eye, plus that always-exciting feeling of experiencing something that’s truly original.
