+81 Aizome Bar West End | Must Do Brisbane

+81 Aizome Bar is a glamorous 10-seater Japanese bar unlike anything else to be found in Brisbane, hidden away on a West End corner next to a fitness centre.

Step through the glass doors and behind the blue curtains is a setting reminiscent of Tokyo's Ginza cocktail bars.

Customer sitting on stool at +81 Aziome Bar

Designed by Alexander Lotersztain, the bar is a vision of minimalist elegance and traditional Japanese aesthetics, featuring a deep indigo colour palette, natural wood, and leather accents.

Plates of food & cocktail on bar at +81 Aziome Bar

At the helm is Mixologist Tony Huang, who has curated a menu of innovative cocktails which balance Japanese flavours with a contemporary approach and served in exquisite Japanese glassware. On offer are a blend of sake-inspired classics, tea-based creations, and cocktails with fresh/ contemporary twists, inspired by Japan's fresh fruit cocktails.

Choose from the likes of Dirty Mango Martini, White Tea Century, Botryis Old Fashioned or Watermelon Colada, all of which are a real treat. There's also a selection of Neo (house-aged and crafted over 3-5 days) cocktails, which are served in a wine format and include Cacao Riesling, Kiwi Sparkling Sake, Banana Sherry and Tomato Rose.

As well as cocktails, +81 Aizome Bar serves wine and beers, with a choice of Heads of Noosa or Japanese Rice Lager in tap as well as Japanese craft beers and Australian craft beer (including non-alcoholic Heads of Noosa).

The small degustation bar food menu is a taste of things to come when the restaurant next door opens in early 2025*, and includes appellation oysters - whisky moroyaki (Suntory hollandaise & lime) or smoked cucumber (pickled cucumber & kombu oil) as well as edamame with shichimi salt.

Another bar menu offering is a delectable version of the Hokkaido tart the summer tartlet (manchego cheese, sunflower praline & caviar) and there's also Satsuma-age (saddle-tail snapper, bonito & kohlrabi) and prawn shinjo-age (prawn head emulsion & yuzu kosho.

Traditional Japanese touches include cold towels served on silver dishes, ice carved in front of guests and palate cleansers served before food, based on the ingredients of the cocktail.