Address: 476 Mt Eden Rd
Ph: (09) 630 5251
Website: edencloakroom.co.nz
Open: Tuesday-Sunday, noon-late, Monday 3pm-late.
This is one of those bars I really wanted to dislike, because every time I passed by there were people sitting outside enjoying a beer while I was stuck in traffic, fuming at the complete inability of people to drive with anything even approaching courtesy. Or competence, come to that; but I digress.
I wandered into Eden Cloakroom for a well-deserved drink on a warm day and was struck by several things at once. First, it is tiny; if a fight started in here, one person would need to be outside to have room to swing a punch.
And second, it would probably be a bit bigger if they removed the foot-deep flock wallpaper. That's a small cavil, if you'll excuse the pun, because if its dimensions are small, its good points are bigger than Texas.
First of all, it has a decent range of beer (as long as you prefer lager) and a good wine list. The back shelf looks as strong as many I've seen and the food is lovely. It's better than lovely, it's great and not over the top pricewise, like some places I know.