There's something lovely about going underground in high summer. Open the old yellow glass-panelled door to Caretaker and the dark, leather-clad interior wraps you in its cool, comforting arms. Caretaker's ethos and cocktail list is modelled on classic New York cocktail bars, but rather than ritzy glitz, the design here is all low-key and well-worn.
The imagined hidey-hole of a hard-working caretaker, explains co-owner Alastair Walker, has been decked out in reclaimed materials including tables made from lacquered old doors, broomsticks across the ceiling, walls made from pressed tin found in the crawlspace above this old waterfront basement room, and heavy old iron safes used in place of cabinetry.
Alistair and his co-owner and wife Heather Garland met while working in lauded cocktail bar The Everleigh in Melbourne's Fitzroy.
They opened Caretaker three months ago in what they describe as an affiliation with The Everleigh (which was co-founded by Sasha Petraske, owner of the hallowed former New York bar Milk & Honey).
In essence, they're upholding this industry-famous standard, giving Auckland a world-class cocktail lounge.
