Latest fromBar Reviews
Bar/fly: Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur's sky watering holes take Kate Shuttleworth to impressive new heights.
Bar/fly: Fun in Berlin
Poor but sexy - you can't argue with Berlin's unofficial slogan. Although it doesn't possess the wealth of other German cities, it has sultry charms.
Bar/fly: Greek Islands
This feels like a joke in the making but there we were, a Kiwi, an Australian, an American and a Pom standing round a remote cafe on the Greek island of Kos.
Pub spy: Black Salt, New Lynn
I hate driving to New Lynn. There's something depressing about the endless roadworks and the strange feeling that, once you've arrived there, you've died and gone to strip-mall hell.
Pub spy: Brother Beer, Auckland CBD
I honestly didn't know this place existed until about four months ago, which shows how far under the radar Brothers Beer has flown. So when a friend suggested meeting for a beer we settled on this place.
Pub spy: Fork & Brewer, Wellington
Tucked away in a former pizza joint just off Wellington's Willis St, this pub presented me with something of a problem when I first found it.
Pub spy: Goldfinch, Auckland CDB
A few years ago, this place used to be called the Engine Room and it was the proud home of possibly the laziest bartender I have ever met.
Pub spy: Doolan Brothers, Ellerslie
I may have mentioned before that I'm not a huge fan of so-called Irish pubs.
Pub spy: Citizen Park, Kingsland
I didn't know this was here, to be honest. Usually, when I come out of Kingsland station, I tend to turn left out of habit, since that is where the bars and restaurants mostly are, but someone suggested we meet here and so we did.
Pub spy: The Lumsden Free House, New Market
I'd been into the Lumsden before and wasn't impressed, but what a difference a few months makes.
Pub spy: My Bar, Auckland CBD
There I was, minding my own business at a rather lovely wine tasting at Vivace on High St, when my wandering eye roved out the window and caught sight of a tiny bar in a little lane opposite.
Pub spy: The Golden Dawn, Ponsonby
It says it is situated "at the unholy crossroads of Ponsonby and Richmond Rd" and takes pains to distance itself from the Greek neo-Nazi party of the same name.
Pub spy: Malt, Grey Lynn
Malt feels a bit like an old friend, albeit one you haven't seen for a while.
Review: Eichardt's Tapas Bar, Queenstown
There's something very "Downunder" about the service in Queenstown. Waiters, bartenders, receptionists and shopkeepers take that relaxed, "she'll be right", Kiwi attitude to a new high.
Don Kavanagh: Pa rum pa pum pum
Tasting 50-year-old rum is a privilege and a joyous event, finds Don Kavanagh.