Junk Bar

This little piece of history is located in the perfect spot for a little private function realness in Ashgrove.
If you’ve ever wanted to visit the past and get a little nostalgic on, come visit the Junk bar.
Service is immaculate. The drinks are fantastically prepared and taste incredible.
Highly recommended.

Before I forget, because when switching from Samsung to iPhone — my photos were lost on my SD card :((((((
I need to let everyone know I had one of the best cocktails of my entire year in Australia (Gold Coast and Brisbane) here at Junk Bar. I believe it was the Junk Delight — the waitress described it as somewhat of a turkish delight flavor (which I still have never had actual turkish delight just FYI). The description just sounded interesting so I went with it and I LOVED THIS DRINK.
It was honestly so good and slouching around on a couch there made it even better. I was in the mood for a chill night and I got exactly that — with one of the most memorable drinks I’d had in a very long time.

Visited this rather interesting establishment for a private function, and thought it was a great venue! Standing outside, it’s a totally unassuming place, with not much to indicate what is to come apart from a very small sign and some stools.
Stepping inside however transports you to a whole different world, dimly lit, cozy and decorated in a rather interesting way — making it feel a bit like a cabin in the woods.
There is a decent list of cocktails available, and a good selection of food that they source from the food outlets in the neighborhood too. The staff are friendly and helpful.

I’ll keep this short and sweet. Private function. Intriguing venue. Warm when it was damn cold outside. Friendly, efficient staff. Awesome cocktails, reasonably priced. Flexible with requirements for function. Food ordered in from neighbouring outlets was tasty and good variety. Would go again even though it’s far from home.

I only recently discovered this hidden gem in Ashgrove of all places! Right next door to «The Cash Store». Ashgrove is about as far from the groovy surrounds of West End and Fortitude Valley as you can get!
The venue appears from outside as just a vacant shop space in darkness, with a sliding glass door saying «Air Conditioned» on it. There’s no visible signage from a moving car on the road. Upon closer inspection on foot, there is a small chalk board saying «Junk Bar», and one of those tiny licensee plaques above the door. But the point is, this place is easy to miss!
I opened the sliding glass door, and moved the curtains aside to reveal a charming, dimly lit little lounge with 1960s/​70s décor. It was a bit like a log cabin. They had old fashioned couches to sit on, reading lamps, deer heads on the walls, forest wall paper, a book shelf with a vinyl record player on it (playing records).
And the staff were very welcoming and accommodating.
They had delicious cocktails served in these old fashioned gold coloured metal goblets and wine cups.
And you can order Chinese and Thai food from their menu. Their kitchen? Nearby Chinese and Thai takeaway restaurants! Turns out they have an agreement with these businesses! You order from Junk Bar. They order from the takeaway places for you while you relax with cocktails in the kitschy atmosphere. And then they serve your meals in more vintage style dishes and bowls.
It’s a very lovely place.

At first I thought it was a strange place to open up a bar like this in a suburb like Ashgrove, a suburb I called home for several years.
But after visiting here a few times I think it’s great to see bars of this nature taking a chance and opening up in a suburb that hasn’t seen anything of the kind before.
Why compete in a high density high rent location like the valley or west end when you can become the favourite watering hole for a whole suburb allowing those who want a couple of cheeky mid week drinks the chance to walk somewhere as opposed to venturing elsewhere.

From the outside it looks like a dodgy drug den but inside it’s like a little slice of heaven (or heroin? Whatever floats your boat)
Lots of vintage chairs, comfy couches, excellent music (we listened to 1920’s ukulele songs once), dim lighting & awesome landscape wallpaper. It’s like visiting a rich, great Aunt who loves to spoil you with delicious cocktails & finger food. The service is great, they’re super attentive, just sit down and they’ll give you a menu and bring you a drink in a jiffy.
I’m pretty sure I’ve had every drink on the menu. They’re all good.

We sat in a dark, dimly-​lit corner of Junk Bar and all agreed that we were just waiting for Uma Thurman in that yellow Kill Bill jumpsuit or Bill Murray to be sitting in the corner opposite us. Sure our imaginations were running wild, but it seemed like Junk Bar is the kind of place where that can happen. It begins when you walk through an unsuspecting glass sliding door, through a plush curtain and into the hip and casual lounge bar that you can’t possibly imagine exists in this strip of suburbia. Yet, exist it does and forgetting you’ve just walked off an Ashgrove foot path, here you find yourself in a bar where you’re imagining it is all part of a Tarantino flick.
But I digress. The cocktails here are around the $ 15 mark which is respectable and the service is done so with a smile. We ordered bagels from the bites menu, purely for the novelty of drinking cocktails and eating a bagel. Don’t judge! Deciding what to drink was the hardest part — I ended up going with a trusty Gin-​based Bramble but could have easily been seduced by drinks with names like Pie in The Sky (polish vodka, vanilla galliano, cloudy apple juice and cinnamon) or a Winter Blanket.

Despite the fact that Ashgrove may not be the most convenient night spot, it is this that saves Junk Bar from being just another artsy-​fartsy bar filled with all-​too-​bored hipsters. Instead, the crowd is a great mix of all ages and all kinds.
If you’re not careful, you could easily miss the entrance, but tucked behind a screen door and plain brown curtain lies a wonderland of mismatched couches, vintage screens, and a kitschy interior.
It’s a small space (sandwiched in a tiny space), but feels intimate, not crowded. The staff are extremely helpful and just wonderful, quick to welcome you, and to serve up one of the absolutely fabulous cocktails. The cocktail menu is quite extensive and very broad; you’re sure to find something you like, whether it’s a twist on an old favourite or something new. I also think this may actually be the best espresso martini in Brisbane.
If you live around Ashgrove, or want somewhere you can spend a whole evening (rather than bar/​club hopping in the city/​valley), check out Junk Bar (but make sure you book a table!)

Junk Bar is just a little pocket rocket of surprises tucked away in Ashgrove’s suburbia. From the outside, Junk Bar looks like nothing but a quiet, somewhat abandoned storefront (much like Laruche in the valley), but upon entry you’ll be very pleasantly surprised.
It’s very dimly lit inside, but when your eyes adjust you’ll find a very charmingly constructed décor complete with antique furniture and wall hangings. When it comes to the bar staff, they are incredibly attentive and the atmosphere very cosy. The only downside is that this place can get crowded very quickly and you may have to wait around at the bar for some seats if you’ve come with a large-​ish group.
Across the road you’ll see a Dominos and a Chinese restaurant, and somehow Junk Bar’s displacement here adds to its charm; it’s almost as if you need to put in the hard yards during the search to be rewarded with cold beers and fancy cocktails upon your success. (That said, the bar is quite easy to get to, being located quite close to a bus stop.)

If you’re in Ashgrove and looking for a starting place, before you hit the main hubs in the city or Valley, make sure you put aside some dollars to go visit the Junk Bar. One of the advantages of the Junk Bar is that is on the same corner that a number of busses leave from.
From the outside, with the sole security guard at the door, it looks like there’s a well-​guarded secret inside, like something clandestine is underfoot. Stepping through the doorway, the atmosphere, with its low-​lit tables and retro fitted patrons instantly makes the Junk Bar an intriguing place to visit.
The interior, or at least the shape of it, looks like an old Chinese restaurant that has been taken over with second hand chic furniture and decorations circa the 1950s. There are dark little alcoves spread though out to immerse yourself in and with the lighting to a minimum a moody yet artisan feeling hangs in the air. On the tables, an array of glasses all shapes and sizes sit, their elixirs helping to increase the volume bouncing within the walls.
If its packed, you may have to wait to be seated, there has been an occasion where I’ve experienced this. As frustrating as it was, the payoff was the selection of cocktails at reasonable prices that I got to explore. No wonder why people were taking their time.
Time passes fast in the Junk Bar and after a few whiskey sours you may want to check your timepiece so you don’t miss that bus. However, if you do, the other option of staying put is just as satisfying.

Sandwiched between a rundown fish and chips store and a seedy looking cash exchange in the quiet suburb of Ashgrove the Junk Bar could not be more out of place. From the outside the white wall and curtained door immediately piques ones curiosity. A small chalk board displaying drinks specials remains the only indication of what kind of business lies inside. And the experience of entering this dark, intricately lit cocktail bar for the first time can best be described as disorientating. A relatively small space, Junk is populated by worn, comfy looking couches and segmented by low hanging drapes. But as I took my seat to the sounds of David Bowie’s «Starman» it was the deer head mounted on the wall above me that most captured my attention.
Despite the fact Junk would not feel out of place in a David Lynch dream sequence the venue is saved from being too ostentatious by the friendliness of the staff. Stopping to take orders at all the right times the hostess was extremely well informed about the menu and more than happy to have a chat. The variety in drinks invites repeat business as there is no way to get to everything that looks good in one sitting. If you only have time for one, however, the unanimous highlight of my visit was the chilli chocolate cocktail which had just the right amount of bite to accompany the softness of the chocolate.
Admittedly, Ashgrove might be a bit out of the way for some but I would argue it is Junk’s location that makes it such a unique and worthwhile experience. The juxtaposition between the sleepy Brisbane suburb outside and the exotic cocktail bar inside lends the whole exercise an air of absurdity — in the best possible way.

If a friend had not told me exactly where Junk Bar was, I never would have known where to find it. This tiny hole in the wall joint is tucked away in the suburb of Ashgrove. It looks little more than a door from the outside but stepping through the curtain is like entering into a new little world. With quirky décor including deer antlers, forest wallpaper, small palm trees, you really feel as though you have escaped Brisbane. A very secluded and cosy atmosphere is created through the eclectic couches and dim lamps, while the music stems from vinyls played on an old record player.
Junk Bar is a table service cocktail bar. Seated in a small couch in the corner, the hostess was extremely friendly and attentive and produced an impressive cocktail and drink menu for my perusal. And once I had chosen, the cocktails I tasted were amazing and well-​priced for the quality. This is definitely a place I would recommend for a completely different Brisbane bar experience. While off the beaten track a bit, Junk Bar is worth the trek to Ashgrove. It really is like stepping into a magical new world, one I would happily get lost in for hours.