The Laneway

Tucked away, literally in a laneway. It’s intimate and a little bit hard to find. Just what us bar flies love. So you sneak through Urbane on Mary St and skip up the stairs to find bar keeps with a true passion for innovative, classy drinks.
I walked up to the bar and said, ‘it’s my friend’s birthday, I need a drink that’s, well, ridiculous’. The response… ‘Ridiculous? We can do that’. Before I knew there was blue fire, dry ice, top shelf cointreau, sorbet and a whole world of fun. These guys take pride in their art. No fish bowls with umbrellas here.
For my drink. The gentleman. Apart from tasting amazing, the key element is a triple frozen chunk of ice that took 72 hrs to make. Come here for post after Eagle St dinner drinks. You will be welcomed. But most of all, rest assured your drinks will be exotic and delicious in a fantastic atmosphere.

The Laneway was a regular haunt of mine when I was a city worker. It always worked a treat whether it was with a colleague, client or a date to a little hidden spot away from it all.
A good range of beers, wine and spirits along with attentive bartenders who can make up a great cocktail. Also has a very thorough bar menu with great food at about a quarter of the price of The Euro downstairs.

Great spot for after work drinks with friends. Can get very busy at peak times with limited seating so not great for large groups. They have a good selection of drinks including on rap beers and excellent cocktails. The bar also has a projector running pointed at the alley wall showing random and somewhat interested content. I’d highly recommend you pop in and try this hideaway bar even if it’s just for one or two drinks.

I’ve been a number of times to the Laneway, and I still enjoy every visit as much as the last. There are two ways to get in, either through the Euro on Mary St, or «the Laneway» (a.k.a Spencer Lane) off Margaret St.
First and foremost, the staff are very amicable. On my first visit I was helped to find a table for my friends and I, and we were brought menus. I was informed that there is table service here. Off to a good start! Every time that I have been, I like to try something different. They have a very good range of drinks, including some great craft beers. If they don’t have one that’s on the list, the staff happily recommend a great alternative. I like that in a barman (or barwoman!).
The food is also your standard classy-​bar-​food faire. French fries, edamame and croquettes are some of my favourites. Unlike other reviews here, It’s never taken too long to get food, even when it’s quite busy.
It is a small-​ish area, so my advice is to get there early to grab a good table. I can’t wait to visit again!

We popped into The Laneway to honour a friend’s birthday, thinking that it’d be a good location for a workday lunch that wasn’t sushi on the run or last night’s leftovers. Something slightly more special, but still in keeping with the ‘let’s take an hour or so for lunch’ working-​girl goal.
This was possibly an error.
The four of us all ordered burgers with a bowl of chips with rosemary salt to share. For my part I ordered ‘the Manwich’ because I do love a delicious piece of steak. I probably should have specified that I like my steak on the rarer side of medium. It came out rather leathery and overdone.
While I would have ordinarily asked whether cooking the steak this way was the norm for this particular burger, I didn’t dare for fear it would be taken away and I’d have to wait another hour for a slightly rarer piece of rib fillet to come out.
So yes, it did take quite a while for our meals to arrive.
One poor friend may be suffering indigestion as she had to eat so quickly in order to make it back to work for a meeting. In the normal scheme of things, 1hr45mins should be plenty of time for a work lunch, but sadly not at The Laneway.
My leathery burger aside, everyone else said their meals were super tasty. And the chips were salty and moorish.
Next time I head to The Laneway, it might be for after work drinks when there’s plenty of time to imbibe and enjoy.
And just as an aside, do take Meegan W’s advice and go through The Euro rather than Urbane as they don’t seem to like you taking the Urbane entrance — even though it’s all same same but different.

Adding some much needed ‘cool’ to the Eagle Street area, The Laneway is a funky little bar tucked behind The Euro restaurant. Accessible from Margaret Street or through The Euro, The Laneway offers a bar menu as well as a wide range of beverages. The windows around the venue open towards the wall of the next building, onto which old films are projected. The result is an eclectic space with a great atmosphere. The bartenders really know their stuff, the room is well thought out, and the bathrooms are very clean and very colourful. Although it’s easy to miss it, go for a look and enjoy what The Laneway has to offer. A great place for after work drinks on a Friday afternoon.