It’s a casual affair at Badger Vs Hawk. Tacked on to the back of a café, the garage-turned-drinking-space feels so much like your friend's house that when we rock up on a Saturday night and discover they’ve sold themselves out of rum, it seems only natural to take a fiddy and do a grog-run. That’s what mates do. And this is a matesy kind of joint.
A simple set-up of timber garden furniture, heaters and a DJ booth-cum-bar, BvH is run by BFFs Cosmo Hawke and Lucien Kolff, and almost everyone there looks like one of their pals. Us rum-runners included, we guess.
It takes them a while to get their flow on in the evening – their specialist coffee shop out front closes just an hour before the bar opens. But once the vinyl is spinning and the George Foreman is cranking (there are tacos – that goes without saying) nothing can stand between you, a Machete Libre and good times. You’re looking at a just-so-crazy-it-works mix of cold drip coffee (the Machete, which they extract next door), lime juice, and Havana Club rum. It’s fine drinking at $12 and is guaranteed to get even the most bruised liver back in the saddle.
It’s not really a cocktail bar though, so instead of going off-piste with your demands, consider stepping into a Stone and Wood lager. Head in for a mid-week post work beer and a chat, or pack your party shoes for the Friday night DJ set.