This is the city’s original small bar, which is probably how it managed to snag such a conveniently eponymous, and accurate name. You’ll find it smack in the middle of a row of narrow, three-story terraces that have thus far managed to avoid being over developed. They’ve established a good base line of crowd-pleasing drinks that plays to the after work crowd. Is it a big beer kind of day? Or will a small beer for $8.50 do the trick. We like the simplicity of the choices needed when you’re drinking here. There are nine burgers, four tacos and small bites of hot, salty, fried morsels like chips, calamari and arancini. But to really keep your budget in check head here on a Wednesday when you can get a very respectable basket of hot wings for a fiver to go with an Espresso Martini or a glass of wine. And on that note, all the wines here are by the glass and there’s a lot more variety for under a tenner than over it. This is a bar designed for regular visitors rather than saving it up for a special occasion. Depending on your mood and the weather you can head downstairs for the historic stone bunker vibes by the fireplace bejewelled in candles and dripping wax; climb the steep stairway to claim an upstairs table; colonise the seats out on the skinny balcony or aim for the window seat for maximum people watching potential. Small Bar is an easy bar to like. It’s the sort of place that manages to be cheap, friendly and cosy without seeming to try too hard, which is probably why it’s still going strong.
