Dare to journey down the rabbit hole to find yourself in a weird and wonderful cocktail lounge, reminiscent of a speakeasy, at the Velveteen Rabbit on Caxton Street in Petrie Terrace.
The main 1920s modern bar is set for a vibrant atmosphere, complete with art deco influences and an energetic social scene; enjoy crafted cocktails and carefully selected beverages as you immerse yourself in stunning surroundings.
Why should you drop in for a meal at Velveteen Rabbit? Here are three good reasons:
What is a must-try dish/drink?
A must-try dish would definitely be our version of a crumpet - it’s a housemade sourdough crumpet with whipped beef fat, herb emulsion and cured venison. This comes out on a bed of dried herbs that we add a small bit of coal to induce smoking.
As we stay true to native ingredients and locally sourced produce, the smell is very reminiscent of native Australian smoke smells. We are also sustainable in this practice where the herbs used for this are from herbs that were not able to be used fresh that we dry in house to preserve for this use.
Our must-try cocktail currently would be our ‘Maleficents Curse’, which is a spiced wine, gin, dark rum, smoked eucalyptus honey and walnut bitters. It is blazed with tossed fire and served in a tea cup to suit our ‘Wonderland’ themed cocktail bar downstairs.
What is your point of difference, what sets you apart?
We pride ourselves on making selections that are Australian, local and sustainable wherever possible including our beers and spirits. We also embody these practices into our own recipes and procedures to ensure low to no wastage and nose-to-tail philosophy.
For example, our KFC which is a fried carrot dish which emulates ‘buffalo chicken wings but not buffalo chicken wings’ is a dish where every part of the carrot is utilised. Any off cuts of carrot when portioned are juiced, this juice is the buffalo sauce that the carrots get tossed in.
The pulp left over from juicing is also kept and dehydrated and used as the seasoning for the carrots. This is then served with our house soured cream and fermented chilli oil which is made from chillis that were no longer good for use, professionally fermented then made into oil.
With regards to our cocktails often we utilise the whey left from our clarifications as garnish or further flavours for desserts.
Another point of difference would definitely be our rabbit hole entrance or our cocktail bar. We would have to be the only bar that we are aware of in Brisbane that has a speakeasy secret entrance to a cocktail bar in their venue.
Tell us something not many people know about the venue?
The quality of our food and cocktails that we are producing. Our kitchen is headed by Head Chef Kyle McNamara who is a hatted Chef from Beechmont Estate! He is amazing and creates beautiful dishes that are both a work of art visually and taste wise. Our speakeasy cocktail bar also seems to not be well known yet but that’s kind of the point.
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