The Rum Bar

I met a friend for drinks at The Rum Bar on a Tuesday night and we were delighted to discover that they also offer 2-for-1 tapas on Tuesdays, making their dishes very good value. After ordering our drinks (wine for my friend, Captain Morgans with Coke and lime for me – try it, it’s amazing!), we browsed the food menu and picked one plate each to share. The food didn’t take too long to come out, and it was no hardship sitting outside admiring the waterfront while we waited. The pork belly with pumpkin, walnuts and ricotta salata came out first – it was beautifully presented on a stone plate with the pumpkin puree smeared underneath the two pieces of pork. We cut them up to share and I thought the pops of nutty flavour really made the dish. The pork itself was lovely and tender with a comforting roast flavour. Our other dish was the octopus with almond gazpacho, olives, compressed cucumber and tomatoes. I adore octopus and these pieces were thick but very tender, and went perfectly with the almond gazpacho. The olives were very small but the cucumber added a fun flavour (more like a pickle). I really enjoyed the light food and the fabulous view – try it sometime.

The Rum Bar, 6/2 Trevillian Quay, Kingston ACT                                      therumbar.com.au

Mint

There’s really nothing like sitting in a garden bar on a summer night, especially when you’ve managed to escape work early! We headed over to Mint at about 4:30pm on a weekday for a friend’s farewell, and arrived to an empty bar, giving us a monopoly on service and our pick of the tables. I ordered a Hendrick’s and tonic, which was poured into a long glass with great care and served with a wedge of cucumber. Unfortunately, the tonic tasted a bit watered-down, but the measure of gin was full and the service friendly. After lounging around for a couple of hours, we got peckish, so ordered a plate of hot wings and the pepperoni pizza. They came out promptly, and in serves of 6 (6 wings, 6 slices of pizza). The wings were quite salty but the dipping sauce was delicious and there was quite a bit of meat on each one. The pizza was the highlight though, with a perfectly thin, crispy base and minimal but tasty toppings in true Italian style: rich tomato, completely melted cheese and spicy pepperoni. I’ll be back to try their other pizzas and chill out in the leafy green space.

Mint Garden Bar, Gorman House Arts Centre, Batman Street, Braddon ACT http://www.sagerestaurant.net.au/mint-garden-bar/