Holliava

Holliava

36 Swan St, Richmond
www.holliava.net.au

BarAmigo’s two pesos – Laid back, casual, unpretentious atmosphere that kinda gets the overflow from Precinct but is still a pretty civilised bar.

When visited – Sat 25 June 2011 11pm to midnight

The bar at Holliava... from our experience time your run as it gets packed and then there's no one waiting at all

Holliava’s good for a casual drink in an unpretentious bar like atmosphere. Pretty packed when the footy is on at the G so expect a line if its match day. Other than that, you’re pretty much right to rock up whenever for that easy drink in a lively atmosphere.

We’ve come from a random house party down the road and are looking for somewhere to kick on. Precinct was the suggestion but I’m quietly (well rather adamantly actually) suggesting elsewhere…. Thankfully there’s a line at Precinct so Holliava ends up being our default option.

At 11pm there’s no issue getting in. We are friendly and say hi to the bouncers and walk straight through. Holliava is rather lively and rather busy with early 20s through to early 30s who are busy knocking back the drinks. No real need to dress up with some guys in t shirts and hoodies but there are the occasional girls in dresses and high heels. I actually feel overdressed in my shirt, dressy jeans and sneakers.

The crowd is lively and creates a warm atmosphere. It’s a decent venue to have that birthday or going away drinks cause you can bag a booth or table area earlier on in the evening. Heading out the back, we inadvertently crash some private function by walking through to the space on the left which we later realise is roped off. Oh… food isn’t complementary???

Carlton draught schooners at $6 each and cocktails at $16 (despite the website saying $14). Cocktails look ok and my friends say they are pretty good… but they’ve had a few drinks through the night so you gotta be a little dubious about their rating of the cocktails. Coopers Pale, Little Creates Bright and Heineken also on tap. 5 to 6 of each of red and white wine available by the glass.

Make sure you time your run to the bar… on both occasions lining up for drinks we ended up waiting for quite a while as it was rather packed… but in between… hardly anyone waiting at all. Luck of the draw I guess.

After bumping into a random friend who’s celebrating a friend’s going away, its time for me to head into the city and catch up with some other friends… midnight… time for a taxi. Going to break my rule of trying to only do one cab a night… Holliava was a good stop over for a drink or two in a lively yet unpretentious atmosphere.

Salud
Eddie
BarAmigo – Your friend at the bar

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