Bar Fly: Raise a glass at Meat Candy, Northbridge

There’s the décor, a fantasy of milk bar nostalgia and minimalism. The service is restaurant-polished and the drinks side has a similar attention to detail as the dining does.

Thanks to new licensing laws, it’s possible to sit down anywhere in Meat Candy and enjoy a bevie sans food. Its best seats, however, are the five (non-reservable) bar stools that ring the curved copper bar. These perches are perfect for interacting with bar manager Patrick and his fellows as they serve guests some of William St’s best cocktails.

If you’re not familiar with the invigorating qualities of the Scofflaw ($17), this is as good a place to learn about the magic that happens when rye whisky, grenadine, dry vermouth and lemon juice come together.

That disc of hickory-smoked orange that garnishes the drink? Pretty much the American-Australian fun of Meat Candy in microcosm (see also the offer of Boilermakers and Picklebacks).

The strike rate is high across the quietly inventive cocktail list, from the herbal pleasures of the Psychics Tonic ($18) to the refreshing tequila-powered William Street Fizz ($17).

Bright house-made sodas feature in many of the drinks and are also available on their own ($6 and perhaps a bit steep) or enriched with a slug of booze ($12 and sharper value).

As far as single-serve wine and beer choices go, there’s not much below the $10 mark, but both categories have been stocked with care and an eye to Australian producers doing good things and telling the story their way.

It’s much like Meat Candy itself, really. Fun, fun, fun.