Frisk!

Another sunny afternoon in the middle of Perth’s ‘winter’ and what better way to spend it than sinking a few brews in one of Northbridge’s trendy small bars. We headed down to Frisk for a few drinks, some food and a chance to work on some ideas for the site.  I should’ve checked on the website beforehand, but the BYO arrangement they have with the restaurant down the road (Lacker’s Grill) is not available on Sundays because the restaurant is closed. No biggie though, it just turned out that lunch was a bit more liquid based. 

It’s pretty obvious that Frisk started out as a cafe/take away coffee joint and then later on, thanks to WA’s revamped liquor licensing rules, acquired a small bar licence and stocked the place with enough spirits to fuel the launch of a shuttle into space. Their branding still has Frisk Espresso on it and even though it was a smidge past midday there were still quite a few people inside enjoying their late morning coffees. Probably why we had a few surprised/shocked looks directed our way by other patrons when we ordered a round of beers, which were both great by the way. I had a 500ml can of Sapporo, which I am almost certian had a hole in the bottom, it went down way too fast. Matt had a Pepperjack Handcrafted Ale, which was one of the best tasting craft beers I've had in a long time.

The decor is brilliant, spray painted art laid out across the walls, retro looking wall paper covering the back section and a couple of massive sheets of recycled wood behind and above the bar. The more I looked around the more I noticed all the quirky little tidbits around the joint, angry bird key chains dangling from the roof, an old record player used as a table and they even had free wifi. Although Lacker’s down the road was closed, Frisk does offer some smaller, bar snack type options. We ordered the chorizo with lemon, grilled haloumi and cheese fat bread (not a typo, it was chunky bread). The food was reasonably priced at $7 a dish, came out quite quick and was delicious. Nothing fancy, but did the job well. My only criticism would be that they should drain the haloumi a bit before serving it, it was just a touch too oily.

The service on the whole was great, the guy behind the bar was friendly and knew what he was doing both on the coffee and drinks front. We had a couple of G&T’s (Hendricks) after our beers and he knew to add cucumber to them. If you haven’t tried a Hendricks G&T yet, I’d highly recommend it, especially with cucumber, It’s a great, refreshing drink. Most drinks were reasonably priced and saying that you are spoilt for choice when it comes to spirits would be an understatement. There are over 40 gins, almost 20 tequilas, a bunch of rums and vodkas and a good selection of craft beers and wines.

All up, Frisk is a great little bar to go to and is a refreshing change from the bigger pubs/clubs that Northbridge is better known for. Next time you’re in ‘The Bridge’ and don’t feel like lining up for five hours, dealing with drunken youths or getting beer/bourbon spilt all over your new jeans, head down to Frisk.