With complimentary plates between 4pm and 6pm – that alone is enough to draw the crowds. But add to that list an impressive cocktail menu and a serious approach to espresso— and Bar Americano is now one of the hottest places in Melbourne's CBD. The bar is a joint collaboration between Der Raum owner Mathew Bax and manager Mathew Rees. Bar Americano was opened by Matthew Bax in 2011 as homage to the Golden Age of drinking, the time of the “American Bar”. The drinks of the “American bar” are the USA’s greatest cultural export. The concept was born out of foreign demand; well-heeled Europeans discovered these liquid delights in the Jazz cities of Chicago and New York. They (along with the thirsty Yanks fleeing the drought of Prohibition) cried out for these innovative concoctions back in Europe. The “American Bar” is the perfect balance of American “get-up-n-go” and refined European service.
