In a word? Promising!
Mrs Hyde has emerged from Mr Hyde, biologically implausible, but great news for Geelong.
Where? Mrs Hyde, 11 Malop street, Geelong
When? Friday evening
Drinks? Very much so! It's a bar first, with food second, but both seem to be outstanding.
When I heard that Mr Hyde had closed down and was being renovated, I must admit to being a bit bewildered. It was already pretty new and flashy, and I couldn't imagine what the aim would be in renovating it further. I am pleased to report that it was definitely worth the effort.
To go back a step, I was never a huge fan of Mr Hyde, a pretty up-market bar and tapas venue, which at the time was pretty unique in Geelong. I felt like I should love it, on paper it ticked a lot of boxes, but I don't know... something just didn't click for me. It was a bit loud, a bit the wrong crowd for me, a bit... Not quite right. Coffee was good though.
So, having waited a while for it to re-open, and very curious to see what the renos had achieved, my lovely companion and I ventured in for a pre-dinner drink on Friday, and I was really impressed! The decor is lovely, polished but inviting, with a sort of English-hunting-lodge-slash-library feel and big chesterfield sofas. I was surprised to find that the feel and flow of the place really has really lifted, and seems to work much better now. The staff we dealt with were uniformly friendly, polite, helpful and relaxed (there's table service for drinks, a nice luxury that I can't recall encountering elsewhere in Geelong).
Probably the most impressive thing was the drinks list. When we were offered the menu, and pointed toward the cocktails a few times, I only just managed not to roll my eyes, but people - check it out. It was a really thoughtful and inviting list, that has clearly been tailored to the season. The day we went was the winter solstice, and it was an icy evening (that would go on to drop below freezing), so it was a real treat to find a range of warm and warming options, that went way beyond the usual mulled wine and hot toddy. In fact, I'm not even sure how usual that is in Australian winter? It's been a while for us. So alongside mulled wine, mulled cider and mulled ale, there was a winter manhattan and a bunch more cocktails that sounded brilliant but I've just forgotten the details of.
The crowd had a happy, young prossional vibe. With the cocktails hovering close to the $20 mark, and wines by the glass rarely dropping below $10, it's certainly not a student crowd, but it feels like there is a growing slice of the Geelong population that are in their mid twenties to mid thirties, earning a good wage, having fun, and not yet having kids. These are the people I queue for coffee with at Fuel and Spot for Joe. I don't know if they've always been here, and now they have places to gather, or if they (we?) are a new demographic for Geelong, but either way, happy days.
Having become enamoured with hot alcoholic drinks, and mulled cider in particular, through our winter in England, my lovely companion and I both jumped at it when we found mulled cider on this menu. Good choice. it was spicy, warm enough to be able to finish it at a normal pace without it getting too cool, and served in a wine glass with a twist of lemon.
With other plans for dinner we didn't have time to try more of the cocktails or the food, but looking around, both looked brilliant, and I'm sure we will be back soon to check them out. Soon, while the winter goodness lasts... Although I also look forward to seeing the spring options... and the summer options...
Cheers!
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