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Establishment

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

This huge, heritage-sandstone frontage houses a 42-metre long marble bar, stretching into a glaze of soft white light and parenthesised by cast iron columns that reach five meters to the pressed metal ceiling. At a glance it is easy to see the Establishment takes its name seriously. These intimations of high grandeur may well attest to a certain ruling elite and the society it commands. If, by society, we are talking about the kind you find in the social pages. In fact, the lounges seem strategically parked to capture all varieties of fashionable driftwood that might skirt the bar length.

But with two Prestigious Hotel of the Year awards from the AHA in the bag, the Establishment appears to have earned its name. The Garden Bar has been built in the cool pocket of an old-quartered heritage block beneath a glazed atrium, and during kitchen hours a Thai restaurant offers a great range of food. By the weekend the Garden Bar generally fills with loud beats and a hip mixture of fashionistas, darling-allsorts and fly-by-nighters.

The Establishment's snack menu also offers a great seasonal selection of tapas, while an Australian Menu concentrates on modern seafood, pastas and meat-based selection. The wine list offers a substantial variety of celebrated Australian wines, and there is a glorious array of choice when it comes to beer and spirits. Upstairs the celebrated Sushi E Restaurant awaits for those looking to make a real meal of it.
Geoff Stanton, August 2008