Sling Lounge

So, Sling may have been the very first bar I went to as a Brisbane resident… and I’m still saying it’s my favorite!
An insane drink menu, killer bartenders, friendly staff, funk décor AND a garden in the back?! Oh yeah, AND POPCORN! They won me over.
They do Margarita Monday, but you really can’t go wrong any day of the week at Sling in my personal opinion. I had the Cane Toad — banana, Disaronno & lychee to name a few ingredients, loved it!
Needless to say, I’ll be back at Sling — it ain’t no fling! (ha, super cheesy!)

This is possibly my favourite place to grab a cocktail in West End. I can never pick out of the 60 odd pages of cocktails but lucky for us the staff here really know what’s up. I always ask for suggestions from the waitstaff and they ask the right questions to make the best suggestion possible. Do I like sweet? Spicy? Sharp? Strong? Do I like bourbon? Gin? Vodka? Bring me whatever you like my darlings, I trust you completely.
From the front it looks small. Don’t let that fool you. The back courtyard is where it’s at. It’s more of a greenhouse than a courtyard. Long tables if you’re going as a group, short ones if you’re a twosome. And their resident possum will drop by nearly every time. Don’t freak out the way I did the first time. You’ll embarrass the ever-​loving crap out of yourself and he’s actually friendly and won’t come near you. I’ve been here in small groups and large ones and every time has been stellar but if you’re going as a large group get the amazing skull of excellence. I’ll upload a picture so it can be seen in all of its glory. It is meant for about 6 people. It is massive. Novelty level is off the charts. They put fruit skewers all over the top and set the drink on fire!!! ON FIRE!!! And then you get to eat the grilled fruit. I highly recommend it. Both the drink and the bar.

After moving to Brisbane, Sling has quickly become a firm favourite. Outstanding cocktail list with some real classics like the aviator and twentieth century. A cute back garden, but I like nabbing the front open window seating if I can, to watch West End go by. The service is great, with friendly and knowledgeable staff. I like the truffle oil popcorn too! I’ll be back here again and again. Don’t go changing, Sling!

After performing a weird show, I needed somewhere to quietly marinate my brain. Sling proved to be perfect, with a ludicrously great scotch list (for somewhere not in Scotland, anyway) and waitstaff who are friendly and know their shit. Simple but cosy décor, unintrusive but head-​noddable background jams and chilled out clientele make this the find of my visit to Brisbane. I will be back; probably every night for the rest of my stay.

Even if Sling appears to be busy and crowded from the outside, it’s well worth going in for a look, because their outdoor courtyard is huge. It’s definitely a comfortable bar to hang out at with friends, though not the kind of cosy place I’d like to go to have a nice drink while I read my book. It’s all completely table service, so there’s never a chance of losing your seat. The wait staff are all really lovely and always make sure you’re never waiting around for too long.
The cocktail menu is absolutely daunting. There’s absolutely anything there that you could imagine, and if somehow none of that strikes your fancy you can give a few choice ingredients to the waiter and they bar staff will make you something to your liking. You won’t go thirsty. While it does seem initially pricey (I don’t think there’s a drink under $ 15 on the menu), but it’s definitely standard if not cheaper than other cocktail places around the city!
I’ve never had a bad cocktail here, and would definitely return again to keep trying them out!

Sling is not for the faint-​hearted. On entering the West End cocktail and tapas bar, you’ll squeeze down a narrow corridor to a lush, outdoor garden-​type drinking area. Then, prepare to be faced with possibly the toughest decision of your drinking life. What cocktail do you choose from the tomb of hundreds that is the menu? Do you go by the most hilarious name? The best description? The one that comes in a tiki head glass? Should you stick with a classic? Is it all too much and should you just do shots?
The answer is easy my friends. Ask the bartender. They’ve never steered me wrong yet. Sling has hundreds of cocktails on the menu — the prices aren’t cheap but neither is the taste. Prepare to shell out around $ 15 a drink, but then prepare to be blown away by the flavours. And always get a lavender swizzle. It’s like fruit tingles and fairy dust.
For those on a budget (me. Always me), Monday night they do $ 10 margaritas, that can get you pleasantly and tastily sloshed.
But please, avoid the coffee cocktails if you’ve been enjoying fruity ones earlier. They will not mix and you will throw up outside the restaurant at breakfast the next morning.

With a list of over 250 cocktails, a cool West End location, and a hidden back courtyard, Sling is a sure thing if you’re looking for a good night in Brisbane. The front area faces onto the street and has some tables and banquette seating. Look up: the ceiling is covered in Astroturf. For some reason I get really about that every time. Everything is topsy-​turvy! And everything will be even more topsy-​turvy after you’ve sampled a few of their creative, well-​made cocktails. The bar staff definitely know their stuff. I mean, they’d have to. Imagine having to know how to make over 250 cocktails off the top of your head. It makes me glad that I’m the one doing the drinking.
As is standard at most decent cocktail lounges, the average price for a Sling creation is around $ 17. It might seem expensive but when you see the amount of craft (and ingredients!) that goes into every drink and take into account that many of these drinks contain three or so different alcohols, you won’t have any qualms about the price.
It’s not super easy to spot and has a bit of a secret laneway vibe. When you see the simple green neon sign that says Sling, go inside and put your drinking cap on.

Sling Bar is a fantastic option if you’re drinking without a budget and after something a little unusual. The cocktail list here is the longest of any bar I’ve seen in Brisbane, and ranges from your more traditional options (e.g. mojitos, martinis) to your more experimental and unheard of concoctions, such a chili and peanut butter!
There are two seating areas: one indoors and beside the bar, which is very cosy and intimate with its cushioned booths, dim lighting, and wall ornaments, and the other outdoors, which is a much more open space with tables and stools for big groups. You’re able to book the outdoor area for venues or private functions; I’ve attended a few events here and the staff have always been attentive and efficient with food and drink orders.

Wowzer this bar has a lot of cocktails! Its a little hard to find, with no signs visible from the footpath but Google maps won’t lead you astray and once you squeeze in through the tiny bar area there is a large outdoor area out the back. There’s a lounge area underneath a jungle of ferns with tables and benches spread around the remaining area.
Their cocktail list is amazing! I spent at least half an hour perusing the massive book with all my fingers ending up book-​marking interesting concoctions. They all have pretty standard prices except for one, the ‘million dollar baby,’ which was over $ 100. I didn’t try it so can’t tell you whether it was worth it! The ones I did try were pretty amazing though, especially a dessert one with Kahlua and cookies and cream ice-cream…yum! Its pretty easy to rack up quite a bill though as their payment system is a little different. With your first order the waitresses give you a numbered card and every successive order is placed under that number and you settle your total bill when you leave. So easy to lose track of how many cocktails you have had which is terrible when they all go down so well!

Sling is the ultimate night time hideout. This lounge is hidden off Boundary Street in West End and is a must-​visit for anyone who loves a well constructed beverage. You can be forgiven for thinking that Sling is tiny when you walk in. Once you walk past the small bar and seating area under the the grass covered roof, you discover that out the back there is a huge undercover garden style court yard which accommodates for loads more people.
A friend and I went to Sling recently to start our night off before going to a gig, and as always it didn’t disappoint. The cocktails are… to die! The menu is 67 pages long and literally has something for even the fussiest of palettes. For anyone who loves some fruity goodness like me– give the Hemingway Special a go. Havana rum, maraschino, white grapefruit juice, sugar syrup and lime juice. Oh. God.
Despite the fact that cocktails are what they’re known for, Sling also does some mean tapas and share plates– perfect for starting a night before heading out on the town. The service is attentive and cool without being snooty and it’s a great place to head to prior to a gig or the theatre as its walking distance to QPAC. They also hold functions in the back courtyard area for anyone who needs a casual yet stylish place to hold their next event.

This unassuming cocktail bar is easy to miss from the street; with the neon sign only visible from across the road you could walk straight past it on the footpath without knowing what delights lay within. Venture through the door and into the front bar, with its quirky astroturfed ceiling and wooden game heads. The bartenders here have a wealth of knowledge and, like any self respecting cocktail bar, a drinks list the length of a novella, so don’t be afraid to ask for guidance.
These guys do all the classics in their various incarnations — martinis, Manhattans, margaritas — as well as some old once popular cocktails which have since faded into obscurity, including a number of scotch drinks (these, as has been explained to me by a Sling bartender, were phased out because of the ‘cocktail-​unfriendliness’ of scotch).
Value lovers who are turned off by the $ 15+ price tag on most drinks here will love their Margarita Mondays, when they offer more than 40 margaritas including one of my favourites — the infamous ‘Charlie Manson’: chilli and pepper infused tequila, triple sec, lemon juice and Tabasco. Epic.