We’ve just sunk our first drink at The Fancy Parrot in Ascot Vale and the guitar solo from Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’ wails from the speakers.

The daggy pub tune is out of place in this affluent suburb’s swish drinking spot, where punters have been swirling grenache and Pineapple Sour beers inposh glasses while pecking at gourmet cheeseboards since July.

Then again, not everything at this wine bar – named after a chalk drawing of a bird done for owner Alistair Smith’s kids – lives up to its playful moniker. Astroturf carpets the cosy-courtyard out the back, while the 60-seater’s  dark colour scheme is more drab than dapper with its dark-stained timber ceiling and walls and black-painted floor. Footscray artist Jessica Wilson’svibrant mural of tropical palms behind  the sleek tan-timber bar and the odd colourful cushion lift the mood in the venue, formerly Public Life.

Smith, a musician turned patron, uses tricks he gleaned at Hudsons Road Wine and Beer in Spotswood to craft a wine list that spans affordable and luxe bottles, with the likes of a $45 Yarra Valley sparkling alongside a $375 Barossa Shiraz magnum.

A predictable by-the-glass selection is redeemed by clever cocktails and crafties that buddy up brilliantly with golden-crumbed arancini of sun-dried tomato and feta, and crisp-battered zucchini flowers to dunk in a sweet romesco sauce. Some of the small plates (by chef Roshan Karki) are less successful, like the City Larder chicken-liver pâté that’s delicious yet enormous for two people, and the squares of vanilla ice-cream with tasteless tempered chocolate.

The Fancy Parrot may ruffle a few feathers. Like the snacks, the service is patchy, and the vibes are lacking, but if those elements could be turned around to match the impeccable drinks list the place could be rocking.