The newest venue from the Talisman Group’s Vincent Lombino and Jared
Thibault, the duo behind the crazy-popular Sasso Italiano and the freewheeling
Peruvian-Chinese, Casa Chow, in Woolloongabba’s South City complex, the
bar was named for Palm Springs where the hospitality veterans first became
friends.

With tables set beneath a canopy of mature palm trees, cantilevered glass
ceilings, draped greenery and staff in jacaranda linen shirts, along with a
soulful playlist put together by the group’s music director Andrew Lewis, the
breezy al fresco gin bar evokes instant summer-in-Brisbane vibes.

“It’s laid back like Brisbane – a warm, fun place, the heartbeat of the complex,”
says Lombino. “We wanted people to feel like they could roll in at any time,
with no reservations, meet up with friends for a coffee, a cocktail, or a drink
while they’re waiting to go for dinner, or even for a nightcap afterwards.
Somewhere you can just relax, and if you want to, something to eat, but with
absolutely no pressure.”

Behind the bar is a 3-metre wall of all-Australian gin, including the bespoke
“Sunshine State,” made in collaboration with award-winning distillery 78 Degrees, featuring botanicals of mango, passionfruit, and pineapple. The drinks list is naturally gin-skewed and features classics cocktails, half a dozen versions of a G&T, martinis and handful of signature cocktails, such as the palm sour, a riff on the pisco sour, with gin, blueberries, matcha, lemon and aquafaba standing in for egg-white.

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From next week, if you’re enjoying yourself too much and don’t want to move on, or they’re booked out, you can order share plates from neighbouring South City Wine bar or Casa Chow; from Latin American-style dim sims to Chinese-spiced ceviche, a plate of Iberico de Bellota jamon or a tin of Spanish ‘conservas.’

Purple Palm
148 Logan Rd, Woolloongabba 
Tue-Fri 4pm-9pm, Sat-Sun 12pm-9pm
purplepalm.com.au

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