Source : the age
Louise Marks couldn’t sleep.
She and a colleague had gone to inspect the Valley premises previously occupied by Barry Parade Public House.
“Shaun [Fugill, co-owner of Teneriffe’s Zero Fox] told me about Barry Parade closing and how beautiful the space is, and I thought, ‘We should go have look just for shits and giggles.’ And it was amazing. I could envisage exactly what it would look like.”
“It” would become Bar Lou Lou, a wine bar that Marks opened in the space mid-August. It completes a heady career change who Marks, who just nine months ago was working in media. In between, she’d been pouring beers with Fugill at Zero Fox.
“I literally packed up my career,” she says. “Zero Fox had always been one of my favourite venues in Brisbane, and I said when I started that my goal was to one day have my own venue. It felt like such a pipe dream.”
Bar Lou Lou demonstrates an impressive degree of vision for a first-time owner. It perhaps helps that Marks was working with such good bones with the old Barry Parade Public House. The venue’s 1920s-built heritage facade is just as beautiful as ever, and the terrazzo floors, timber bar and globe pendant lights are all present and correct.
Otherwise, Marks has swapped the green paint job for a rich burgundy and filled the bar with mismatched furniture and cushions, giving it a homey and lived-in vibe. At the back, there’s the same timber outdoor area but Marks has converted a side room into a mini op shop.
“People are literally buying clothes and immediately putting them on and sitting there finishing their drink. It’s so fun,” she says.
“Everything in the place is second hand. Even the plates are from the op shop, which was driving chef insane at first but he loves it now.”
That same unfussy approach has been applied to the drinks list. Bar Lou Lou is billed as a wine bar first but it drills down on just 12 drops, all available by the glass and bottle.
Marks’ focus is the interesting and unusual. Expect the list to change regularly but you can currently order wines such as a Harrison grenache blanc from McLaren Vale, a Clare Valley Sigurd chenin blanc, and a Barossa Adlib GSM.
“I’ve just tried to pick my favourite wines that I’ve tasted over the past year at Zero Fox and other places, and arranged them from different vendors or direct from the winemakers.”
Alongside the wines there are three beers on tap – including Guinness – six more available by the stubbie or can, and a handful of cocktails – and that’s pretty much it.
For food, chef Adnane Khattabi has created a fun but filling menu of bar eats. There’s fried chicken served with a Sriracha mayonnaise dipping sauce; toasted roti with a red curry satay sauce; banh mi crostinis; and tuna tataki served with house made blood orange ponzu, hazelnut crisp and avocado puree.
“I really want it to be a neighbourhood local, especially because of where it’s situated,” Marks says. “If you live in the Spring Hill area, it’s a stop before you head into the Valley. And other than The Alliance, there aren’t too many local-focused bars around here.”
Open Wed-Sat 12pm-10pm, Sun 12pm-8pm
122 Barry Parade, Fortitude Valley
Matt Shea is Food and Culture Editor at Brisbane Times. He is a former editor and editor-at-large at Broadsheet Brisbane, and has written for Escape, Qantas Magazine, the Guardian, Jetstar Magazine and SilverKris, among many others.
