Super Whatnot, Burnett Lane

If you haven't caught up with Brisbane's new laneway bars, wake up and smell the spirits!

Burnett Lane used to be a tiny service road between Albert and George Streets filled with garbage bins and not much else.

Now its uber cool in a Melbourne/Sydney laneway way.  With a bit of graffiti (actually a lot of graffiti) and some street action, it's well on the way to having a great vibe.

First to open in the lane was Brew, which is actually at the other end of Burnett Lane, officially known as Lower Burnett Lane, which crosses Albert Street to head down.

Then Super Whatnot opened and most recently Survey Co.

On Friday nights the lane comes even more alive with The German Sausage Hut's extended trading hours.

But back to Super Whatnot.  Blink and you could miss this place as its street face is deliberately low key.  Look for the sign (pictured above) and a crowd of smokers. There's a rotating range of craft beers, an unexpected array of boutique wines, classic and original cocktails, and gourmet snackery inspired by “The Americas”.  As they say on their website - Super Whatnot might not appeal to everyone, but that’s exactly the point.

The venue used to be a storage area for a beauty school, but now it's a small bar with a capacity of about 60. Best to head here early if you want a drink as their small capacity means that they will fill up quickly.

We were there on a Tuesday night and there was plenty of room to move.  When I walked past on a Friday night the place was packed.

We were hoping to try the food having heard it was good.  "You must try the grilled cubano sandwich with jamon", was the comment from a foodie friend.  But the chef was off for the night and it was drinks only.

Here's what we might have eaten - corn tortilla stuffed with black beans and oaxaca cheese; Po' boy sandwich which includes local fried prawns on a white crusty loaf with lettuce and mayo; fried chicken Super Whatnot style and slow roast pork belly tacos.

Instead we just had a couple of drinks and then moved onto dinner at Survey Co and a delightful night.

Bottom line: What's not cool about Super Whatnot?
Best tip:  Pick a night when the chef is working.

Here's a round up of many of the new small bars I wrote for Where Magazine.