LARK Distillery is giving its flagship Hobart bar a moody makeover, relaunching The Still as GOTHAM at The Still just in time for the Tasmanian winter.
The revamped venue on Hobart’s waterfront will have an official launch night on Thursday June 11 to coincide with the start of this year’s Dark Mofo festival.
The transformation includes a new food and cocktail menu, redesigned interiors and a high-performance sound system from local acoustic designers Pitt & Giblin.
LARK Distillery Head of Hospitality Dan Knight said GOTHAM was designed to bring a new energy to the space.
“GOTHAM is our invitation to locals and visitors alike to gather, pour something wicked, and stay under the spell,” he said.
“It’s still Tasmanian at its core, and still driven by the LARK spirits that we love, injected with a mood and mischief that Hobart has been waiting for.”
Chef Benjamin Co-Pavier’s menu draws on the feel of New York cocktail bars, with shucked-to-order local oysters, fried chicken, Robbins Island wagyu skewers and a cheeseburger.
Cocktail highlights include a freezer-pour Sweet Manhattan and LARK’s take on an Irish Coffee featuring this year’s Dark Lark release, spiked with wattle seed, maple syrup and coffee from neighbouring Pigeon Whole Bakers.
LARK founder Bill Lark said the venue reflected how much Tasmania had changed in winter.
“Tasmanians and visitors alike have really embraced winter,” he said.
“It was something we used to hide from, but when Dark Mofo opened up, everybody came out in the cold and the dark to embrace and celebrate what is winter.”
Lark said the festival had been a lifeline for hospitality and tourism businesses that once struggled through the colder months.
“Means an awful lot to businesses that found it difficult through this period of the year and are now embracing it and flourishing because of it,” he said.
LARK’s annual special release whisky, Dark Lark, will be exclusively available at GOTHAM and at the distillery’s Cellar Door in Hobart and Distillery in Pontville during the Dark Mofo period.
During Dark Mofo, the venue will also host the return of the Listening Lounge, daily live music and the High Tea with Heidi experience across two weekends.
