Venue Review

Character: Relaxed and trendy retro hideaway.

Funky Features: Cocktail menu by Dale DeGroff, DJ den, 60’s retro wallpaper, gold mirrored disco balls.

Location and History

Tucked away on Margaret Street, this bar is seconds from the bustle of Oxford St. If you want to shop till you drop this is the bar to relax in and it makes a great place to people watch too. An unpretentious mixed crowd mingles here ranging from businessmen to shoppers and the early party crowd.

Interior

Aubergine walls offset the orangey retro-patterned wallpaper and the 60’s theme is explored throughout the bar. Kitsch touches include gold-mirrored disco balls near the main bar and torn magazine pages pasted on to the wall beside the long wooden bar. Tapas style food and hearty salads are in keeping with the relaxed feel and their platters make ideal party food.

Dale DeGroff, the King of Cocktails and who claims to have made the Cosmopolitan famous, tended bar at The Rainbow Room in Manhattan for over a decade and he has worked on the vast cocktail menu at Match Bar to produce a heavenly drink selection. The cocktail menu encompasses DeGroff’s original recipes like the Strawberry Nirvana as well as classic bartender favourites. For some healthy antioxidant-infused creations and some guilt-free drinking, the knowledgeable bar staff provide freshly squeezed grapefruit juice for the Grapefruit Julep and use home-brewed green tea for the original Green Tea Highball. For a bit of party fun the Match bar’s best kept secret has to be the Volcano, a kitsch Tiki Bar style cocktail which erupts with flaming over-proof rum and cinnamon.

Spaces for Hire

The bar can hold 300 people and can also offer smaller spaces. At the front of the bar, the comfy leather seating surrounding the French patio doors is an excellent place for up to 30 people to have an informal business lunch or to relax with a cocktail. A second seated area offers space for up to 15 people.

The cosy lounge can fit from 20 to 80 people with an option of sectioning off half the room with the fun 60’s room divider. The room is equipped to hold corporate functions with an LCD TV and a large window provides generous natural light.

A raised ‘balcony’ area can host 30 plus guests and ideal for a banquet style dinner. The DJ Den is situated near the far end of the raised platform and near the corner of the room where an intimate seated area can hold 25 people.