Bar Review Wax Bar and Jukejoint, Leeds
We call into the brand new vintage-themed bar above Sela
Bar Review: Wax Bar and Jukejoint, Leeds
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Everybody knows the age old adage, ‘good things come in small packages’. It’s a sweeping statement banded about on a frequent basis but, of course, like so many things in life it’s not always black and white. A little HM Revenue & Customs letter with some elusive tax money back? Yes please. That little birthday envelope with only a £5 cheque in from Grandma? Of course she means well but a fiver doesn’t get you the cinema tickets, sweets and ride home that it used to when she was 25.
Fortunately, Wax Bar and Jukejoint is one small package that definitely doesn’t disappoint and, for those of you who don’t have a taxman for a relative, you don’t need to put much to that birthday cheque to get a very decent cocktail.
Situated on New Briggate and only open since last October, this cute little bar is right in the heart of the Merrion Quarter, above Sela Bar, a couple of doors away from North Bar, down the road from Sandinista and just a little closer to Merrion Street’s Verve, Reform and Mojo. It fits in with its well-respected neighbours perfectly.
At first glance, when you take a step in, this long, thin room with a relatively small bar at the end seems like it might notbe big enough if more than a few people find out about the delicious sloe rum punch and fancy giving it a try. But, a little bit of space has gone a long way and, in addition to a cracking cocktail menu and impressive range of beers, the one thing that this bar does have is an identity. Its tagline is: ‘New age fun with a vintage feel’, and this is not a bad description at all.
It’s a trendy, funky new bar with an old school theme running right through the middle from the Americana jukebox, to the vinyl records and player, old-style radio, 1980s ghetto blasters acting, quite effectively, as bar shelves and the lampshades on the walls that have been made out of classic cassette tapes.
As the night rolls on and one bourbon blackberry fizz cocktail turns into two, three and more… it starts to fill up and the bar becomes cosy as the chatter and laughter from the people inside bounces off the orange walls and the candles on the tables to create an atmosphere of real enjoyment.
It’s a bar to really get the party going, so start your night at the bottom of New Briggate, sit yourself in the cute little window seat if you can, sip on some fruity little treat and lose yourself in this rare combination of old and new and classic and vintage. And please, if you don’t get anything else, get yourself a cocktail.
Posted on Tuesday 24th January 2012
Charlotte Court
Wax Bar
20 New Briggate, Leeds, LS1 6NU
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