Bad Frankie

Holy moly, but Bad Frankie is so Good.
If you want to try a whole bunch of Australian craft spirits, this little bar off Smith St is the place to be. If you want to supplement your imbibing with jaffles, then you’re really going to be thrilled.
I started my evening at Bad Frankie with a fish finger jaffle and a gin & tonic. (Note: the fish finger tartare also contains gin.) I ended it (after five or so cocktails and a lamington jaffle for dessert) with a nip of local scotch, because some places give f**k-off mints but Bad Frankie gives f**k-off nips. As if I could have loved them any more.
I think I tried every gin cocktail on their list, including a couple of all-​Australian negronis now that a couple of distillers are making local versions of Campari (with exceptional results). There’s no better time to be an Australian excited about local craft spirits, I tell you what, and there’s no better place to visit if you want the people behind the bar to be as excited as you are.
I can’t wait to come back.

Local spirits and jaffles. I might never leave. Bad Frankie is a comfortable spot to pull up a chair, satisfy your hunger with some toasty goodness, and salivate over their fabulous (and massive) list of locally produced spirits. The gin based cocktails did not disappoint and my mushroom jaffle hit the spot. My carnivorous friends seemed quite pleased with their options too. (At least that’s how I’ll interpret the silence at the table when the food arrived.) The staff were helpful and even bought out the bottle of one of the spirits we were sampling. The infamous lamington jaffle is still on my list to try, so it looks like that’s one more reason for me to return.

An oozy cheesy hot mess of a jaffle is the kind of thing you want to eat at the end of a big boozy night. I love that Bad Frankie offers a wide variety of them, including a lamington jaffle (!), so you can pre-​load on them while drinking. No more regrettable late night eats — just do it early in the night and you won’t feel the need to double down on a second dinner!
The booze selection at Bad Frankie is glorious. There’s loads of locally crafted spirits along with a tidy selection of wine and beer. The real appeal though is coming and trying a line up of liquor from Australia in their tasting flights. 5×10ml pours is a fun way to start the night, right?
Pro tip: sign up for a masterclass if you want to enhance your booze knowledge.

What an amazing little bar!
Beautiful cocktails, rustic decorations and lovely warm atmosphere.
Not to mention staff that are so sweet and attentive. And did I mention the cocktails?
Brilliant!

Ok, let me start by saying that the name did predispose me to like this place. Full disclosure, I walked in full of swagger and excitement and immediately stole one of their business cards to use as my own.
That out of the way, the drinks were amazing. Bad Frankie’s serves all Australian spirits and their bartenders have made some wonderful things. My friend and I worked our way through 8 different drinks and were thrilled with everything that came out. My favourite was the notorious F.I.G. but I honestly don’t think you can go wrong here!
Also they have a lamington jaffle, let’s take a second to appreciate that that exists, and then sneakily snuffle it into our bellies at all possible opportunities.

I often walk past on the way to another of my favourites on the same street, but on this night I was looking for one thing. A jaffle. And this place did not disappoint. Offering an all Australian menu with an even more impressive bar menu stocked with Australian spirits. Bad Frankie does not disappoint. I split with my dining partner a roast lamb and a bangers and mash toastie. And they were gooood.
The bangers and mash took me back to sitting around the family table when I was a child (back then all I would eat is bangers and mash) accompanied with a four pillars G&T to wash it all down.
Bad Frankie offers a refuge from the cold and the familiar smell of cheesy toast cooking away in their small but perfectly sized kitchen.
As this was the last stop on our food journey of smith street and I couldn’t eat any more if I tired. We skipped the famous lamington jaffle, but then again there is always next time.

With a combination of an all Australian drinks menu, fantastic service and a delicious menu of jaffles (including a LAMINGTON JAFFLE!!!) you really shouldn’t need to read on any further before you start making plans to head to Bad Frankie. But just in case you are still reading, here goes…
It was a Tuesday night when we stopped in for a few drinks. It was quiet inside, but busy enough that there always seemed to be people coming and going. The staff here were absolutely fantastic, friendly and chatty, and they really knew their stuff. We ordered a whisky flight for the table and for the next half twenty minutes or so we were walked through a delicious selection of Australian whiskys, with tales about each distillery as we went. Definitely order a flight when you go here. You can choose the type of drink you want in your flight and it seems like a small enough place that the staff will always have time to walk you through it. There’s a nice little selection of local beers available and the cocktail list had me drooling in anticipation for a return visit when I weren’t driving.
And of course, the jaffles. I had a bangers and mash jaffle that was almost good enough for me to order a second. The $ 7 price tag made it even more tempting! Other jaffle options that made it far too difficult to decide on were kangaroo, poached chicken and a meat pie styled one. Next time I’ll definitely be leaving room for a lamington jaffle. Or an Anzac bikkie one. Probably both.

I have one word for you: Jaffles. That is all. Well, that would have been all, but Unilocal won’t allow my snarky hipster review. So, just go, order a jaffle and a drink, and enjoy yourself. You can send me bitcoin as thanks.