SASQUATCH BAR — Restaurant in Brisbane City

What a lovely little spot.

My son and I went for a few beers and some home food. I was hoping for some good pierogi, but we got some poutine instead. Not a disappointing choice.

We started off by sliding over to the bar and having a few of the on tap beers. Pretty sure I had one of the Hawkers dark ales (not sure which one in particular.) $15 a pint was a bit steep for me, but I can't pass up trying a new dark beer. It was good enough for me to fork out another $15, so there's that. Rich, dark, dreamy, and melty - a real full flavour beer that was absolutely worth it. Reminded me a bit of the Big Rock Brewery Traditional from back in Canada.

As a Montrealer, I feel uniquely qualified to comment on the poutine, since I'm sure that if they could liquify it and put it in baby bottles, we would all have been sucking back the cheesy devil from birth. I fear there is no safe way to accurately recreate a dirty La Belle Province poutine (turns out Australia has something called "food safe standards" or something...I don't know...), but as far as off-shore replicas go, this one was a win. Fresh, squeaky curds were the selling point for me.

I also ordered some brussel sprouts. They were a testament to what sprouts should be. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and beautifully seasoned. The creamy feta cut through the tartness of the cranberries, and it balanced everything out nicely. They were a great little breakup to the poutine, and I would be lying if I said I hadn't had at least 6.9 daydreams about them since.

But the best part? The place is dog friendly. Did I bring MY dog? No. She's a bit too "special" for that kind of environment. However, a lovely little group brought their stunning Boxer cross and sassy little fluff ball along with them, and I enjoyed sharing my space with them both...even when sassy little fluff ball gave one of the staff members a mouthful for DARING to offer a bowl of water to them - imagine!!

We sat and chatted for about an hour and a half, and the crowd around us changed as we did. Some people just stopped by for a beer, and others hung out for a meal, or just stopped at the outside area to say hi to a friend as they passed by. It made it feel like a true community spot, instead of just a place to eat.

Over all, a fantastic experience. Kudos to the owner and staff for creating a space that feels warm and open, and paying attention to the details. We'll for...

We were passing through Brisbane to get to the airport and needed somewhere to eat along the way. We need to have options for the vegan/celiacs plus the meating eating/non-celiacs in my family. You know how you google 'restuarant with vegan/GF options' and a bunch pop up but when you look at their menu there's literally one thing, and its usually just a side, that you can have? Well, I found Sasquatch Bar during my search, the menu looked good online but our experience far exceeded our expectations. It strikes you as a funky, gastropub type of place on entry. The menu is mainly pizza BUT there are GF AND vegan options for the pizzas AS WELL AS several sides which are GF with plant based option. Chef LIzzie found out that we were from Canada and came out personally to talk to us. She spent time telling us how her training in Canada was so much more focussed on food allergies/intolerances/options. When she started at this place she ensured that their fryer was solely GF and for us, made sure we knew what all of our options were. This celiac was very happy and my vegan daugher (also celiac) felt so comfortable ordering. The best part - the food was amazing. Chef Lizzie makes everything from scratch - we had the edamame, roast broccoli, polenta fritters, and the onion tings (not a typo, it really is onion tings, not rings and they are very yummy). The non-celiacs/meat eaters had the trio pizza, karaage chicken (and are karaage chicken lovers), and the waffle fries. They said their food was excellent as well. 5 stars for a place not only with options, but a friendly, passionate, informed chef who will ensure you have an...

Quick summary is if you'd like to meet your friends out for a drink, I'd go to a tavern instead for better prices. If your a vegan meeting a non vegan ( why I thought it would be good) maybe go to a Mexican joint? Good vegan food and drinks. If someone asks to meet you here because they genuinely like it, expect to pay $26 minimum for one drink and the cheapest side dish or go during happy hour ! Finishes at 6. They do have parking as a bonus.

I would describe my experience here as force enjoyment as I encounter multiple upsetting moments. My first explanation for my rating would be from the lack of food and drink options. I guess this is advertised as a bar so can't complain to much about the food, however the only main meals were pizzas and the sides were $14 each. The vegan options were more common on there online menu and the green salsa with corn chips was quite unpleasant. Not much flavour, not much moisture 😬 the cocktail menu was little and after getting 2 sides and a cocktail my total came to $51. The saviour of this place was the atmosphere felt good and the workers seemed to feel this good atmosphere too being very friendly and honest. It was a bit confusing with the waving them down for attention because of course workers are suppose to keep busy and they couldn't see us waving sometimes. A better system for such would...