Pub spy: The Corner Store

The Corner Store, Mt Eden. Photo / Getty Images

Address: 25 Mt Eden Rd, Eden Terrace
Ph: (09) 379 5099
Website: thecornerstore.co.nz

I have to warn you up front that this is a very dangerous bar - it's entirely too easy to get addicted to.

I first noticed the Corner Store one evening as I was leaving Galbraith's, which is just across the road and I thought it looked okay. Then I caught up with a friend there and was blown away. It might be small, but it's perfectly formed and packs a huge punch.

The Corner Store sells very good wines, thoughtfully selected and priced, and some good beers, but it's the cocktails that make it what it is. Each cocktail is carefully constructed and designed with the drinker in mind.

So you can simply go in, tell the bartender how you feel and a drink will be produced that will calm you down or get you laughing. It's that kind of bar.

The range of malt whiskies and bourbons is worth a look too. As a whisky lover myself, it's hard not to like a place that stocks whisky from Edradour, Scotland's smallest distillery.

Weekday evenings it's a popular spot with the after-work drinkers and it tends to go late into the night, too. With the opening of the new back room, it will double its capacity. But the front bar will always be a favourite of mine, where you can perch at the window and watch the buses try to mow down pedestrians on Mt Eden Rd.

It doesn't really do food, as such, but a nice arrangement with the nearby Al Volo restaurant and the adjacent Twenty Three Cafe (also owned by the owners of Corner Store) allows them to cater for functions.

The bar also has a habit of recruiting very good bartenders, so you know you are in safe hands. Whether you want a beer, a wine, or a Slow Comfortable Screw, the staff are happy to help out.

Scores:

Service: 5/5
Drink: 5/5
Food: 4/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Overall: 4.5/5