Elixir Rooftop Bar - Brisbane

Elixir was the first stop on our discovering the Brisbane night out scene. We walked by heaps of Fortitude Valley places with stricter dresscodes and were pleased to rock up to Elixir, greeted with a smile and warm attitude. ID checked and picture taken, we ventured upstairs. What met us was a cool vibe. I had heard of Brisbane's coming to life bar scene. What I found was similar to a Melbourne bar, plus good weather. The bar was sexy with blue lighting. There were plenty of seats, we found as we made our way closer to the balcony overlook. Drinks were good and not too pricey. The Violet Crumble stood out to me, many of the drinks looks refreshingly fruity, perfect for Brisbane. I liked it but couldn't see myself staying here a long time. For us, it was definitely a good start at rooftop bar. You could get all the Fortitude Valley vibes being up there, and that's exactly what we were after.

The conclusion of a semester calls for a toast, so pour the champagne, pour the champagne! Ok, well, in our case, it wasn't champagne, as Elixir isn't quite the place for champagne connoisseurs, but they do have a full bar, specialty cocktails, and a variety of hand crafted beers. With some deliberation, I decided on the Clover Club Soiree, a take on the drink named after the Philadelphia men's club. (A bit surprised with its origin, as the drink tasted quite...girly. Elixir uses Tanqueray gin, raspberry syrup, an egg white, as well as other ingredients that I don't quite recall and does an excellent variation that has a light, lingering cucumber aftertaste that is delightfully refreshing! It reminded me a bit of cucumber melon lotion, but not in a bad way. If you're looking for a dessert y cocktail that is both delicious and visually appealing, this is it! Located above X Y bar, the stairs up to the bar aren't one bit glamorous, but they lead to a sophisticated space resembling a vacation lounge. There are booths with couches, warm lighting, a dj (with a live saxaphone player that night! . It's not the ideal place for dancing, as it isn't the most spacious bar in the Valley, but I would say the layout (especially of the bar itself is quite optimal. We decided we were fans of their signature bunny statuettes lined along the wall and wanted to take one home... The bartenders were attentive, and ours was friendly and made sure my drink was picture perfect! Because Elixir is fairly new and we went early in the night, the ambience was cozy and comfortable, especially with all their fire lamps to warm our cold hands. I just hope they can keep up the place as it becomes more popular, and hopefully chaos doesn't ensue later in the night, like it does at Alfred Constance... (Not quite ready to give it a 5 yet, just cause I havn't tried the food and visited during peak hours

This is a really nice small bar in terms of the physical space. Gorgeous little rooftop, afternoon/evening breezes, vertical gardens, fairy lights etc. The drinks aren't cheap, but aren't super expensive either. Pretty average. I wasn't inspired by the cocktail menu. Sunday afternoons are VERY quiet. We brought a large group of friends and we had the place to ourselves for over 2 hours, which was lovely. What really annoyed me though was the staff. They acted bored, and while we were the only people in the bar so they can't have had a lot to do, I still had to clear our table of empty glasses when it got too much and we had no room left. The bartender at least thanked me, but didn't remove his (totally unnecessary) sunglasses to do so. We would have increased their take for afternoon by a massive amount, yet we were still barely acknowledged. It's a nice place, but the staff attitudes really bring it down.

Wouldn't let me in for my girlfriends 23rd birthday (because I wasn't wearing dress shoes). Lost 12 customers because of it.

You have to give props to the owner and design team that worked on this space. Elixir is a successfully converted roof top, with intimacy and atmosphere to boot! The perfect for hub for small groups and awkward first dates. Unfortunately the environment and location is significantly let down by its staff. We journeyed here on a mild Friday winter evening, just a couple of close friends looking for some delicious cocktails and a decent place to chat and catch up after a hard week at work. Having heard great things about the place we were keen to try out the extensive cocktail list and fine liquor. Sadly we were met by a typical Brisbane bunch of snooty self important indie 'bartenders '. You know the type, too busy playing the part to actually take an order and make a decent drink. At no point were we acknowledged, offered support in making a selection or given any indication that we would be served unless we de robed and performed a can can in our knickers. My friends and I stood at the near empty bar for about 20mins while no less than 4 barmen fawned all over two scantily clad young ladies. I could forgive this except for the fact that our cocktails, when we finally got them, were terrible! It was pretty clear from the fussing about, they didn 't have sufficient ingredients to make our drinks, but rather than let us know and suggest an alternative; they attempted to cover it up with the result being something akin to toothpaste combined with sour milk. (Perhaps it 's best not to Reconstruct a drink you can 't make in the first place). Despite the subpar Espresso Martinis, the Southsides momentarily redeemed them and we forgave their attitudes to suffer some standard ciders. All was forgotten and we were having a great time until three sips into our ciders the bouncer approached us to say we had to hurry up and leave they were closing. It was just shy of midnight. I get it; things are slow so you decide to close up early and maybe take the opportunity to head out your selves. Or you just want to invite those hotties back and enjoy the evening not having to worrying about paying customers. At the very least you could have told us when we ordered, or there is always that typical bar thing where you can call last drinks . You don 't send security to do your dirty work and then stand in a line behind the bar glaring at everyone until they skull their drinks leave. Maybe we just caught you on a bad night, so I am sure on the next Saturday when we are already pretty toasted from better drinks elsewhere we will brave your atrocious service for a second go, but probably because in our drunken stupor all will be forgotten. Forgotten but not forgiven.