An intimate Valley rooftop bar opens just in time for summer

Ask Daniel Sprange what makes a good rooftop bar and he hardly pauses.

“It’s about transportation, right?” Sprange says. “It can’t be something run-of-the-mill. You want to be wowed and taken somewhere, maybe reminded of somewhere that resonates with you.

“It’s about being immersed in the space, but that’s supplemented by the food and the drinks, and finally the service. All that stuff should set it apart from a typical bar.”

Sprange is talking about Above, which opened atop Ovolo The Valley late last week. Sprange is general manager of the hotel.

Brisbane doesn’t lack for rooftop bars these days, but they’ve tended to grow over the years, with more recent openings such as Lina and Soko positively huge.

This is not that. Instead, Above aims for intimacy. Set on the seventh-floor rooftop pool deck of the hotel, it seats just 60 in a BSPN Architecture-designed space that’s Mediterranean inspired, with plenty of textured elements and greenery.

The pool’s sun lounges have been replaced by rattan tables and chairs, a banquette running much of the length of the venue. The removal of a sauna and a gym has made space for extra seating and a compact bar setup, and the pool has been retiled as part of the renovation.

Of course, the signature of any rooftop bar is the outlook and Above has a good one, the main attraction the views straight up Wickham Street back towards the city. In the afternoon, it’s an easy, breezy spot to sit on a drink or three.

The snack-focused food menu is a collaboration between celebrated consulting chef Justin North and head chef Kya Knights and drags the hotel’s traditional focus on Middle Eastern food more towards the open Mediterranean.

You can order dishes such as burrata with charcoal salt and sumac dukkah, pork and fennel salami with goats curd, orange and lemon thyme, pea and mozzarella croquettes, caper aioli and shaved parmesan, and Sticky honey harissa chicken wings with lime and labneh.

For drinks, award-winning bartender Jake Down has written a cocktail list that includes a clutch of signatures alongside slushy, Margarita and Negroni menus. There’s also a well-priced 30-bottle wine list, with most drops available by the glass, and Balter XPA and Asahi on tap alongside canned and bottled beer.

“We opened to the public on Friday night and the reception was really great,” Sprange says. “We’ve had a lot of locals coming through, enjoying the space, which is satisfying. It looks and feels really good.”

Wed-Thu 3pm-8pm, Fri-Sat 1pm-late, Sun 1pm-7pm

33/1000 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley

aboverooftopbar.com.au