In 1957, Swiss typeface designers Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann designed Helvetica. The font has since gone on to become a classic and you probably see it more each day than your significant other. Despite being conceived a little further down the line, this double-decker venue is similarly exemplary in its field. That is, hospitality and good drinks (a menu of tasty bar snacks including a deluxe ham and cheese toastie doesn’t hurt none either).
If you’ve heard whispers of “some whisky bar with an insane selection”, bet your bottom dollar that this is the place. Owner David Gillman and manager Jason Millhahn curate a serious selection that covers everything from Scottish staples to New World wonders. Yet whisk(e)y is but one of the aces up this nattily designed space’s sleeve.
Clever beer and wine offerings are a win for quality over quantity while the cocktail list is at once both classic and contemporary. The ginger beer in the Dark ‘n’ Stormy is house-made; a rich Maker’s Mark Boulevardier gets ramped up by Antica Formula; that well-balanced Earl Grey Martini bucks the bastardised ’tini trend.
But despite the depth of the liquor cabinet, this bar’s greatest asset is undoubtedly its friendly, flannel-clad staff – boys and girls that understand it’s all about making you feel welcome. And at the end of the day, it’s this commitment to the guest that makes Helvetica such a compelling choice when looking for a good time.
