Walking into Howler feels like stumbling into the urban backwoods or a giant industrial bird coop. Huge sculpted steel trees loom over lush ferns spilling out of floating planters. The open-roofed beer garden is fitted out with custom-hewn furniture, and padded booths glow with softly lit candles.
The food here punches above its weight, with great snack options as well as mains, and plenty of thought given to vegans. If you're feeling a little peckish then try the fried calamari, the karaage chicken, the southern fried cauliflower or the vegan arancini with chimichurri sauce. If you fancy something larger, then spoil yourself with a chicken parma with Napoli sauce, mozzarella, a baby cos salad and plenty of fries. Elsewhere there's an eye-fillet steak, a range of burgers and a vegan parma.
Beer takes centre stage here, as you might expect, with plenty of local and international drops on tap. There's a happy hour from Tuesday to Thursday, as well as cheap jugs for Friday knock-offs.
There are weekly events like house music Saturday nights and classic hits on Fridays, as well as loads of gigs booked throughout the year. Howler is alive with plenty of character and flare, and makes for an awesome spot to rock out on the dance floor.
Images: Sean Fennessy