The lowdown
The bottle shop is a treasure trove of natural and generally lo-fi wine with a huge selection of great beer. By to go, or grab a bottle and settle in upstairs at the bar – they’ve got a working list of interesting pours and huge selection of artisan spirits, too.
The nuts & bolts
Opened 2017
Mr West Bar & Bottle Shop is a pliable space designed for those looking to stop, sip and soak up the Footscray vibe and for others who simply want to take their drinks home.
The idea was conceptualised in early 2016 when mates Caleb Baker and Josh Hodges discovered they shared a dream of opening a venue and both carried a passion for all types of liquor.
With a wealth of knowledge, know-how and industry experience between them, they knew they were onto something. And before they could drink Hodges’ stash of mezcal, Mr West was born.
The venue gives Baker and Hodges a chance to collaborate, but also get their teeth into sharing their depth of knowledge and passion for booze in all its forms.
They get a kick out of being “the house of hops and fine drops” with 30 taps that consist of beer, cider, house-made cocktails and wine from which to choose. There’s also an extensive list of independent craft beer, natural wine, speciality spirits and a seasonally crafted cocktail list.
Mr West’s approach to wine buying has pretty much been the same since they opened, yet it’s always evolving. They stock a very small amount of conventional wine, as their passion lies in natural and minimal intervention wines. These are wines made with little or no additives from organic, biodynamic and/or sustainably farmed fruit, although the bottom line is that it’s always delicious.
Mr West continually offers many of the world’s most highly regarded and sought-after natural wines. In the bar, they now have six wines on tap as well as a few more by the glass and bottle but the beauty of the bar and shop has always meant that guests are able to purchase any wine from the shop to drink in the bar, essentially giving Mr West’s customers a list of over 400 wines to choose from.
Go West, young man…go west.
