The Mule
5. The Mule was one of the first of the trendy new restaurants to put down roots on King William Street in the early days of Hamilton’s downtown renewal. Billed as the place “where tacos, tequila, and bourbon come to party,” the owners have found the perfect balance of inspired food, professional service, and a comfortable casual environment. The tacos range from classic Mexican to weird and wild and the entire menu is gluten free with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options. Our trips to The Mule typically include fish and pulled pork tacos, a pitcher of margaritas, and zero regrets.
The Lionshead Pub
4. The Lionshead Pub is a dimly lit, stone nook watering hole across John Street from Hamilton’s downtown bus and train station. It is open late every night of the week, so we sometimes end up there for last call on nights that we start elsewhere. On most Sundays, there is live music by Shari and Jonny (and usually Justin and Mike too) so we make a point of being there — especially if we were working in the studio earlier. The pints are a mix of domestics and British imports and are very reasonably priced. The servers are first rate and always play great tunes between sets. A little more RFU trivia: The Lionshead was the bar location for the Even Angels video.
La Luna
3. La Luna is Hamilton’s own authentic Lebanese restaurant. Their downtown location also happens to be attached to The Casbah (one of our favorite live music venues) and one of the “Express” locations is a five-minute walk from the studio. They don’t have a liquor license, so you’re going just for the food, but the food never disappoints. There are fattoush and tabbouli salads, hummus and baba ghanouge, skewers of beautifully seasoned meats, and of course shawarma and falafel sandwiches. We feast like kings at La Luna and the prices are so reasonable, I’m surprised we don’t go more often.
The Brain
2. The Brain is this perfect little nook of a bar. It’s where we go when we want to hide out from our usual crowd. The patrons and staff here are young and hip and while we usually go with the intention of discussing label business over drinks at the end of the day, we often end up in these great conversations with a handful of recent strangers on the back patio. Most of the food and drink choices are locally sourced from the craft brews and coffee to the meat pies, samosas, and sweet cakes and pies. The Brain is quite likely the coolest spot in the city.
The Cat’n’Fiddle
1. The Cat’n’Fiddle is our favorite downtown bar. A fixture on the corner of John and Augusta for over twenty-five years, The Cat is where we go when we want to mingle and take in live music by our favorite local acts (and good friends). We’ve also been known to devour pounds of their wings and mounds of their nachos from the late-night menu to go with our pints. It feels like a home away from home — our Cheers.
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