Ends and Means

Melbourne has voted, and it’s official: we want our drinks to have a minimal impact on the environment

IT’S NO SECRET that the hospitality industry is a huge producer of waste. Think about those plastic straws, empty bottles, plastic-wrapped napkins, cardboard coasters, paper menus and food waste. Ends and Means opened with a vision of being a low-waste and sustainable cocktail bar, and true to its word, it produces less than one bag of landfill a day. That’s almost impossible for any commercial project, but Ends and Means is using rescued materials to fit out the bar (a lightning-struck elm tree is the bar top), creating plywood coasters that can be used repeatedly, updating its cocktail list to use seasonal ingredients on a weekly basis, only pouring beers from tap, composting green waste, making all its mixers and syrups in house, stocking sustainable spirits, upcycling glass bottles and even rigging its ice machine so the water melted is used on the courtyard plants. It’s not easy, but it means something to owners Marc Frew and Josh Hunt. All this sustainability doesn’t compromise the cocktails on offer. In fact, unless you were really paying attention, you wouldn’t even notice it. From the seasonal menu, the Daquie Chan is a play on the classic Daiquiri where the usual citrus juice and simple syrup is replaced with a blood orange reduction, lime stock and fig and cinnamon bitters to create a more complex, but still refreshing drink. Sours seem to be a house specialty, as drinkers can choose their own preferred base spirit, and a textbook, textured, refreshing cocktail is produced every time. And what of those eggshells and citrus rinds? Yep, separated into another bin for composting. Crushed ice for long drinks? The bartender fills an eco-bag with large cubes and bashes it down with a mallet rather than using countless tea towels that have to be laundered. Ends and Means believes everyone can make a difference and small actions count. And you have been paying attention, because Ends and Means has won the Time Out Bar Awards 2020 People’s Choice Award by a landslide. The inviting window, couch seating, sundappled courtyard, friendly service and 1990s bangers aside, it’s apparent that Melburnians like to drink with a clear conscience.

à79 Gertrude St, Fitzroy 3065. 03 9048 0514. endsandmeans.com.au. Sun-wed 4-11pm; Thu-sat 4pm-1am.