Sexy little city Canberra comes of age

Australia’s capital has come of age.

The booming city has shed its fireworks and hard-core porn tag, evolving into a sexy hub of dimly lit cocktail bars and eclectic DJs.

Bar manager Sebastian Costello was born and raised in the ACT and says he gets doe-eyed looks of sympathy when he reveals his homeland.

"People look at you like you've just lost a leg or something," Costello, who runs Knightsbridge Penthouse and the newly opened Parlour Wine Room, says.

"Look I've turned out all right."

Costello, 27, has worked in hospitality for almost a decade and says Canberra has finally come to terms with its small city status.

"A few years ago it was trying to convince itself that it wasn't a country town," he says.

Now Canberra has embraced the small town vibe, and its population of 400,000, often transient students and public servants, have plenty of places to share a drink.

"There's enough bars for everyone in Canberra. Like any city, you've got to find your way."

Costello's girlfriend Eloise Brennan moved out of Canberra in 2006 and returned at the end of last year.

She says while she's been gone the city has "blossomed".

"It's matured," the 27-year-old business analyst says.

"People are a lot more embracing of diversity."

Unlike the hustle and bustle of nearby Sydney, Brennan says Canberrians have taken to doing "things that are not necessary in life" like admiring art at the National Gallery and cycling around Lake Burley Griffin.

"Canberra people are more laissez faire," Brennan says.

She says they're doing these things "just for beauty and for life".

"It's really nice to see."

Hippo Lounge, overlooking the Garema Place Fountain, was an early bolter on Canberra's cocktail bar scene when it opened its polished doors a decade ago.

Ren Deane, general manager of Hippo, moved to Canberra for a change of scene two years ago.

"Canberra's definitely (become) hipper, there's no doubt," she says.

"People have opened up to the fact that there is stuff to do here and more bars have opened up as a result."

Here are some of the hippest establishments Canberra has to offer:

Parlour Wine Room

One of the freshest faces in Canberra's bar scene is Parlour Wine Room on the Newacton Pavilion at the rear of the funky Diamant Hotel.

The cosy heritage site, formerly a library in a hostel, boasts a lengthy list of local wines and an award winning tapas menu that is served beyond midnight.

The historic architraves are lit with a hanging sphere that looks like it's filled with illuminated white balloons and small jellyfish-esq lamps on the bar.

The suave looking patrons can opt for wicker seating outdoors or, to escape the Canberra chill, sit in regal velvet chairs around a fireplace, brown leather chesterfield lounges or a smattering of other mis-matched seating.

Hippo Bar

Right in the thick of Canberra's restaurant district, Hippo overlooks Garema Place Fountain.

At the top of a flight of stairs sits the small buzzing bar, lit with chandeliers and boxed lights.

DJ Bucky on the decks plays "indie hip hop", a great backdrop for a lychee inspired cocktail – Soho Loves Me.

Patrons perch on leather ottomans dotted around the polished floorboards and the smell of incense, which I'm told it from Oxfam, is enjoyably intoxicating.

Knightsbridge Penthouse

A DJ spins hip hop soul beats from atop an old piano in the centre of the room in Braddon.

The crowd is beginning to take to the dance floor – but it's still early days when I'm there, a few more tequila and cloudy apple juices and the rustic wooden floor boards will be packed.

Threads of fibre-optic lighting dangle from the roof in the front level of the room where the trendy crowd sit on logs.

The white walls are adorned with stencil art and some paint is peeled back to expose brick walls.

The capacity of 124 people is reached and the bar staff appear to be having the time of their lives.

The Julip Lounge:

Julip Lounge in Manuka is dedicated to cocktails.

The 1920s Parisian-style bar, lined with patterned wallpaper, has 60 drinks on offer and is happy to make something to suit tastes.

I get a tip to try the Twisted Sister but there are plenty of classics that date back to the 1800s.

For the real connoisseurs, rare cocktail books are hidden at the back of the long, narrow establishment.

The bar has been built to resemble an intimate library and the room is filled with antique and modern seating in the form of chaise lounges and deep armchairs.

* The writer was a guest of Visit Canberra.

- AAP