The Bench

The Bench is Cleveland’s first small bar, found tucked away in one of the quaint Victorian style terrace cottages on the edge of Middle St.

Outside a covered verandah with tables and stools overlooks a shady triangle of green while the cosy rustic interior features a raked ceiling, exposed brick walls and a little chaise longue in one corner.

On tap are a curated range of craft beers from the likes of Fortitude Brewing Co (Mt Tamborine), locals Bacchus Brewing, Newstead’s Green Beacon, Byron Bay’s Stone and Wood, the Rocks Brewing Co from Sydney, as well as cider from The Apple Thief.

The extensive range of boutique bottled beer hails from around Australia and overseas, including the USA and Europe, while The Bench’s selection of wines comes from Australia and New Zealand.

And, in keeping with the boutique theme, the spirits here are all small batch: Hippocampus Vodka, Starward Malt Whisky, Cargo Cult Spiced Rum, Sabre Gin and Peated Single Malt Whisky.

A unique feature of The Bench is that it is solely a drinking den, serving no food other than packets of jerky, with the bonus that customers can BYO food or order in from the other restaurants in the strip, who deliver the food to the bar.

Food options include Sri Lankan restaurant Cloves, Indian Palace, Mod Oz Doug and Pearl and Mediterranean Mint while, up the road a little further there’s Thai and Turkish takeaway that customers can collect themselves and bring in.