Adelaide: Little Miss Mexico, The Gov, city by night

The Adelaide Fringe Festival brings with it many wonders, including a host of excellent - but sadly temporary - pop-up bars. These usually build up a following through social media and word of mouth, and the lucky ones enjoy great reviews and constant custom. One such bar is Little Miss Mexico (188 Grenfell Street, Adelaide), squeezed into an L-shaped courtyard around the Crown and Anchor pub.

Walking distance from "the Garden", Little Miss Mexico offers (surprise, surprise) Mexican-themed food and drinks in a vibrant and relaxed outdoor setting. It has partnered with Vinteloper Wines to offer delicious grapey drops through the Vinteloper Urban Winery Project which, aside from the main bar, also features at a separate wine-tasting and sales counter.

Vinteloper counter - "Nuggets of wisdom, free"!

We popped in for a couple of drinks and some nibbles before heading out to a Fringe show that night. It was a delightful 36-degree day (!) and we had caught red-eye flights from Melbourne/Sydney, so we weren't feeling our best (okay, I wasn't at my best. My sister seemed much perkier).

Perky sister

Nachos

Burrito

So it was pleasant and soothing sitting in Little Miss Mexico's funky, relaxed and rustic courtyard (which reminds me a lot of Section 8, a container bar in Melbourne), and it filled up completely in the two hours we were there. By the time we left, there was a queue at the front gate.

Courtyard, complete with inverted basket light fittings

Rustic AND funky

Although the Fringe has come to an end for 2013, these guys have managed to extend their trading license for a short time - so if you haven't been yet, get in quick! They don't have a website, so it's all about what their Facebook page says.

From Little Miss Mexico, we PT'd it like a BOSS (or BOSSES) to meet a friend at The Gov (59 Port Road, Hindmarsh), a well-known Adelaide live music venue and the location of our comedy show for the evening, "The Best of the Edinburgh Fest", featuring Stuart Goldsmith, Carl Donnelly and Jimmy McGhie.

We had a drink in the outside courtyard before the show:

...and then sat our patooties down inside to be entertained in a laugh-inducing manner. You were permitted to take drinks in (plus, plus!), and all the comedians were quite good and - in varying degrees - pleasant on the eye (plus, plus!).

We walked out through the front bar of The Gov, which seemed darker and slightly seedy - or perhaps that was just my state and it was that point of the evening - but I imagine The Gov would still be a fun place for a pub night out. (Or portion thereof.)

We carried on with our drinking at the Grace Emily, another music-venue-type pub in the city, which seemed pretty cool. It was a classic pub-meets-music-venue-in-one, but with a student-y vibe, and I did think the stage rather small. We watched a band's inaugural gig (bless) - mm hmm - and then waltzed south through town towards our accommodation, kindly accompanied by my chivalrous friend. I took some photos on the way - so here is a selection of Adelaide city by night, everyone:

Pretty lights and drunk people on Hindley Street

The "Mall's Balls"... this is a real thing, in Rundle Mall

Funky lights on a... wait for it... CAR PARK

...ABOVE HUNGRY JACK'S

And THIS was potentially one of the coolest parts of the evening, or perhaps I'm just really sad. Ahem. Don't answer that.

We walked past this wall, with all this stuff on it, and it looked weird, so I looked closer, and it turns out... THE WEIRD STUFF WAS MATCHBOX CARS! ALL OVER THE WALL! HUNDREDS OF THEM! Yeah I know, it's probably not that exciting, but I took a few pics. Wanna see??!

Goodness, what are those little things?!

Why, they are MATCHBOX CARS!

BEING ALL ARTY 'N STUFF!

Yes indeedy. First night out in Adelaide. As grown-ups. Drinking. Without the parents. Way past midnight. We're huge rebels, we are.

Ahem.

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Melbourne Patron

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