Hayden's been a mate for ages, and his bar, a gorgeous, tiny, stripped-back speakeasy-type Mecca in Melbourne, is almost ten years old and has been winning awards and getting on lists quite a lot, so it was time we got together and shot the shit. This tiny little bar in Australia's second city got #100 on the overall World's 50 Best Bars list - not bad, eh?

I had no idea about Hayden's Euro ski-resort Flugel-drinking past, as he'd only popped up on my radar after his rather more seemly stint at the Merchant Hotel in Belfast, and then promptly dropped off until he opened Above Board, and we even got to hang a little when I was in Australia last, around 2019/early 2020, as I recall...

This was a really fun chat (more for me than him, because it was evening time in NY so I could have a drink or two, as you'll be able to hear, but it was morning time the next day in Melbourne, so all Hayden had was coffee, poor bastard) and we went nice and long.

Enjoy!

Hayden on IG: https://www.instagram.com/travlinboy/

Above Board on IG: https://www.instagram.com/aboveboardbarmelb/

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