The Annexe Stage at the Esplanade is the small free-programme venue tucked into the side of the main concert hall. It runs a weekly free music series — jazz, classical, world, electronic, often with festival programming on weekends — and the lobby bar pours decent wine and competent cocktails.
The Annexe is not a bar; it is a 220-seat venue with a small lobby bar. But it deserves a place on the city's live-music map because the programme is genuinely good and the price (mostly free) is impossible to argue with. The Esplanade publishes the weekly schedule each Monday; weekend slots fill quickly and need a free ticket reservation in advance.
The lobby bar pours by-the-glass wines, two beers on tap, and a short list of cocktails — Negroni, Old Fashioned, Champagne Cocktail, Aperol Spritz. The cocktails are made by Esplanade staff who have been trained for the room; they are reliable rather than ambitious. The wines are the better order.
The Annexe pairs well with dinner at one of the Esplanade outdoor restaurants and a longer cocktail stop afterwards. It is the city's most consistent free-music venue and one of its most underused.
Best time to visit: Weekday evenings before 9pm for the quieter version of the room; weekends after 9pm for the busier one. Reservations recommended where the bar accepts them.
What to order
- 01
Wine by the Glass
- 02
Negroni
- 03
Old Fashioned
- 04
Champagne Cocktail
- 05
Aperol Spritz