✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
It’s just after 9pm on a Monday and three thoughts come to mind. First, Joji shimmers as much as the jewellery found below in the Cartier flagship store. Second, the DJ’s seamless transitions from funky house to disco beats are on point. And third: wow, there’s a line of people waiting to get a seat inside the city’s newest rooftop bar. On a school night. I suddenly feel an urge to tell everyone who thinks Sydney’s nightlife is dead that they couldn’t be more wrong.
Joji opened in the second half of 2024 at 388 George Street, on level five. It’s the first foray into the bar world for the Esca Group, though their CV is strong, with Middle Eastern, Martin Place-diner Aalia, pretty-and-pink Nour, modern Japanese spot Ito and pan-Asian restaurant Lilymu under their wings.
The inside is polished and glamorous, with warm lighting, earthy tones, a shiny silver DJ station, sleek wooden bar and plush curved booths. There’s indoor seating and a wraparound terrace, and on this warm evening, I reckon that’s the ticket. It’s also apparent that Gucci may be out of stock because every bag in Sydney is here.
The cocktail menu draws from the Japanese principles of simplicity, imperfection and creativity. My pick is the Geisha, made with fresh yuzu gin, nashi pear, passion...
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✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
When you enter The Bristol, you feel less like you’ve stepped into a pub, and more like you’re inside a multi-layered hospitality precinct.
From its unassuming entryway on Sussex Street, where CBD traffic chugs to a standstill and glass building close out the sky, The Bristol’s stock-standard taproom opens out to chic Greek eatery Ela Ela at the back, a full-blown sports bar and games room below, and yet three more distinct venues on the storeys above.
As you ascend a staircase set with rattan mirrors and portraits of mid-century pool parties, you’ll glimpse Calypso nightclub on level one and Midtown Bar and Lounge on level two.
Then there's the sprawling, Med-style rooftop at the summit
The top-floor venue has two open-air balconies at either end of a breezy indoor dining room: the larger of the two is dwarfed by neighbouring skyscrapers, while the smaller (and nicer) space overlooks a slither of Darling Harbour and the Maritime Museum.
It’s a far cry from The Bristol Arms, its predecessor, which closed its doors in 2020. The heritage-listed institution was built in 1898, and became known in more recent years as a daggy watering hole with a retro club night.
Oscars Hotel Group – a serial pub landlord, and, as of last month, owner of Luna Park – claimed...
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✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
As you take the elevator up to the 26th floor above the modern Skye Suites apartment tower from the corporate-leaning Macquarie Street, Parramatta, it’s hard to imagine you’re about to enter a glamorous, Art Deco-style cocktail and Champagne bar. But as you step out, you launch into another world – it’s the world of Nick and Nora, the murder-solving, soirée-throwing New York duo from the novel (and films), The Thin Man.
Nick & Nora’s is made up of a big, indoor area, sandwiched between two outdoor terraces. From the terraces you look out onto the contemporary Parramatta cityscape and far beyond, yet each piece of furniture and design detail – including the Art Deco-style light shades dotted around the room – screams old-world glamour.
Every little detail has been considered, not a corner cut
The bar itself is the centrepiece of the room – there are rows and rows and rows of bottles of spirits, all lit from behind so they glow with a warm golden light. You can sit along the green, marble bar on dark wooden stools, at one of the many tables or booths inside, or you can look out at the view from a rattan stool or lounge on the terrace.
The service also comes with vintage charm – the bartenders are dressed smartly in crisp, white shirts and forest-green...
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
I’m sitting in The Seidler Room with a glass of bittersweet, amber-hued Amaro della Donna Selvatica from Italy’s Piedmont region, and I don’t want to leave. For one, it’s absolutely bucketing outside – one of those wild, sideways-rain storms – and I left my umbrella at home. The plush-carpeted, mid-century-inspired part of The Wine Bar – an ode to Austrian-Australian architect Harry Seidler – feels intimate, classy and cosy.
But mostly it’s because the night has been so good that I don’t want it to end
It’s been a big time for 25 Martin Place. Last November, the building welcomed The International, a three-in-one mega venue by hospo group The Point, who are behind the Architectural Digest-worthy Shell House, the energetic Dolphin Hotel, Orange’s Hotel Canobolas and the can’t-wait-for-you-to-open Fort Denison venue. The mega establishment is located in the wings of Seidler’s iconic skyscraper, the heritage-listed MLC Centre, and right next door to his mushroom.
Walking up the stairs feels like an event in itself – like you’re heading to something special
I first see the outside courtyard, a 60-seat space filled with butter-yellow curved chairs, snow-white umbrellas and afterworkers. If the brief was balmy-afternoon sipping and snacking, they’ve nailed it....
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✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
The Sydney suburb of Haberfield famously has no pubs.
When a man named Des Middleton tried to open one here in 1948, more than half of the suburb’s population (that was 4,238 residents, at the time) voted against it. Over the years, some Haberfield restaurateurs have even struggled to secure liquor licenses for their eateries. So, to this day, this little Inner Western suburb full of heritage homes is still without a pub. Despite the area’s Italian-ness, it doesn’t even have a wine bar.
We’d say it doesn’t need a pub when it has UTS Haberfield Rowers
The club house – located on the popular Bay Run, over the water at Iron Cove – has housed various restaurants over the years, but in May 2024, it was taken over by hospitality pro Con Dedes (of Flying Fish and Sala), who has rebranded the venue as Regatta Club. In a nod to what seems like Haberfield’s pub-free policy, the staff have the words ‘REGATTA PUB CLUB’ written on the back of their T-shirts. Cute.
This new venue has an easy, breezy, always-summery vibe, and it’s the perfect place for an afternoon or balmy-evening drink (and yes, the only place in this ’hood where you can have a drink without eating).
As you walk up the stairs, there’s a big hand-painted mural on the wall – drawings of rowing-club...
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
Two-and-a-half hours. That’s how long I waited in line to try Bar Nestor’s famous tortilla. Located in San Sebastian's Old Town, the tiny bar and restaurant specialises in the sunshine-golden simple dish, and if you don’t get there early enough to put your name down for a slice, you miss out. Soft eggs, tender potatoes and sweet onions come together to make something truly greater than the sum of its parts. Would line up again.
The great news is that I don’t have to, and neither do you, because there's a tortilla nearly as delicious on the menu at Letra House, the new underground wine bar from the Love Tilly Group. It’s cooked beautifully: caramelised on the outside, jammy in the centre, with plump little prawns scattered throughout. The accompanying fermented chilli, garlic and tomato sauce adds a bold and fiery dimension.
Bloody hell, it’s good
What’s also seriously good is a glass of 2023 Sommernat from Poppelvej in McLaren Vale, poured tableside. Butterscotch in colour, it tastes like a tutti frutti fizz and summertime house parties. Our waitress tells us Poppelvej is the name of the street in Denmark where the winemaker Uffe Deichmann grew up. Cracking stuff. Yes, I would love another, please.
Letra House opened at the end of last year in peak silly...
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✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
The waiter recommends a $135 Negroni and it turns out they’re not kidding.
“You won’t get one like this anywhere else,” they say.
So Bobbie’s is a little fancy. It’s a plush refuge from the hectic New South Head Road that screeches through Double Bay. Through a curtained doorway, soft table lamps flick off marble surfaces and gold leaf trimmings. Mixologists judder shakers in bow ties and all-white uniforms. Somewhere pictures are sketched into cocktail foam.
The co-owner has something of a name around these parts. Neil Perry – who also owns Bobbie’s next-door neighbours Margaret, Next Door, Baker Bleu and Song Bird – has risen to celebrity status in Sydney’s hospo scene since opening the OG Rockpool back in the eighties. For his first foray into the bar world, Perry has also joined forces with his wife, Samantha, and longtime friends Linden Pride and Nathalie Hudson, known for their acclaimed Dante bars in New York and L.A.
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Bobbie’s is named after Pride’s late grandfather – disc jockey and broadcaster Bob Rogers – who is credited with introducing Top 40 hits to Australian radio in the late fifties and eventually became the nation’s longest-serving radio...
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
There’s a reasonable explanation as to why the décor at Disco Pantera feels like a Saturday Night Fever dream. It’s because interior designer Cass Siow has beautifully articulated the vision of brothers Ross and Gordon Purnell (Hawksmoor, Panda & Sons): to capture the nostalgia of a New York cocktail bar from the 1970s.
Siow struck gold with her delivery of the convivial venue, which features electric-blue leather banquettes, chrome bar stools, oxblood walls and Nick Dahlen screenprints that pop off the back bar. Add to this the vintage lighting, floor-to-ceiling Picasso tapestry, deadstock vintage tiles, Walt Disney art illustration studio lamps and a glittering disco ball and you have yourself an excursion to disco utopia.
To venture into this vortex in Quay Quarter Laneways is to become part of an eclectic crowd keen to bop along to everyone from Kylie Minogue to Lenny Kravitz, David Bowie and Blondie. Prepare to be transformed by the music – curated by a rotating roster of weekly DJs – as well as the food and drinks brandished by charismatic venue manager Andy McCorquodale (ex-Old Mate’s Place, Tio’s), who deserves big-ups for his A-grade banter. Apart from the great disco vibe going on at the bar, the venue feels very inclusive and welcoming thanks to...
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The Gidley burger has got a lot of attention this year – it was named the world’s ninth best burger by the World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants – so it’s no wonder it’s something that’s attracted people to The Rover, since they started serving it up, too. But that’s not all that draws people to this neighbourhoody cocktail bar. The Rover has a lot going for it. The fisherman’s pie, for one (more on that later).
The Rover is a dimly lit cocktail bar in Surry Hills’ Hollywood Quarter (the section of Sydney named the coolest in 2024 by Time Out). If you go to this little intersection of Cambell and Foster Streets, you know you’ll have a good time – perhaps dinner at Pellegrino 2000 across the street, then drinks at The Rover. Or just skip Pellegrino altogether and eat your way through The Rover’s delicious menu, with a couple of cocktails or some wine.
My friend and I start with the burger, of course. It’s double-beef patties made from Riverine sirloin chain meat; Coppertree farms retired dairy cow chuck and brisket, dry-aged at the in-house butchery at one of Liquid & Larder’s other steak venues, Alfie's. Basically, these guys know their meat (as well as Alfie’s and 24th best steak restaurant in the world, The Gidley, they also run Bistecca).
The milk bun is perfectly round on top like in the photos; it looks polished, almost shiny, and we don’t really want to have to cut it in half. They’re thin, smash-style patties – crowd-pleasing because they’re not served rare like they...
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
Some of the most fun to be had in Byron isn’t on Main Beach. Sure, the crystal-blue waves are great – and it’s intoxicating to bask in the golden sunshine, knocking back a chilled Stone & Wood at the Beach Hotel (maybe I could move to Byron?!). But forget all that and head in the opposite direction from the beach (yes, really) to 139 Jonson Street, past a dramatic velvet curtain, and into Bar Heather.
This Euro-style wine bar and restaurant is run by co-owners James Audas and Tom Sheer, who have a knack for all things low-fi vino. The wine list is excellent, filled with their favourite drops from Australia and Europe, broken up by region and with a focus on natural vino. Their Aussie riff on a Euro Spritz is also spot on – light, laced with herbal notes and not too sweet.
But it’s the food that will really make your ears perk up.
A crisp rectangle potato chip arrives looking like a magic carpet, topped with buttery Manchego cheese, soft raw shiitake mushrooms, and a dusting of earthy mushroom powder (and no, not that kind – get your head outta the gutter). Crunchy, bronzed prawn and bug toast gets a funky kick from a creamy, prawn-oil-spiked Marie Rose sauce.
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There is a demonic gargoyle on the bar at the Absinthe Salon, a poster of Marilyn Manson on the wall and our waitress is wearing a tight, leather corset. The bar itself, just beyond the bottle shop you pass through upon entering, is aiming for La Belle Époque – French-style café seating, a green fairy splashed across one wall – but the overall feel is a little more Rob Zombie than Moulin Rouge. And we can get down with that. Especially when a pre-dinner drink at the Absinthe Salon is so much fun.
Once you're seated, one of the waitresses working the floor will float over and explain what absinthe is (anise-flavoured spirit, highly alcoholic, made more complex with different herbs); what absinthe isn't ("it is not a hallucinogenic, but it will make you feel amazing"); and how to drink it. Here, she will demonstrate: ice is placed in the lamp-like absinthe fountain on your table, along with water; a cube of sugar is sat on an absinthe spoon above your glass; and a faucet on the fountain is turned so that water drips onto the cube, slowly dissolving the sugar as it trickles down into your glass of absinthe below. The green liquid grows cloudy and you begin to smell the herbs.
It's an elaborate process, so reserve time if you're popping in. And do take their advice: while the more potent absinthe varieties here are more interesting and complex (up to 75 per cent proof), start with something milder (like the Francois Guy, from Pontarlier, 45 per cent proof) if, like us,...
The Angel Hotel in the CBD is a time capsule for old-school inner-city drinking. Don’t get us wrong. Come 5pm our city’s workforce still hit the bars with undiminished ferocity, but with the influx of small bars, cocktail caves, craft beer barns and high-end establishments, the old-fashioned boozer slinging pints and pies is a dying breed. They like the old ways at the Angel so we get called sweetie when we order a frosty schooner of Coopers, but we’re not sweet enough to get access to the 100 Pints Club. The engraved glasses hung above the low wooden bar are all that remains of this defunct, and no doubt merry, club. The bar is laid with beautiful, ornate tiles and the windows out onto Angel Place are the kind of rippled stained glass that wouldn’t look out of place in a Victorian manor. There’s a dedicated sandwich menu at lunchtime; after work you can get a pie or sausage roll from the warmer behind the bar; or there’s always a bag of crisps. They keep things similarly stripped back on the taps. There’s Coopers Green, Heineken, Super Dry, New, James Squires Pale Ale and a cider. It’s not a huge range but they are cold, clean and properly poured. Below ground is where they keep the gaming lounge and upstairs is a worn-in lounge bar with red velvet chairs, chesterfields and ornate lampshades that look like they were borrowed from a Parisian cat-house. Never change, old friend.
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✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
In the basement of a heritage warehouse in Sydney’s CBD you’ll find a Sicilian-inspired cocktail bar named for the ill-fated wife of Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 mobster masterpiece, The Godfather. But don’t let that put you off. For those of us who have been lying about having seen The Godfather their whole lives, good news. Every page of the drinks menu will run you through the storyline (spoilers lie within, but it’s literally been 50 years) so you can impress your date with cinematic knowledge while sipping on a Letter Never Sent, a standout concoction of wheat vodka, honey liquor, pineapple, clove, housemade almond syrup and fresh nutmeg, shaken and served over ice.
Dimly lit and dramatic as the movie itself, Apollonia is, by sheer geography alone, a triumph. Carved into the sandstone bedrock of Customs House, the hand-chipped, 150-year-old walls have been ambitiously transported to the 21st century, with accents of marble bars, deeply stained wooden finishes, mismatched tiles and red leather banquette seating. The vibe is sophisticated and plush, a naturally cosy cave with dark carpeted flooring that we suspect this will be a top after-work date bar for years to come. With gold and velvet finishings and abundant in (oh, so...
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
Update: Redfern’s fairy-lit hangout Arcadia has been going strong for more than a decade, fuelling Sydneysiders with excellent drinks and toasties. It’s a prime spot for a first date (trust us) or knock-off drinks. And you can swing by on Sundays for cheap Margs.
– Avril Treasure
Read on for our review of Arcadia Liquors from 2016 by Emily Lloyd-Tait.
*****
One of Redfern’s original small bars is still as loud, fairy-lit and friendly as ever. And cheap. Where else can you get a eminently drinkable semillon sauvignon for six bucks and a grilled ham cheese and tomato sandwich for a fiver, other than student housing?
There is a wonderful reliability to any visit to Arcadia. It’s always full but somehow you can manage to rustle up a bar stool or one of those vintage metal chairs, or find a spot out in the brick courtyard featuring many hanging plants and all the nautical paintings available at Vinnies. Since the smoking laws changed the back is saved for the smokers – if you’re hanging out for a chicken or ham and salami sarnie off the fancy toastie menu, stick to indoor seats.
They haven’t changed much since first opening – if it ain’t broke and all that – which means there’s still three beer taps featuring something German and two local brews – Tooheys was...
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Ever since they pulled the dust cloths off the shining copper stills in the distillery back in March of 2014 and started pumping out gin, vodka, rum and white rye we’ve been singing the praises of this impressive operation located on Rosebery’s most innovative block. Not only is it one of Sydney's most beautiful bars, the local edge and carefully crafted spirits do nothing but add to the romance.
Under the watchful eye of head of hospitality, Harriet Leigh (ex Hazy Rose and Henrietta Supper Club) you can be sure they're stirring up a five-star house gin Martini with a precise brine balance. You are in very good hands here.
A gutsy cocktail list is ever evolving and playful, with tipples like the Papaya Don't Preach; a concoction of Archie Rose Native Botanical Vodka, blood orange, lime, papaya, peach, pineapple and chili salt; The Pear Necessities that combines Archie Rose Distiller’s Strength Gin, bergamot, lavender, lemon, pear and sparkling wine; or the Baby Got Mac – Archie Rose White Rye, citrus, coconut, wattleseed, macadamia and mango. As well as investing in the use of native botanicals, the crew at Archie Rose don't shy away from a dizzying number of collabs with other local legends. A glance at the cocktail list boasts input from the Sydney Opera House, Blasphemy Coffee and even the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The room is the last word in industrial elegance. It’s separated from the distillery by a heavy-duty metal grille and a wall of spirit barrels. On the bar side,...
Officially, this little pub on Oxford Street is called the Arts Bar. However locals and old timers will often refer to it as the Rose Shamrock and Thistle, or even the Three Weeds: it depends on who you’re talking to. Arts Bar makes sense, given its proximity to the College of Fine Arts. Though it’s housed in a beautiful Art Deco Building there’s nothing hifalutin about this public house. It’s got the cream mottled tiles and multiple doorways opening out onto the street of your classic corner boozer and the floor inside is a mix of concrete and tiles – you could easily hose the whole place out if needed. Inside it’s all green and yellow tiles, glowing orange and yellow light boxes, tall stools, swivel chairs and old orange vinyl chairs. They pull a pretty mixed crowd, with young and elastic students talking earnestly about their ‘practice’ and making plans for surfing adventures while retirees sit opposite and share a little late night ice cream out of a curled glass bowl. The variety might be due to the very friendly staff who adopt a more-the-merrier approach, or perhaps it’s the Tuesday special of slow-cooked lamb that’s pulling people through the doors. They pour a decent Kilkenny if you like Irish cream ale, but for our money we’ll take a pint of Young Henrys, Stone and Wood or Murray’s Angry Man instead. They tick the boxes on all the pub food staples, and also do bananas in rum and a chocolate pudding that comes highly recommended by our smiling barman. The Arts Bar...
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You may well be able to lob a tennis ball from George Street to this quiet pedestrian alley but you wouldn’t know it from the relaxed pace of the punters stopping in for a glass of wine at this little bistro. Decompress out in the breezy laneway or up at the bar where French house featuring atmospheric horns keeps the vibe on a low simmer and devote all your remaining energies to the wine menu. They have an internationally diverse, by-the-glass list that lets you sample the wines of Austria, Romania, South Africa, Greece, Argentina, Germany, the US, Chile and Slovenia, in addition to Italy, France, Australia and New Zealand. And the best part is they offer tasting glasses for half the price of a full pour so you take a little tour without breaking the bank. Depending on the weather and the day you’ve had they might steer you towards a bright, fruity Domaine de Beavernay gamay from Beaujolais, or possibly a ribolla gialla from Friuli. There’s not much to the operation here. The open-plan space spills out into the lane and the wine is stored up high in black timber racks. The kitchen can sort out a serious hunger with lamb cutlets or grilled spitchcock, but a rich, golden toastie with jamon and truffled gruyere will also stop hunger in its tracks.
Time Out Awards
2010Best Wine Bar
View this year's Time Out Bar Award winners
In case of fire, assemble at the designated meeting spot. In case of thirst, go get cocktails at Assembly. You might not expect an ace bar to be hiding down on the lower ground floor of what is ostensibly a hub of Asian cheap eats, but the buzzy precinct behind the KFC on the corner of George and Bathurst Streets has many secrets. Not only can you get a kooky soft-serve in a halo of fairy floss from Aqua S; a fragrant char kway teo from Sedap Malaysian Kopitiam; and a king’s ransom in rice paper rolls from Miss Chu – there’s booze too. This must be what heaven is like.
When something gets an award everyone wants to get involved – especially if it’s delicious. Sullivans Cove French oak barrel-aged single malt sold out after they won a world whisky award in 2014, and people are still queuing for a taste of the mandorla affogato gelato from Cow and the Moon. And at Assembly you can order a stack of award-winning cocktails. The Linda Russian, crowned by a 2014 Stoli comp, proves you don’t need an ingredient list a mile long to make a good drink. Almond syrup is an excellent foil to the zingy punch of fresh pineapple juice – and with a glug of vodka in the mix you’ve got a summer refresher that demands an encore.
The up’n’go qualities of a Vodka Espresso are perfect fuel before a gig over at the Metro, but these guys have chucked out the vodka and are shaking up rum, Frangelico, Kahlua and cold drip coffee, and the results are excellent.
There are a ridiculous number of dining...
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There’s something to be said for setting up your brewery and pub in the North West of Sydney – there’s a lot of space out this way. The Australian Hotel and Brewery (conveniently located next door to Bunnings, FYI) is set on a massive block just off Old Winsor Road. From the outside it looks like a warehouse with an enormous parking lot. But inside it’s a pub-lovers Disneyland. It’s been kitted out in good Australian fashion with exposed brick, warm lighting, raw timber and rusty iron decorations. In addition to housing the brewery itself they’ve got a spacious bistro, sports bar, pokies lounge and games room, plus an enormous bar operating at the centre of everything. Love watching sport but hate sitting on a bar stool? They’ve got cushy leather recliners lined up like a mini sports cinema. Brought your ankle biters with you? Here they have a dedicated kids club with a jungle gym and a super-soft play area for really tiny humans. They even host kids birthday parties. When you have the same amount of space as a standard Chippendale block you can do whatever you damn well please. They keep a collection of standard lagers on tap but the interesting stuff here is the brews they make on site. Their Mexican lager served with fresh lime is a light, summery glass of refreshment, but if you aren’t afraid of some forceful flavours go the extra hoppy ale – a coppery amber ale with a fresh, bitter finish. They also make a pilsner, pale ale, strong Belgium golden ale, steam ale, amber...
At Bacco, you can eat, drink or simply get some pastries to go. But we like to drink. The cocktail list will be right up your alley if you like floral, fruity drinks but you can totally ignore the list if your tastes run to straighter stuff - the bar staff are incredibly accomplished and can make anything you hit them with. If you do order off the list, try the Caesar's Cup - served long, it's a mix of gin, red wine and house-made mint lemonade, garnished with a wedge of grapefruit and a wedge of cucumber. The Giorgio il Bello involves a glass rolled in rhubarb sugar and filled with a mix of Aperol, St Germain elderflower liqueur and pinot grigio, topped with more of that house-made lemonade. Sweet? Yes. Deadly? Most certainly. The L'Arrogante is the winner off the list: tequila, house-made sweet vermouth and fresh squeezed grapefruit served short. If cocktails and spirits aren't your thing, Delicado's Ben Moechtar has put together the wine list. They also give you little snacks (spuntini) through the night. They're gratis, and delicious. The space, designed by Michael McCann, is all warm wood, low, long booths and tinkling, grape-shaped purple lights. Sit up at the bar, admire the huge booze selection, marvel at the cold larder filled with cured meats and raise a glass to Bacchus - the guy that loved a drink.
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
It’s just after 9pm on a Monday and three thoughts come to mind. First, Joji shimmers as much as the jewellery found below in the Cartier flagship store. Second, the DJ’s seamless transitions from funky house to disco beats are on point. And third: wow, there’s a line of people waiting to get a seat inside the city’s newest rooftop bar. On a school night. I suddenly feel an urge to tell everyone who thinks Sydney’s nightlife is dead that they couldn’t be more wrong.
Joji opened in the second half of 2024 at 388 George Street, on level five. It’s the first foray into the bar world for the Esca Group, though their CV is strong, with Middle Eastern, Martin Place-diner Aalia, pretty-and-pink Nour, modern Japanese spot Ito and pan-Asian restaurant Lilymu under their wings.
The inside is polished and glamorous, with warm lighting, earthy tones, a shiny silver DJ station, sleek wooden bar and plush curved booths. There’s indoor seating and a wraparound terrace, and on this warm evening, I reckon that’s the ticket. It’s also apparent that Gucci may be out of stock because every bag in Sydney is here.
The cocktail menu draws from the Japanese principles of simplicity, imperfection and creativity. My pick is the Geisha, made with fresh yuzu gin, nashi pear, passion...
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
Update: Choose your fighter at Old Mate’s Place. Do you want to settle in the vintage-style bar with comfy leather booths, dozens of old books, and a twinkling chandelier? Or race to the sky-high rooftop, compete for one of the in-demand tables, and bask in the sunshine and glory? Wherever you go, it’s sure to be a hit. And say ‘hi’ to Old Mate for us, please.
– Avril Treasure
Read on for our review of Old Mate’s Place from 2019 by Pat Nourse.
*****
One hundred and two steps. Rooftop bars are not for the faint of quad. But all that thigh-burning just primes you for the reveal: swing open the door at the top and there you are, in a lushly planted oasis in the Sydney skyline. A smiling bartender hands you a VB throwdown while you flip through the menu. A bowtie is slung around their neck unknotted, Rat Pack-style. It might only be a quarter past six down on street level, but up here, it’s always time to take it easy.
Flip through the list: there’s smarts enough behind the smiles to handle whatever classics you might fancy. And where bars on rooftops in other parts of the world might call to mind sun-bleached bottles of Bombora and lychee liqueur, the back bar at Old Mate’s is quite a different matter – the arrangement of malts, Caribbean rums and fine...
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This isn’t my first time at Centro 86. It only opened about half a year ago, and this would be my fourth time here. I’ve seen it jam-packed with after-work drinkers on a Thursday night, partly packed with weekend revellers on a Saturday, and tonight – a Monday at 7pm – it’s quiet. But no matter how full this place is, it’s always a vibe.
The bar staff – dressed sharply in green waistcoats over white shirts – set an upbeat tone the moment you step in. They greet you loudly and warmly, hand you a paper bag full of spicy popcorn and talk you through the cocktail menu and tonight’s specials. Take a seat at the bar and you’ll realise “good conversationalist” must be one of the traits you need to get a job here. These aren’t snooty bar staff – they take their jobs seriously, but not themselves.
Centro 86 is the latest venue by the Mucho Group – the same crew behind Newtown’s popular Bar Planet as well as other Latino-style venues, Cantino OK! and Tio’s Cerveceria.
This newer venue specialises in tequila cocktails, with a spotlight on Margaritas.
To get here, you walk down Pitt Street to the Priceline Pharmacy, turn down an inconspicuous laneway (Hoskin Lane), find an unassuming looking door, and head down the stairs. They’ve basically converted Priceline’s basement into an edgy bar that feels straight out of Mexico City.
The music is all Latino influenced, but the soundtrack still keeps you on your toes – taking you on a journey through the sounds of Cuban pachanga through to...
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
It’s about as difficult to define 'cool' as it is to pin the tail on the donkey blindfolded after a coupla Negronis. Crocs were not but now they are; laughing emojis are (apparently) not; and even the humble burrata looks like it’s on its way out (RIP). If it’s difficult to define, it’s even more challenging to manufacture, as the action of trying to be cool is very much uncool. When you see cool, you just know. And that’s exactly what will happen if you stroll into Bar Copains, Surry Hills’ new friendly neighbourhood wine bar.
'Copains' means 'friends' in French, which is an apt name for this gem by longtime mates and chefs Morgan McGlone (culinary director of Potts Point’s Sunday, and founder of Belles Hot Chicken) and Nathan Sasi (the founding chef of Nomad). Sasi’s partner, Sali, is also co-owner. Friends since their paths crossed in 2010, the duo long dreamed about opening a little wine bar where they could catch up and enjoy good bottles of natural wine. And in late 2022, that’s exactly what they did.
Fun fact: McGlone and Sasi have both donated hundreds of wines from their personal collections that they have been building up over the years for Bar Copains, some of which are proudly lined up on shelves along the wall like kids' swimming trophies....
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✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
Suspend your reality for a moment. Imagine it's 1980s Australia and you're a True Blue Bruce. This is truly your time. On the cusp of its five-year birthday, Hawke's Brewing Company, the brewery co-founded by former prime minister Bob Hawke, has thrown open the doors of a flagship venue, housed inside its newly built 2,100 square-metre brewery in Marrickville.
Dubbed the Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre in honour of the company’s late namesake, the club is a cathedralesque space adorned with enormous brew tanks, museum-like pool rooms, and a nostalgic RLS-style Australian-Chinese bistro from one of Sydney's top chefs.
The venue is delivering a full service bar, fronted by ten taps pouring Hawke’s core range beers, plus a rotation of new “One Hit Wonder” limited release styles. The addition of the venue’s Chinese-Australian bistro rounds out the Leisure Centre’s quintessential '80s-pub and community club experience. If your mind is immediately cast back to your childhood of sizzling black bean steak, honey prawns, san choy bao and deep-fried ice cream – in this case, an equally '80s-tastic Vienetta – you're spot on.
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Developed by chef Nic Wong (Cho Cho San,...
The Cricketers Arms is, arguably, Surry Hills’ – if not Sydney’s – most classic Aussie pub. The fact that they’ve hardly done a thing to the bottom floor and beer garden in decades is what’s given it its charm.
As you enter, there’s a big bar in the centre of the room, with bar stools dotted around it – the kind of space you feel comfortable coming to on your own and pulling up a stool for a chat with the bartender. If you stop by enough times, that bartender – and the strangers next to you – will probably end up being your friends. That’s the type of place the Cricketers is.
There’s a DJ booth next to the bar; a sitting room where they occasionally host bands alongside that; followed by a grungy pool room complete with a purple-topped pool table. All areas of the downstairs pub are connected with sticky old red carpet with a gold pattern that disguises years of fun that pub-goers have had with old friends and new.
Then there’s the beer garden – it’s just old wooden tables and seating packed into an enclosed courtyard lined with simple brick paving, but the space is prettied up with hanging greenery and thousands of tiny fairy lights.
Basically there’s a place in here for everyone – for local barflies and the oldies who’ve been coming here forever, for uni students and skater punks wanting some cheap entertainment, for well-dressed Surry Hills creatives here for a knock-off drink, for live music lovers and those keen to boogie – even for those looking to knock the top...
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✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
Some Sydney restaurants are “inspired by” eateries from other lands. Others, like Deux Frères, can transport you directly to somewhere on the other side of the world. This laneway pintxos bar plucks you right out of your Circular Quay surrounds and plonks you, magically, into one of the tiny bars that Spain’s Basque country is famous for. And right now there’s no place I’d rather be.
As I sit at the marble-top bar – tightly packed in between my dining companion and a stranger on the other side – I watch the staff behind the counter prepping bar snacks centred around cured meats, Spanish and French cheeses, and crusty bread. Pintxos comes from the Spanish verb “pinchar” meaning to poke/prick – because the snacks are generally served with a toothpick to hold them together.
It’s drinking food, and the drinks menu takes you on a journey from vermouth to Spanish and French wines to beer, as well as spirits. We order a carafe of Spanish red, a 2016 tempranillo that tastes the way I like it to taste – just the right balance of rich and mellow; highly drinkable in warm weather.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Alice Ellis (@alicecellis)
We start with gildas. The tiny fish fillets skewered between two green olives, two little...
The Gidley burger has got a lot of attention this year – it was named the world’s ninth best burger by the World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants – so it’s no wonder it’s something that’s attracted people to The Rover, since they started serving it up, too. But that’s not all that draws people to this neighbourhoody cocktail bar. The Rover has a lot going for it. The fisherman’s pie, for one (more on that later).
The Rover is a dimly lit cocktail bar in Surry Hills’ Hollywood Quarter (the section of Sydney named the coolest in 2024 by Time Out). If you go to this little intersection of Cambell and Foster Streets, you know you’ll have a good time – perhaps dinner at Pellegrino 2000 across the street, then drinks at The Rover. Or just skip Pellegrino altogether and eat your way through The Rover’s delicious menu, with a couple of cocktails or some wine.
My friend and I start with the burger, of course. It’s double-beef patties made from Riverine sirloin chain meat; Coppertree farms retired dairy cow chuck and brisket, dry-aged at the in-house butchery at one of Liquid & Larder’s other steak venues, Alfie's. Basically, these guys know their meat (as well as Alfie’s and 24th best steak restaurant in the world, The Gidley, they also run Bistecca).
The milk bun is perfectly round on top like in the photos; it looks polished, almost shiny, and we don’t really want to have to cut it in half. They’re thin, smash-style patties – crowd-pleasing because they’re not served rare like they...
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✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
Two-and-a-half hours. That’s how long I waited in line to try Bar Nestor’s famous tortilla. Located in San Sebastian's Old Town, the tiny bar and restaurant specialises in the sunshine-golden simple dish, and if you don’t get there early enough to put your name down for a slice, you miss out. Soft eggs, tender potatoes and sweet onions come together to make something truly greater than the sum of its parts. Would line up again.
The great news is that I don’t have to, and neither do you, because there's a tortilla nearly as delicious on the menu at Letra House, the new underground wine bar from the Love Tilly Group. It’s cooked beautifully: caramelised on the outside, jammy in the centre, with plump little prawns scattered throughout. The accompanying fermented chilli, garlic and tomato sauce adds a bold and fiery dimension.
Bloody hell, it’s good
What’s also seriously good is a glass of 2023 Sommernat from Poppelvej in McLaren Vale, poured tableside. Butterscotch in colour, it tastes like a tutti frutti fizz and summertime house parties. Our waitress tells us Poppelvej is the name of the street in Denmark where the winemaker Uffe Deichmann grew up. Cracking stuff. Yes, I would love another, please.
Letra House opened at the end of last year in peak silly...
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
The Bat & Ball Hotel is named for its proximity to the Sydney Cricket Ground so, since 1929, it’s been an obvious stop on the way to a game there or at Allianz Stadium. It’s also been known, at times, as a live music pub. But in more recent times, after losing its rep for championing live music, it suffered a bit of an identity crisis, even changing its name to Parkside Bar for a bit. As far as I could tell, it was no longer the type of pub you’d bother going out of your way to get to. After all, it's in the kind of out-of-way end of Redfern/Surry Hills – on the high-traffic corner of Cleveland and South Dowling Streets. Thankfully, the pub has now been taken into the loving hands of five passionate friends – friends who know what they’re doing when it comes to running a boozer.
There’s Zac Godbolt, the creative director and co-founder of Enmore Country Club and Doom Juice. Rachael Paul, the previous venue manager of beloved neighbourhood spots The Sunshine Inn and Golden Gully. Cameron Votano, the co-owner and executive chef of BTB Kirribilli and Lowkey. And Daniel McBride and Dynn Szmulewicz, the owners of The Little Guy and the previously mentioned Enmore Country Club and The Sunshine Inn. It’s been a long-time dream for the five friends to own a pub...
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
It’s just after 9pm on a Monday and three thoughts come to mind. First, Joji shimmers as much as the jewellery found below in the Cartier flagship store. Second, the DJ’s seamless transitions from funky house to disco beats are on point. And third: wow, there’s a line of people waiting to get a seat inside the city’s newest rooftop bar. On a school night. I suddenly feel an urge to tell everyone who thinks Sydney’s nightlife is dead that they couldn’t be more wrong.
Joji opened in the second half of 2024 at 388 George Street, on level five. It’s the first foray into the bar world for the Esca Group, though their CV is strong, with Middle Eastern, Martin Place-diner Aalia, pretty-and-pink Nour, modern Japanese spot Ito and pan-Asian restaurant Lilymu under their wings.
The inside is polished and glamorous, with warm lighting, earthy tones, a shiny silver DJ station, sleek wooden bar and plush curved booths. There’s indoor seating and a wraparound terrace, and on this warm evening, I reckon that’s the ticket. It’s also apparent that Gucci may be out of stock because every bag in Sydney is here.
The cocktail menu draws from the Japanese principles of simplicity, imperfection and creativity. My pick is the Geisha, made with fresh yuzu gin, nashi pear, passion...
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
Update: Choose your fighter at Old Mate’s Place. Do you want to settle in the vintage-style bar with comfy leather booths, dozens of old books, and a twinkling chandelier? Or race to the sky-high rooftop, compete for one of the in-demand tables, and bask in the sunshine and glory? Wherever you go, it’s sure to be a hit. And say ‘hi’ to Old Mate for us, please.
– Avril Treasure
Read on for our review of Old Mate’s Place from 2019 by Pat Nourse.
*****
One hundred and two steps. Rooftop bars are not for the faint of quad. But all that thigh-burning just primes you for the reveal: swing open the door at the top and there you are, in a lushly planted oasis in the Sydney skyline. A smiling bartender hands you a VB throwdown while you flip through the menu. A bowtie is slung around their neck unknotted, Rat Pack-style. It might only be a quarter past six down on street level, but up here, it’s always time to take it easy.
Flip through the list: there’s smarts enough behind the smiles to handle whatever classics you might fancy. And where bars on rooftops in other parts of the world might call to mind sun-bleached bottles of Bombora and lychee liqueur, the back bar at Old Mate’s is quite a different matter – the arrangement of malts, Caribbean rums and fine...
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Sydney is a city of renovators. There’s a reason that The Block is one of our most-watched television shows — when we’re not knocking down walls and tiling kitchen floors, we love watching others do the same. So, when Darlinghurst’s Hotel William gets a cool $5 million revamp, we sit up and take notice. The ugly duckling pub on the corner of Yurong and William Streets has been rebranded as Hyde Park House, and comes complete with a glam izakaya rooftop bar to boot.
The ground-level Public Bar has had a spruce, but still exudes classic ‘Aussie pub’ vibes with counter meals to match; upstairs, the Jessie’s cocktail bar, is big on comfy lounges and zebra taxidermy. But we’re here for the rooftop bar, which opened fashionably late in the first week of July. Slim’s Rooftop is named after American socialite photographer Slim Aarons, though it could equally refer to the narrow stairs leading to rooftop — there’s a good amount of side-sashaying and waiting-on-the-landing as staff and patrons patiently wait to climb up or down the stairs.
But don’t despair, because it’s a stairway to heaven. Slim’s is an open-air oasis with succulent plants and low walls, allowing for stunning views of the art-deco buildings on William Street and the glittery skyscrapers of the not-too-distant CBD. There’s a few rooftop bars in this part of Sydney — the Taphouse and the East Village Hotel are not too far away — but neither sport the glorious ruffled pink umbrellas found here.
Food-wise, there’s...
This isn’t my first time at Centro 86. It only opened about half a year ago, and this would be my fourth time here. I’ve seen it jam-packed with after-work drinkers on a Thursday night, partly packed with weekend revellers on a Saturday, and tonight – a Monday at 7pm – it’s quiet. But no matter how full this place is, it’s always a vibe.
The bar staff – dressed sharply in green waistcoats over white shirts – set an upbeat tone the moment you step in. They greet you loudly and warmly, hand you a paper bag full of spicy popcorn and talk you through the cocktail menu and tonight’s specials. Take a seat at the bar and you’ll realise “good conversationalist” must be one of the traits you need to get a job here. These aren’t snooty bar staff – they take their jobs seriously, but not themselves.
Centro 86 is the latest venue by the Mucho Group – the same crew behind Newtown’s popular Bar Planet as well as other Latino-style venues, Cantino OK! and Tio’s Cerveceria.
This newer venue specialises in tequila cocktails, with a spotlight on Margaritas.
To get here, you walk down Pitt Street to the Priceline Pharmacy, turn down an inconspicuous laneway (Hoskin Lane), find an unassuming looking door, and head down the stairs. They’ve basically converted Priceline’s basement into an edgy bar that feels straight out of Mexico City.
The music is all Latino influenced, but the soundtrack still keeps you on your toes – taking you on a journey through the sounds of Cuban pachanga through to...
Advertising
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
It’s about as difficult to define 'cool' as it is to pin the tail on the donkey blindfolded after a coupla Negronis. Crocs were not but now they are; laughing emojis are (apparently) not; and even the humble burrata looks like it’s on its way out (RIP). If it’s difficult to define, it’s even more challenging to manufacture, as the action of trying to be cool is very much uncool. When you see cool, you just know. And that’s exactly what will happen if you stroll into Bar Copains, Surry Hills’ new friendly neighbourhood wine bar.
'Copains' means 'friends' in French, which is an apt name for this gem by longtime mates and chefs Morgan McGlone (culinary director of Potts Point’s Sunday, and founder of Belles Hot Chicken) and Nathan Sasi (the founding chef of Nomad). Sasi’s partner, Sali, is also co-owner. Friends since their paths crossed in 2010, the duo long dreamed about opening a little wine bar where they could catch up and enjoy good bottles of natural wine. And in late 2022, that’s exactly what they did.
Fun fact: McGlone and Sasi have both donated hundreds of wines from their personal collections that they have been building up over the years for Bar Copains, some of which are proudly lined up on shelves along the wall like kids' swimming trophies....
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
When you enter The Bristol, you feel less like you’ve stepped into a pub, and more like you’re inside a multi-layered hospitality precinct.
From its unassuming entryway on Sussex Street, where CBD traffic chugs to a standstill and glass building close out the sky, The Bristol’s stock-standard taproom opens out to chic Greek eatery Ela Ela at the back, a full-blown sports bar and games room below, and yet three more distinct venues on the storeys above.
As you ascend a staircase set with rattan mirrors and portraits of mid-century pool parties, you’ll glimpse Calypso nightclub on level one and Midtown Bar and Lounge on level two.
Then there's the sprawling, Med-style rooftop at the summit
The top-floor venue has two open-air balconies at either end of a breezy indoor dining room: the larger of the two is dwarfed by neighbouring skyscrapers, while the smaller (and nicer) space overlooks a slither of Darling Harbour and the Maritime Museum.
It’s a far cry from The Bristol Arms, its predecessor, which closed its doors in 2020. The heritage-listed institution was built in 1898, and became known in more recent years as a daggy watering hole with a retro club night.
Oscars Hotel Group – a serial pub landlord, and, as of last month, owner of Luna Park – claimed...
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The Cricketers Arms is, arguably, Surry Hills’ – if not Sydney’s – most classic Aussie pub. The fact that they’ve hardly done a thing to the bottom floor and beer garden in decades is what’s given it its charm.
As you enter, there’s a big bar in the centre of the room, with bar stools dotted around it – the kind of space you feel comfortable coming to on your own and pulling up a stool for a chat with the bartender. If you stop by enough times, that bartender – and the strangers next to you – will probably end up being your friends. That’s the type of place the Cricketers is.
There’s a DJ booth next to the bar; a sitting room where they occasionally host bands alongside that; followed by a grungy pool room complete with a purple-topped pool table. All areas of the downstairs pub are connected with sticky old red carpet with a gold pattern that disguises years of fun that pub-goers have had with old friends and new.
Then there’s the beer garden – it’s just old wooden tables and seating packed into an enclosed courtyard lined with simple brick paving, but the space is prettied up with hanging greenery and thousands of tiny fairy lights.
Basically there’s a place in here for everyone – for local barflies and the oldies who’ve been coming here forever, for uni students and skater punks wanting some cheap entertainment, for well-dressed Surry Hills creatives here for a knock-off drink, for live music lovers and those keen to boogie – even for those looking to knock the top...
The Gidley burger has got a lot of attention this year – it was named the world’s ninth best burger by the World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants – so it’s no wonder it’s something that’s attracted people to The Rover, since they started serving it up, too. But that’s not all that draws people to this neighbourhoody cocktail bar. The Rover has a lot going for it. The fisherman’s pie, for one (more on that later).
The Rover is a dimly lit cocktail bar in Surry Hills’ Hollywood Quarter (the section of Sydney named the coolest in 2024 by Time Out). If you go to this little intersection of Cambell and Foster Streets, you know you’ll have a good time – perhaps dinner at Pellegrino 2000 across the street, then drinks at The Rover. Or just skip Pellegrino altogether and eat your way through The Rover’s delicious menu, with a couple of cocktails or some wine.
My friend and I start with the burger, of course. It’s double-beef patties made from Riverine sirloin chain meat; Coppertree farms retired dairy cow chuck and brisket, dry-aged at the in-house butchery at one of Liquid & Larder’s other steak venues, Alfie's. Basically, these guys know their meat (as well as Alfie’s and 24th best steak restaurant in the world, The Gidley, they also run Bistecca).
The milk bun is perfectly round on top like in the photos; it looks polished, almost shiny, and we don’t really want to have to cut it in half. They’re thin, smash-style patties – crowd-pleasing because they’re not served rare like they...
Advertising
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
Some Sydney restaurants are “inspired by” eateries from other lands. Others, like Deux Frères, can transport you directly to somewhere on the other side of the world. This laneway pintxos bar plucks you right out of your Circular Quay surrounds and plonks you, magically, into one of the tiny bars that Spain’s Basque country is famous for. And right now there’s no place I’d rather be.
As I sit at the marble-top bar – tightly packed in between my dining companion and a stranger on the other side – I watch the staff behind the counter prepping bar snacks centred around cured meats, Spanish and French cheeses, and crusty bread. Pintxos comes from the Spanish verb “pinchar” meaning to poke/prick – because the snacks are generally served with a toothpick to hold them together.
It’s drinking food, and the drinks menu takes you on a journey from vermouth to Spanish and French wines to beer, as well as spirits. We order a carafe of Spanish red, a 2016 tempranillo that tastes the way I like it to taste – just the right balance of rich and mellow; highly drinkable in warm weather.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Alice Ellis (@alicecellis)
We start with gildas. The tiny fish fillets skewered between two green olives, two little...
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
Two-and-a-half hours. That’s how long I waited in line to try Bar Nestor’s famous tortilla. Located in San Sebastian's Old Town, the tiny bar and restaurant specialises in the sunshine-golden simple dish, and if you don’t get there early enough to put your name down for a slice, you miss out. Soft eggs, tender potatoes and sweet onions come together to make something truly greater than the sum of its parts. Would line up again.
The great news is that I don’t have to, and neither do you, because there's a tortilla nearly as delicious on the menu at Letra House, the new underground wine bar from the Love Tilly Group. It’s cooked beautifully: caramelised on the outside, jammy in the centre, with plump little prawns scattered throughout. The accompanying fermented chilli, garlic and tomato sauce adds a bold and fiery dimension.
Bloody hell, it’s good
What’s also seriously good is a glass of 2023 Sommernat from Poppelvej in McLaren Vale, poured tableside. Butterscotch in colour, it tastes like a tutti frutti fizz and summertime house parties. Our waitress tells us Poppelvej is the name of the street in Denmark where the winemaker Uffe Deichmann grew up. Cracking stuff. Yes, I would love another, please.
Letra House opened at the end of last year in peak silly...
Looking for the best of the best
We scoured the city to find the best drinks, greatest chat, most perfectly crafted playlists, tastiest snacks and top vibes to be had in Sydney. We put our livers and our sleep patterns on the line to bring you, dear reader, a comprehensive guide to the best bars in town.
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