Here are the MVPs of Sydney's huge Margarita scene
With the grit of a salt rim at your lips and its fresh, citrusy symphony of sweetness and tang, there's no better drink for a sunny afternoon or a balmy evening than a Margarita. Traditionally, it's made with tequila, the orange-based triple sec liqueur, and a splash of lime juice, but mixologists have run riot mixing up many and varied versions of the OG three-ingredient drink.
You can get one of these bad boys at almost every bar in the city – it's a classic – but we did the hard yards and tasted a whole host of Margs so we could show you where to find Sydney's best (that was our excuse, anyway). Don't let all our drinking go to waste – put down that unnaturally green bottle of Tommy's mix and head out in search of one of these top tipples.
It's impossble to have a bad time – and a bad Marg – at Tio's, Surry Hills lively and colourful watering hole. Since Tio's opened with a bang in 2011, the team reckon they have served more than 110,000 Margaritas – and are still counting. Made with fresh lime juice and shaken by some of Sydney's best bartenders, these fresh, zingy drinks at some of the finest in town. For a sweet twist, go for the Portstar Margarita, made with tequila, vanilla, fresh passionfruit and lime.
Inside a cozy terrace house in Paddington's Five Ways is Tequila Mockingbird, a suave bar with a keen focus on agave-based spirits. Perch on an open-air balcony and balance a creamy, ceviche taco in one hand and Tequila Mockingbird's playful riff on a Margarita in the other – this one has a base of blanco tequila and St Germain elderflower liqueur, tempered with the brightness of lemons and a towering wedge of cucumber. It's rimmed by chilli salt, with a subtle sweetness and hearty, round kick of jalapeño.
Made with an inspired, smoky half-and-half mix of tequila and mezcal, this Marg is one to write home about. Both spirits are shaken together and poured into a classic glass coupe over a gentle mound of shaved ice from a hand-cranked ice machine. Flaked salt dusts the rim, just so. There's a lot of mixology mastery at Cantina OK, but they're pretty good on the classics, too.
If drinking Margs by the sea is your vibe, Bondi's beachfront restaurant has a killer Margarita menu made in collaboration with Patrón Tequila. Whether you like yours shaken, stirred, salted, sweet, spicy or sour, they cover all bases.
If you're keen to enjoy a Marg with impressive ocean views, head to Icebergs Dining Room and Bar and order the Sunrise Margarita, pronto. Arriving with a gorgeous orange and pink hue, the Marg is made up with Don Julio Blanco tequila, mezcal, salted watermelon, saffron and fresh lime. Enjoy this at sunset for an even better time.
Palm trees hanging over a pastel colour palette lend the SoCal rooftop a certain carefree, out-of-office energy. With its Tex Mex-style share plates and a bang-for-your-buck happy hour, it's a crowd favourite. Try the Tommy's Margarita, made with Olmeca Altos Plata tequila, lime and a generous dose of agave, which makes it sweeter than some of the other additions on this list – but level off your sugar rush with an order of the chicken tinga tacos or the kingfish ceviche, and you'll have a balanced end result.
Coogee fine-diner Mimi's has teamed up with premium tequila label Don Julio to launch a 1.75-litre Margarita, available now. The Mimi's Magnum Margarita is made up with Don Julio 1942, smoked agave, fresh mandarin and citrus, and will be served tableside alongside your choice of salts to garnish, including chilli, citrus and coastal salts. And while the Magnum Margarita will set you back a cute $1250, it serves 10-12 guests. So you know what that means: it's time for a long boozy group lunch. Round up the gang.
The team behind Sydney’s tiniest and coolest Margarita boozer, Cantina OK, have opened an ‘extra-ordinary’ subterranean tequila bar called Centro 86, open seven nights a week until 2am. If that doesn't call for a round of Margs we don’t know what will. Meaning centre in Spanish, Centro 86 is hidden in a CBD basement on Pitt Street (though, entry is via Hoskings Place), in the centre of Sydney’s high-rolling and drinking action. And while tequila and Margaritas are the specialty at Centro 86 – there are 100 tequilas on offer, including some ‘world's rarest’, plus five signature Margs – don’t expect just a bigger version of Cantina OK. Instead, creative director Jeremy Blackmore says you’ll stumble into “an old fancy Mexican cantina on shrooms.”
Mexican eats and Margaritas are a match made in heaven. Fonda’s killer cocktail list features a tasty Margarita collection, from house specialities to traditional and frozen. You can also enjoy a selection of cerveza (beer), cider, and a wine list of local and international producers.
It's not a classic combo, but this little vegan Mexican joint tucked away in Surry Hills makes a watermelon and chilli Margarita so refreshing and dangerously drinkable it'll have you calling the waiter back for another before they've turned the corner. Made with blanco tequila and a dash of Cointreau, this one goes well with Bad Hombres' selection of plant-based bites (it's fully vegan) that are light enough that you can try out a variety (a loaded plate of bean-loaded, guac-smothered nachos never goes amiss).
Duck down the stairs to this neon sign-fronted Mexican cellar bar in the CBD and order a Stealth Margarita if it's your first drink of the night or a Tommy's Margarita if it's your third. The Stealth lowers you in gently, with a light Tromba Blanco base, the freshness of St Germain, and plentiful accourtements like jalapeño, cucumber and agave. The Tommy's is more of a classic, designed to be enjoyed with a taco or three, with both acidity and sweetness pulling their weight.
Alongside an impressive cult-following-worthy menu of tacos, Manly's Chica Bonita also has a Marg selection to match every palette. Each glass is topped with a demure salt rim, nothing outrageous, to balance the delicate flavours. Try the watermelon for a sweet, citrusy vibe; commit to the jalapeño and orange for a wallop of flavour; or try the coconut and lime to recreate the full Tulum seaside experience.
This tequila bar and restaurant has been pumping out Mexican eats and Margs for more than a decade. The restaurant offers a huge range of tequila, and six different styles of Margarita, which you can choose to jazz up with watermelon, passionfruit, pineapple or mango. Order one – or a few – to wash down the table-smashed guacamole.
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