The best small bars in the Inner West

It’s like the Wild West of the high seas inside this new neighbourhood bar on Enmore Road. The space was once occupied by an unassuming cocktail bar called the Waterhorse, and from the outside, not much has changed. The raw brick and louvered opaque glass panes are still in place – you need to venture inside to find the fun.

Every suburb needs a little guy – a tiny bar wodged in on the main street between a Student Flights and a pasta joint, one that serves the drinks you wish you could have at home, in surrounds just as comfortable.

It has been our experience that delicious things in Sydney tend to clump together. In a little pocket of Marrickville down by the station Cornersmith is flying the flag for the joys of pickling; you can buy some of the best banh mi in the city; and there’s a line-up of dependable Vietnamese restaurants that always hit the spot. And now Titus Jones has brought cocktails and cheeseboards to this flavour-packed corner of Sydney.

You can’t lob a decanter in Surry Hills without hitting a wine bar, and Glebe and Enmore cater generously to oenophiles. But head further west and it can start to become a long time between drinks. So imagine the joy a thirsty traveller feels when they stumble upon the gentle, golden glow of the Temperance Society, a new wine bar in Summer Hill.

This neighbourhood wine bar was the venue that broke the camel’s back in Glebe. Once they opened, everyone thought it was a good idea to rock the inner west suburb. It’s here on Forsyth Street, just down from the Little Bottle Shop of Glebe (same owners) that you’ll find Timbah.