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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 the keys to the building in 2016. The four-year revamp has rendered the place almost unrecognisable, with the unvarnished pub theme contained to its ground floor offering, and luxe makeovers for the upper levels.
The rooftop is heaving on a weeknight and its ‘golden hour’ discounts might be to blame
The after-work crowd sit among terrazzo tabletops and macrame umbrellas, swirling special-priced Margaritas and Aperol Spritzes.
Whatever the hour, though, a good place to start is the Bristol Spritz – top of the pub’s signature cocktail list. Flavoured with Rhubi rhubarb liqueur, with doses of limoncello, prosecco and soda, it’s fresh, fizzy and goes down like juice. Then there’s Tommy’s Tropicana, perhaps the pick of the list, sweet with guava but jalapeño-infused tequila bringing the heat, a chunk of freshly barbecued pineapple sizzling through the drink.
You’ll either love or hate the Cherry and Mint Bramble, which tastes as if a jar of gin-soaked glacé cherries has been blended and served over ice (we, for what it’s worth, love it). The Olive Martini, on the opposite end and likely to be equally divisive, is briny with Four Pillars olive leaf gin and a splash of sharp vermouth. There are also more than 20 wines available by the glass and a healthy roster of beers on tap.
Like Ela Ela on the ground floor, the food at the rooftop is helmed by head chef Peter Conistis – known for serving up Greek delights at Sydney faves Alpha and Ammos. The rooftop kitchen flames with a spit roast and grill, offering kalamaki (skewers) and strifto (wraps) of marinated pork, beef rump and prawn saganaki, among others. Elsewhere you can tuck into Greek fries with wild oregano, sumac salt and barrel-aged feta, or grilled pita with cretan olive oil and oregano.
For later on in the evening, the Manhattan-inspired lounge, Midtown, lingers beneath. Set in a sparsely lit bar room with plush velvet armchairs, a grand piano shines in one corner, and a fireplace crackles in another. The ornate space features a ‘premium cocktail list’ starting at $45, and a mid-week ‘mini hour’, with miniature cocktails for only $6. Later you can hit up Calypso, the nightclub, squeezing in as many as 200 disco balls, and a calendar of resident DJs and international artists for music until 2am.
There aren’t so many Sydney pubs which can offer a bonafide bar crawl under one roof
You could spend a whole day moving from sun-soaked arvo drinks on the rooftop to an evening nightcap at Midtown, then party at Calypso until the early hours.
There will be some who will miss the days of The Bristol Arms, with all of its unpolished and unpretentious charm. But we think its latest glow-up is a winner, breathing new life into a legendary institution.
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