Light beer, low alcohol wine and single serve pre-mixes can really suck the joy out of a night out – but a half-size Martini made with Portobello Road gin is a shot of fun in a novelty-sized cocktail glass, and you can get one at the Hazy Rose on Stanley Street. It’s also the kind of hospitable bar where if you’re off the sauce, they’ll find the most ridiculous pewter flute to serve your tonic water in.
That said, you definitely want to drink cocktails up on the first floor of this Darlinghurst terrace. They’ve long been responsible for our favourite Southside in the city, and although it’s not always on the list, the ultimate summer refresher of gin, lime juice and mint is always available. But right now they’re shaking things up with a Northside, replacing gin with whisky whose smoky oakiness tastes like glamping in a glass.
To the casual observer, Stanley Street might look like it belongs to the Italians: there’s crazy-delicious pasta at Sagra; old school focaccia at Bill and Toni’s; and an everyday pizza party at Bar Reggio. But it’s the ace cocktails and good vibes hidden upstairs at the Hazy Rose that keeps us coming back to this tasty pocket of Darlinghurst.