THIS VENUE IS CLOSED
Even with the lockout laws in full effect Kings Cross is still party central. Once the pre drinks have been downed, the small bars exhausted and the Redbull kicks in, people head here for a rager. But all that happens much later in the evening. If it’s still early doors and you’re after nothing more complicated than a cold beer and some onion rings you’ll want to be heading to the Sugarmill. We know upstairs at Kit and Kaboodle it’s all tight white tees and ludicrous heels but on the ground floor they’re running a pretty simple operation. Tables are packed together and everyone just bunks in where they can find a spot. Old salty seadogs share leaning space with meticulously made-up drag queens, tradies give the bar girls a shimmy before picking up their bourbon and coke, and backpackers from the local hostels muck in around them. In fact, judging from the accents behind the bar, the staff are travellers too. They’ll pour you a Peroni or a Reschs quickly, if not overly carefully, or you can take your pick from the heavily stocked spirits shelf that runs the length of the bar. It’s a pretty interesting spot to sit a while. The ceiling is a canopy of garland lights tangled around the antlers of the taxidermy with a giant mirror ball at its centre. Over the bar hang the largest pleated lampshades in the state and all this light and largesse is nothing to the colourful people who frequent the pub.
