Best Bars in… Sydney

A change in the law led to the renaissance of Sydney’s bar scene, prompting a new wave of top-notch watering holes. Paul Wootton reports.

Sydney’s bar scene has good reason to celebrate

Global financial crisis? Seems someone forgot to tell Sydney. Wednesday is the new Thursday is the new Friday here – the city’s venues teem with life practically all week long. It’s true that there have been some casualties in the fine dining arena, but the majority of Sydney’s cafés, bars and fast casual restaurants remain as popular as a Kylie Minogue performance at Mardi Gras.

The weather helps, of course – when the sun shines, going out becomes a default setting. But there are other factors at play, not least the increasing sophistication of Sydney’s bar scene.

That scene has undergone a revolution over the last four years, ever since a change in the New South Wales licensing laws cut the cost of obtaining a liquor licence from a hefty A$15,000 (£10,000) to just A$500 (£333), for Sydney venues with a capacity of 120 or less.

It was a game-changing move. Suddenly, small operators, budding entrepreneurs and ex-bartenders could open somewhere of their own where they could sell booze. And a lot of them did. Since the Small Bars & Restaurants Bill was approved in July 2008, around 100 “small bars” have launched in the city, adding a creative, dynamic dimension unseen before in the city’s nightlife. Most of Sydney’s current best bars are a direct result of that law change.

Some of these bars have breathed new life into pockets of the city. The CBD district, previously so desolate after dark, has been entirely re-energised with a heap of top-class watering holes including The Baxter Inn, Grandma’s, Stitch and Grasshopper to name but a few.

“Grown-up” drinking

Meanwhile, larger operators have watched the emergence of small bars with interest and adapted their offering, appealing to those wanting a more grown-up drinking experience. Merivale’s multi-million dollar, Prohibition-themed Palmer & Co., which opened this year, is a case in point.

Add to this altered landscape the fact that drinks suppliers have spent millions of dollars on training Australia’s bartenders in the last few years and you can see why Sydney now has a bar sector that’s the envy of much of the world.

One word of caution, though. Reactions of the knee-jerk variety are popular with regulatory authorities here and constantly threaten to erode the development of the industry.

In response to the fatal assault of a teenager in Kings Cross earlier this year, a three-year freeze on liquor licences in the precinct was announced by New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell. New legislation will exempt small bars from the freeze, but only if they limit their capacity to 60 customers, which will render any such businesses effectively unviable. The result? We’ll see no new quality cocktail bars in Kings Cross for the foreseeable future.

Even more extraordinary was the response of the authorities to news that a young woman in the UK had to undergo surgery to have her stomach removed after consuming a drink made with liquid nitrogen.

Despite the fact that it was an isolated incident on the other side of the world, the New South Wales and South Australia authorities promptly banned the use of liquid nitrogen in bars pending further investigation.

In Sydney, top-class bars such as The Roosevelt and Zeta have had to rip up their menus and start over. Meanwhile, in the city’s restaurant kitchens, liquid nitrogen’s use continues to be allowed, suggesting that some Aussie politicians couldn’t give a XXXX about being fair to the bar industry.

Which are Sydney’s leading bars? Find out on the next page…

Sydney’s Star Bars

Shady Pines
Shop 4, 256 Crown Street, Darlinghurst 2010
www.shadypinessaloon.com
This homage to the American frontier saloon carves out territory that’s all its own, with a recipe of beer, Bourbon and stuffed animal heads. Proved an instant hit in 2010 and people still queue to get in.

Eau-de-vie
229 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst 2010
www.eaudevie.com.au
Takes its cues from the golden age of cocktails with a sophisticated, speakeasy offering. The service is classy and drinks are fashioned with considerable aplomb.

The Baxter Inn
152-156 Clarence Street, Sydney 2000
Channels the spirit of Boston’s Irish-American bars of old into Sydney’s Central Business District. The back bar groans under the weight of more than 300 whiskies.

The Victoria Room
235 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst 2000
www.thevictoriaroom.com
Remains one of Sydney’s more exotic-looking drinking parlours with its sumptuous Chesterfields, candlelit staircase and array of antique lampshades and artful drink creations.

The Winery
285A Crown Street, Surry Hills 2010
www.thewinerysurryhills.com.au
By 6pm it is hard to find a seat in this beautiful wine bar, which offers over 50 wines, great service, a fairy-lit terrace and a shrine to Elvis.

AND THE CITY’S SUPPORTING CAST…

The Roosevelt
32 Orwell Street, Potts Point 2011
www.theroosevelt.com.au

Palmer & Co.
Abercrombie Lane, Sydney 2000
www.merivale.com.au/palmerandco

Tio’s
4-14 Foster Street, Surry Hills 2010
www.tioscerveceria.blogspot.com.au

Low 302
302 Crown Street, Darlinghurst 2010
www.low302.com.au

121 BC
Shop 4, 50 Holt Street, Surry Hills 2010
www.121bc.com.au