The Sunday Six: Sydney Bars

1: Shady Pines Saloon
A New York hipster bar with an Aussie sense of humour. Country and Western plays, skulls adorn the bar, a fine selection of whiskies, beers and cocktails fly about the place and pretty much anyone’s welcome, provided they enjoy a good time.

That means, in a city where CBD bars have some of the snottier dress codes on the planet, you’ll see anyone from hipster chicks to office workers to the old bloke who lives round the corner getting down and getting messy.
256 Crown Street

2: The Flinders
If you’re looking for fun late on a Friday night, look no further than downstairs at the Flinders Hotel in Darlinghurst. Great DJs, a license that will see you through well into Saturday morning, shots, the odd glass of champagne and a packed dancefloor draw a mixed bag of reprobates and post-work bartenders. One of those places that’s very, very difficult to leave.
65 Flinders Street

3: The Local Taphouse
Like beer? You’ll love this pub. In fact, you won’t want to leave. There’s 20-odd different cask ales. Tens of different bottled beers, from pretty much every continent bar Antarctica, a rock ‘n’ roll music policy and a restaurant up-top.

It isn’t exactly fancy. Though there’s a cute library feel to the place. But as a space in which to enjoy a beer or three, it really takes some beating.
122 Flinders Street

4: Sticky
It’s Melbourne, rather than Sydney, that’s known for laneway bars. But Sticky, set above a unique restaurant — diners gather at long tables to eat whatever’s prepared that night — breaks the mould.

Phone for admittance from the alleyway outside. Then kick back with the drink of your choice in a warehouse style space with just a touch of granny’s attic about it.
182 Campbell Street (door on Tagartt’s Lane)

5: Eau-de-Vie
Interested in cocktails? There’s few better places to sample them in Sydney than this one, which takes its name from the old term for spirits, “water of life”, and its bartenders from some of the world’s best bars.

Ever seen a Martini made using liquid nitrogen? Cocktails served from 1930s shakers? No? Then dress up nicely, pack some cash and head down to the classier end of Darlinghurst.
229 Darlinghurst Road

6: Tokonoma
Ever heard of shochu? It’s Japan’s answer to vodka, only softer, mellower and lighter in alcohol. At Tokonoma, shochu comes transformed into traditional herbal “tonics”, or made into stunningly inventive cocktails.

Try an ice-cream flip, a Bellini made with sorbet, or one of their aged cocktails. And go for Japanese bar snacks while you’re about it.
490 Crown Street

What are your favourite places to drink in Sydney? What are your favourite hotels in Sydney? Drop me a line in the comments and let me know.