The SOUL Group has struck gold, again. After launching two hugely successful local haunts, the dynamic duo have branched out once more to open Sydney’s first-ever Korean tapas and wine bar in familiar Surry Hills digs. 

This beloved Sydney wine bar is brought to you by two Guillaume expats: head chef Jose Silva, who ran the kitchen at the previous incarnation of Bennelong, and restaurant manager Jonathan Mallet, formerly of Guillaume in Paddington.

If there’s one wine palate you can trust, it’s Sophie Otton’s — owner of She Loves You. Having over 20 years in the wine industry, her resume boasts wine director at Sydney’s Rockpool Bar and Grill and sommelier at Billy Kwong. 

Designed by Sydney’s Pattern Studio, Glebe’s two-storey wine bar — No. 92 — is so opulent you’d never realise the building had previously been a boot factory. And a bank, a tailor, a pizzeria, a grocer and a private investigator’s office. 

Tucked away down a laneway, Allan Grammar is the bar and restaurant from the Henri Marc team, born out of love for Penrith. With rich-green scalloped tiles and sage velvet booths, this elegant place is here to welcome locals and blow-ins alike.

The team behind Love, Tilly Devine breathes life into Llankelly Place in Potts Point with the warmly-lit wine bar Dear Sainte Éloise. It’s a well-oiled machine aglow with patrons and staff bustling around precisely. 

Focusing on natural and minimal intervention wines, Where’s Nick is a sign of things to come in Sydney’s bar market, and also for Marrickville. For anyone who isn’t sure if they buy into the natural wine movement, this is a great place to start. 

Lennox Hastie, founder of Firedoor (voted world’s third greatest steak restaurant in 2022), is the mind behind one of the best wine bars in Sydney — Gildas. It landed on the scene at the end of 2022 and became in instant hit. 

Fancy a good glass of wine after a day at the beach? Coogee locals Tom Hardwick and Michelle Morales certainly do, and their beloved wine bar — Coogee Wine Room — lets you do just that. 

Named after the Marie-Louise salon that occupied the building from the 1950s through until the 90s, the Sydney wine bar has kept the eye-catching pink and purple facade while giving the interior a wee makeover. 

Hidden down the south end of King Street, Bloodwood is handy before an Enmore gig and easy to get to from the station. You can grab a seat in the bar or head to the dining area on the upper level, where bare light bulbs hang from the ceiling.

While we were sad to see Sydney institution Redfern Continental close its doors, we are pretty happy to see The Sunshine Inn establish itself as Redfern’s resident wine bar. 

Surry Hills’ latest wine bar may be small in size and servings – with 20-or-so seats, a snacky menu of delicate share plates and a carefully curated wine list — but Bar Copains is big on many things.

,Italian wine importers Giorgio De Maria and Mattia Dicati teamed up with chef Enrico Tomelleri (Ragazzi, Alberto’s Lounge, 10 William Street) to bring this brilliant wine bar to Darlinghurst in 2021. 

From the team that brought us Bentley Restaurant and Bar, this Sydney CBD wine bar exemplifies contemporary design, expert tipples, and food that rates among the best in the city. Amen to that. 

La Salut is a Catalan-inspired wine bar from the team behind Love Tilly Devine and Ragazzi, taking over a corner of Redfern’s overhauled Norfolk House & Hotel.

,Back in 2018, Sydney lost its beloved dumpling house, Happy Chef, to a fire. But from the ashes came Odd Culture, a natural wine bar with top-notch eats to boot. 

If you’re looking for an intimate Sydney wine bar that only serves the good stuff, then Love, Tilly Divine is the place to go. The name of the bar is an ode to east-Sydney’s past, a tribute to a local 1930s brothel madam who performed acts of charity in the area.

Poly, the on-site wine bar and restaurant at Paramount House Hotel (already home to Golden Age Cinema and Paramount Coffee Project), is helmed by Ester‘s Mat Lindsay. And it has much in common with Ester. 

Filled to the brim with lively drinkers and diners, 10 William St seems more like a brand-new opening than an establishment over a decade-old. Since 2011, the Italian eatery and wine bar has been a launching pad for some of the country’s best chefs.