Six Places Improving the Culture of Kings Cross

Last Monday, teenager Thomas Kelly died following a random attack in Kings Cross, and it was tragic and affecting. Not a day has passed since without the 'problem' of Kings Cross making the headlines. We've now entered a state of moral panic, where the Kings Cross of public fantasy is a grotesque inflation of the Kings Cross of reality.

The reality is that Kings Cross is not a pretty place, it has plenty of problems to face in terms of both safety and urban development, and most of us would rather face torture than its main drag on a Friday or Saturday night.

Ultimately, the biggest challenge for the Cross might be one of community. As gentrification continues apace, it needs the inputs and interventions of a community of locals who care about each other, the area's history, and its future, and compared to the inner-city suburbs around it, Kings Cross is divided.

As an alternative hangout to big bars, small bars and cultural centres aren't the whole solution, but they're an important part of the solution, and certainly our favourite one. These are the places shaping the culture of the Cross right now in a very positive direction.

1. Barrio Chino

It's on Bayswater Road, so Barrio Chino can still get a bit chaotic on Friday and Saturday nights, but the place is basically the last bastion of level-headed fun on that strip. The taqueria and tequileria serves elegant Mexican food, switching out the humble burrito with tuna and avocado tostada and the tequila shots with a cucumber, agave and jalapeno chilli salt margarita. Barrio Chino really notched up its Sydney scene points back in January, when it hosted a pop-up outlet for American cult fast food chain In-N-Out Burger. It may have been the first time Kings Cross has seen an entrance queue in the daylight hours.

2. FBi Social

FBi Social brings a steady stream of navel-gazers to the centre of what you'd expect to be a nightclub strip that's hostile to them. Run by radio heroes FBi, the second level of the Kings Cross Hotel hosts great indie music Thursday through Saturday nights as well as special art, performance, and film events with a cosy feel when opportunity arises.

3. Griffin Theatre Company

Griffin is the long-time resident theatre company at the SBW Stables on Nimrod Street, and it has its offices in a neighbouring terrace. Given its location, it probably could attribute its address as Darlinghurst, but Griffin chooses to identify as a Kings Cross-based company. They program an array of new Australian writing, but its always particularly exciting and constructive when they produce works that respond to the immediate environment of the Cross, such as the experience-seeking teens of Silent Disco, the studio-apartment-situated This Year's Ashes, and the site-specific sprawl of short works held in various Kings Cross locations Lovely Ugly.

4. Wilbur's Place

Wilbur's Place seems determined to convince passersby that it's in a cute, sweet suburb and that its shabby alley is Puddleduck Lane. And it kind of works. Its communal tables sit on the footpath, demanding sun and peace come out to meet them. It's a neighbourhood restaurant that conjures a neighbourhood, and its heartwarming fare is both reasonably priced (less than $20 for even the fancy mains) and available to takeaway. Another treasure from the Bourke Street Bakery team.

5. Alaska Projects

Alaska Projects brings to the commercial club precinct a touch of the underground — the literal underground. Situated a few floors down in a car park, the artist-run initiative transforms the disused and haunting place with petite exhibitions that inspire. Recently, these have included Siouxzi Mernagh's stairwell to the subconscious and Samuel Hodge's banal-made-moody everyday moments. The space opens on Thursday and Friday nights and weekend afternoons and was nominated for a SMAC Award in its very first year (2011).

6. Gastro Park

Every neighbourhood needs a fancy restaurant you can stare in the windows of and aspire to eat in one day, right? Gastro Park serves that purpose particularly well with its inimitably playful approach to food. Their recent themed feasts extended a hand to the strongest community around — Game of Thrones fans — with their tasty interpretations of eyeballs, arrows, ravens' feet, dragons' eggs and liquid gold.