The Team Behind New York's World-Renowned Employees Only Is Opening a Cocktail Bar in Sydney Next Month
Fourteen years after the launch of the New York original, Employees Only is heading Down Under.
Sydney's no stranger to world-class drinking dens, but even we're due for a few surprises when one of the world's best, and most enduring, speakeasies hits Aussie shores next month.
Since the first Employees Only bar opened its doors in New York back in 2004, it has picked up a whole swag of accolades — including ranking among The World's 50 Best Bars for ten years running, this year coming in at 26 — and its founders have successfully taken the concept global, launching outposts in Singapore, Hong Kong and Miami. And now, they're headed Down Under, taking over a heritage basement space in Sydney's CBD and bringing in Sydney native Anna Fang, for the bar's much-anticipated Australian debut.
Here, Employees Only is sticking to its original principles, promising memorable cocktails and sophisticated fare in a beautiful space. But it'll also be rounded out with a distinctly local edge and a healthy dose of Sydney style.
The Sydney outpost is being run by EO co-founder Dushan Zaric, along with EO New York bartender Robert Krueger and Fang as venue manager. And it seems no one is deterred by the city's ongoing lockout law woes, with Krueger saying, "We're excited to work with the incredible local bar community, together helping to reinvigorate Sydney's nightlife and bring it back onto the global stage."
To that end, expect a cocktail offering that lives up to the hype, with some of the New York outpost's favourites sitting alongside a slew of new, Sydney-exclusive creations. Must-try classics that will appear on the menu include the Amelia, crafted on vodka, elderflower liqueur, puréed blackberries and fresh lemon, and the Provençal, with lavender-infused gin, vermouth and Cointreau.
Meanwhile, the kitchen is taking its cues from classic New York bistro fare, the menu sporting a mix of Employee's Only favourites — think house-made pork sausage cavatelli, bone marrow poppers with bordelaise sauce, and the now legendary steak tartare, here done with hand-cut filet mignon — and Head Chef Aurelian Girault's latest Australian-inspired creations.
Enter beneath the signature neon "psychic" sign, pull up a seat at the curved, brass-topped bar and get ready for some pretty exceptional boozing.
Employees Only Sydney is slated to open in November at 9 Barrack Street, Sydney.
Images: Robert Krueger and Anna Fang, by Joe Cheng.
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