Bar DEMO
This casual, no-fuss wine bar by two seasoned bartenders arranges wines by their energy — and also serves up one of Sydney's coldest martinis.
Overview
It takes a fair amount of chutzpah to open your first bar — and a wine bar at that — and call it "a bartender's bar", but Enmore Road spot Bar DEMO isn't about playing by the rules. What it does have, though, is some serious credentials to back up its claim: run by seasoned bartenders (and first-time owners) Claudia Morgan and Olly Churcher, who met while working at Double Deuce Lounge, the 50-seat venue doesn't take itself too seriously — except when it comes to its mood-driven wine list, its tight, fuss-free cocktail offering and a hi-fi sound system spinning vinyl records in full all night long.
Inspired by the new wave of casual, walk-in wine bars found in San Francisco, Paris and Berlin, Bar DEMO welcomes both serious oenophiles and the vino-curious alike. Its approachable 60-bottle wine list isn't grouped by grape or region, but rather by mood, whether you're after something easy to drink or feeling like a grown-up wine. There's also a solid selection of bottles for under $100 and around a dozen on rotation available by the glass in two sizes, with a focus on natural producers.
A sharp cocktail list is just as considered, with playful selections like two-sip 'fun-sized' serves, throwback classics — dark 'n' stormy, anyone? — and creative signatures like the teeth-chatteringly cold house martini served at –15 degrees. There's no kitchen here, but you will find some great snacks curated with drinks pairing in mind, like Cantabrian anchovies, LP's charcuterie, and cheese prepared to order. Once a month, Bar DEMO will host Sunday guest chef pop-ups, which will see some of Sydney's top kitchen talent whip up a selection of exclusive, no-fuss small plates each at under $20.
It's not just the drinks here that hint at the kind of space Morgan and Churcher want Bar DEMO to be — the venue's personality comes through in every detail, from its booth-lined layout to the nightly soundtrack of vinyl LPs played from start to finish on a sound system handmade by Marrickville studio Translate Sound. It's all intended to create a space for connection and conversation, with the kind of off-the-cuff energy that invites you to settle in for the night, even if you only came in for one drink.
Images: Katje Ford.
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