The Best Wine Bars in Sydney
A guide for any Sydney wine-lover, whether you want strictly organic, biodynamic and local drops or you don't really care — as long as they taste good and don't cost a fortune.
The Best Wine Bars in Sydney
A guide for any Sydney wine-lover, whether you want strictly organic, biodynamic and local drops or you don't really care — as long as they taste good and don't cost a fortune.
Want to hit up all the best wine bars in Sydney? Prepare to take your sweet time. Our wine-loving city is packed with fab spots to down a cheeky bottle of vino. A select few celebrate nothing but local tipples. Others focus on particular regions of Europe. And some have encyclopaedic volumes of wine that require a sommelier to decipher.
Food is also big at these Sydney wine bars. Cheese and charcuterie boards abound, and a select few have kitchens that give the city's top restaurants a run for their money. So, whether you're after a cheeky pét-nat served with stuffed zucchini flowers or prefer tempranillo and tostadas, Sydney's best wine bars have you covered.
Recommended reads:
The Best Bars in Sydney
The Best Pubs in Sydney
The Best Boutique Bottle Shops in Sydney
The Best Underground Bars in Sydney
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21
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. Taking over SOUL Deli’s former place of residence — which has now moved a few doors down— the Campbell Street locale is serving up a fresh take on Korean snacks as well as an excellent selection of wines.
There are few Korean restaurants and bars in Sydney that focus on wine pairings, and boy are we glad that Bar SOUL jumped in to plug that gap. Where else can you pair a loaded fish burger with Bokbunjajoo Black Raspberry Wine, or gang-doenjang with a glass of Mudgee rosé?
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20
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.
Pooling their years of fine dining experience, Silva and Mallet decided to focus on premium quality (yet not too pricey) Mediterranean dishes, with an emphasis on the Portuguese food that Silva grew up eating and cooking. In addition, it has exclusive access to a very special private cellar, containing a selection of aged Australian shiraz, cabernet and cabernet blends. There’s also small collection of Penfolds Grange vintages 1980, 1982, 1983 and 1984. You can drink some of Australia’s best wines here.
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19
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. Plus, she has been a wine consultant, writer and judge, too.
Otton brings all that expertise to the inner west with She Loves You — Newtown’s ever-evolving wine bar focusing on minimal intervention and quality drops at affordable prices. But don’t expect to find a wine list at this small 30-seat wine bar. The bartenders will ask for your preferences and suggest what’s available that day. Just go along for the ride when visiting She Loves You, easily one of the best wine bars in Sydney.
Image: Jun Chen
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18
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. This spot has quite the history.
For its latest costume change, the building has been decked out with banquettes, gorgeous marble-topped tables, plush lounges, works by Taiwanese Australian artist Angie Pai on the walls and elaborate pendant lights hanging from the ceiling. The wine list is expertly curated to complement the Mexican fare streaming out of the kitchen. Pair your drops with some tacos, tostadas and fried chicken for the ultimate experience.
Image: T Pakioufakis
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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, sage velvet booths and a concise food menu, this elegant place is here to welcome locals and blow-ins alike.
But while the design of the space and the food are both fantastic, the wine is what most people talk about long after a visit to AG. The menu is vast and you may need help to make a choice — that is unless you just go for one of the monthly specials. Each month, the team showcase a particular wine producer, pushing some exciting and new drops to keen wine explorers. We highly recommend choosing one of these.
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16
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. You can head upstairs to the dining room, but we prefer to nab a stool at the long, copper bar. It’s adorned with racks upon racks of wine that showcase the bar’s huge selection — all up, there’s over 350 plus bottles plucked from all over the world.
The team somehow manages them all with ease and, unless you’re an expert, you’ll need them to help navigate their extensive wine bible. Lengthen your stay at one of Sydney’s best wine bars by ordering some fab snacks, too — think swordfish topped with caviar, anchovy brioche with whipped ricotta and red peppers, and some classic freshly shucked oysters.
Images: Nikki To.
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Focusing on natural and minimal intervention wines, Where’s Nick is a sign of things to come in Sydney’s wine bar market, and also for the suburb of Marrickville. For anyone who isn’t sure if they buy into the natural wine movement, Where’s Nick is a great place to start. After all, it did win Wine Bar of the Year in 2019 for a reason. And the bar is run by award-winning sommelier Bridget Raffal (formerly at Sixpenny). You can trust these folks to lead you in the right direction.
And if you prefer to buy a few bottle to take home, be sure to head next door to Goblin Wine Shop, it’s own boutique wine cellar that sells much of the same vinos alongside craft beers and locally made spirits. This means you can take the experience of drinking at one of the best wine bars in Sydney home with you.
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14
Lennox Hastie, founder of Firedoor, 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. Wine-lovers fell for the trio of influences that make up the bar — Hastie’s time spent in Europe’s Basque Country, pintxos from San Sebastian and the 1946 Rita Hayworth film Gilda.
This all helps to create a romantic Sydney wine bar centred around glasses of sherry, local and international wines, and cracking martinis. The food is also given heaps of love. Chef Zach Elliott-Crenn combines Spanish and modern Australian cuisines to dream up dishes like crab churros, beef tartare with rock oyster cream and the smoked buffalo milk soft serve topped with dulce de leche.
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13
The team behind Avalon’s locally loved Bar Elvina has replaced sandwich-slinging joint Sandy’s with a breezy wine bar in its place. Taking up residence along Barrenjoey Road, Randy’s Wine has a stylish and down-to-earth neighbourhood bar personality.
This intimate 20-seat spot is the brainchild of self-titled ‘cork dorks’ Andy Emerson and Nick Musgrave, and boasts a huge range of vino from across the globe, starring the likes of juicy reds, crisp whites and skin-contact sips. As for bites, sink your teeth into fresh sashimi to start then dive into the seafood-forward menu including Clarence River octopus and fried calamari with tarragon mayo. Opt for Randy’s’ ‘let us feed you’ menu, which showcases the bar’s best for $50 per person — bargain!
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12
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. Taking cues from the bustling wine bars of Europe, Coogee Wine Room is a post-beach go-to for the eastern suburbs.
The 500-strong wine list has been expertly curated with years of experience. A list of that stature may seem overwhelming, but the friendly staff will be sure to help you out to pick the perfect drop. Then, in the kitchen, head chef Greg Humphry is plating up a succinct, Mediterranean-style menu. The food is seasonal with a focus on local produce, but some fan favourites remain constant – like smoked hummus, pork sliders, and the iconic CWR steak rated one of the best steaks in Sydney.
Image: Steven Woodburn.
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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. Now, the interiors are filled with warm yellow walls, rich wooden tones and fake leafy vines, all reminiscent of a southern Spanish wine and tapas bar.
The star of the drinks menu is sherry, with more than 15 varieties available by the glass. The signature drop is an ideal start or end to your meal, accompanied by a cocktail, Estrella or minimal-intervention wine hailing from either Spain, Australia, Italy, Portugal, Argentina or France. It’s a refreshingly laidback and fun spot where you down a few bottles of wine with mates and feast on tapas.
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10
Newtown’s tiny wine bar and bottle shop Famelia gives guests plenty of ways to sample wines from some of Australia’s most interesting and inventive producers, directly across the road from another beloved purveyor of booze, P&V Liquor + Wine Merchants.
The list at Famelia is kept short and simple, with a rotating list of 12 wines by the glass that changes weekly. There’s a wine flight on offer where you can sample three different drops without breaking the bank. Or, if you’re looking to share a bottle, you can also browse the full selection from the bottle shop and enjoy it at retail price (plus corkage). The team are effortlessly approachable, so if you find yourself lost for what to drink, just ask for a recommendation — they’ll nail it.
Images: Philippa Enid.
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Hidden down the south end of King Street in Newtown, 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 both precariously and artistically from the ceiling.
The menu, created by head chef and owner Claire van Vuuren, is eccentric and inventive while still maintaining that homey, hearty feel. Most of the dishes are designed to share and be paired with drops from the extensive wine list. The collection focuses on sustainable and natural wines, which means you’re not going to find your basic cab savs and chardonnays. Try something different at Bloodwood.
Image: Cassandra Hannagan
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8
While we were sad to see Sydney institution Redfern Continental (and its cocktail bar GDR) close its doors, we are pretty happy to see The Sunshine Inn establish itself as Redfern’s resident wine bar. Since 2020, owners Daniel McBride and Lynn Smulewicz have brought their expertise to create a neighbourhood spot, both approachable and inventive.
Out the front, you’ll find casual restaurant The Sunshine Inn and, out the back in the old GDR space, is the dining room dubbed DD’s. The Sunshine Inn’s menu is predominately plant-based and focused on locally sourced produce. Meanwhile the wine list celebrates almost exclusively Aussie drops, balancing the natural with the accessible. It’s fun, laidback and easily one of the very best wine bars in Sydney.
Image: Cassandra Hannagan
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7
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. Think flavour, heart and coolness (in a way that isn’t intimidating).
‘Copains’ means ‘friends’ in French, and fittingly so. It was born from a friendship between chefs Morgan McGlone and Nathan Sasi – and now it thrives as one of the best wine bars in Sydney, where friendships bloom over a glass of natural wine and seriously delicious snacks.
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6
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. Unsurprisingly, Mediterranean (especially Italian) vinos take centre stage here. And while the team aims to challenge and teach Aussies about different grape varieties, this spot is far from stuck-up or unapproachable.
Grab a seat in the downstairs wine bar to taste your way through different Italian regions while noshing on classic meat and cheese boards as well as a few small plates of food. Or head upstairs to the restaurant where you’ll find heartier food options that celebrate underrepresented Italian ingredients. Enjoy a spectacular Italian food and wine tour without leaving Darlinghurst.
Image: Nikki To
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5
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. And this is all thanks to the owners, chef Brent Savage and sommelier Nick Hildebrandt.
Hildebrandt’s impressive wine list offers 500+ bottles– including a range of organic and biodynamic options — focused on French and Australian drops. The food at Monopole is similar. Savage takes from the French bistronomy movement and adapts it to the modern Australian diner. The pair’s blending of French and Aussie sensibilities helps make this one of the best wine bars in Sydney.
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4
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. The Newtown bar comes from the team behind The Old Fitz and The Duke of Enmore, meaning they have dedicated a lot of effort towards creating a fun and laidback atmosphere in additions like the vibrant cocktail list and weekend bottomless brunches.
There’s a few must-try options on a visit to Odd Culture — the chicken liver paté and the sour negroni to name one such duo. But it’s the wine list that’s most impressive. Striking at a time when minimal-intervention and skin-contact drops are all the rage, there’s a heap of these on offer here at just about every price point, as well as rare and imported bottles hand-picked by the team.
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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. Its size means it’s perfect for an intimate occasion. Head in with a date or get in some one-on-one time with a mate.
A Darlinghurst stalwart, the tiny wine bar is equal parts cosy and classy. The wine list is more than extensive, boasting over 300 varieties of great local and international vino with quality glasses of red or orange wine starting from $12. Be sure to add a few bar snacks to your order as well. And don’t miss the fried artichoke hearts and mushroom croquettes.
Image: Nikki To.
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2
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. It’s unpretentious, fire is the hero of the kitchen – and the wine list is incredibly impressive.
But, unlike its Chippendale sibling, it says it’s a wine bar first and a restaurant second. The list, chosen by sommelier and co-owner Julien Dromgool, is loaded with minimal-intervention, skin-contact drops and is sorted under helpful, descriptive headings like ‘mid-weight & complex’ and ‘light & juicy’. This makes finding your ideal wine so much easier. Pair it with fabulous dishes cooked in the huge coal-powered grill and there you have it — one of the very best wine bars in Sydney.
Image: Kitti Smallbone.
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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 — who you’ll now find at spots like Bistrot 916, Restaurant Hubert, Totti’s, Lankan Filling Station, Brae and Paski Vineria Popolare. But it’s not all about the food here.
The wine list is chalked up on the blackboard and changes each month. But if you don’t know your palomino from your passerina, just ask the wait staff for a recommendation — we’re all friends here. 10 Williams St has been one of the best wine bars in Sydney for ages now and it’s only getting better with age.
Image: Kitti Gould
Top images: 10 William St by Kitti Gould.
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