Seven CBD Venues to Visit Before and After Getting Your Culture Fix This Summer

This Harrington Street hangout opened back in 2019, sitting just opposite Neil Perry’s Rosetta at The Rocks. To call it a success would be understatement — the bar has collected a slew of awards, including 22nd place in the 2021 World’s 50 Best Bars list.

The venue is fittingly named after jazz era icon, Sammy Davis Jr. and is an ideal place to go if you take your cocktails very seriously. If you’re peanut butter-obsessed, order the Mr Bojangles. The cocktail includes Gentlemen Jack Whiskey, Cocchi Americano, peanut butter, fermented honey and bitters — perfect if you like to eat peanut butter by the spoonful. If you want to activate holiday mode via your tastebuds, opt for the tropical Eee-o-Eleven loaded with Plantation Pineapple Rum, banana, coconut, lime and Mapo mango sorbet.

Image: DS Oficina.

Nothing screams ‘Sydney’ louder than sipping a spritz in the sunshine at Opera Bar. Its sweeping views capture the city’s most famous landmarks (Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge if you didn’t know) and its proximity to some of the city’s finest cultural institutions make it an ideal spot for that pre- and post-show drink.

Equip yourself with a refreshing Sydney Sling cocktail and head outside to the sun-drenched deck where you and 699 other people can enjoy front-row seats to the spectacular Sydney Harbour. There are rows of timber-slatted benches and sea-facing tables and chairs lining the promenade, making it an ideal place for groups, too.

Image: Nikki To.

Shell House is the latest venue from The Point Group, the hospitality collective behind the likes of The Dolphin, Bondi Beach Public Bar and Harry’s, as well as the upcoming restaurant, bar and wine room on former defence facility Fort Denison. The much-hyped multi-level venue plays home to four different bars and restaurants: Menzies Bar, Sky Bar, Dining Room and Terrace, and Clocktower.

Each venue inside Shell House comes equipped with a luxurious interior design and its own unique energy. Step into Menzies and you’ll find warm lighting, thick leather seats and a lavish bistro menu. The gold-heavy Sky Bar offers up a fun mix of cocktails with panoramic city views. Dining Room and Terrace is filled with rich brown and beige tones as well as a seafood-heavy dinner menu. And Clocktower is fittingly situated inside Shell House’s historic 400-tonne clocktower.

Sydney Harbour’s Pullman Quay Grand is where you’ll find Hyde Hacienda. The luxe vista bar takes inspiration from Cuban architecture and the vintage hotels of 1950s Miami.

The harbourside space is filled with luxurious pastel furniture and lush roof greenery, all surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows that showcase panoramic views of the city, the bridge and the harbour. The drinks menu mimics the venue design by using Cuban flavours, with cocktails that include classic ingredients like banana and guava. Food-wise you can expect Cuban-American share plates aplenty.

Hinchcliff House is a four-storey mega venue that’s overtaken the heritage Hinchcliff Wool Stores. Five venues sit inside: Two Italian eateries, an underground cocktail bar, a private hospitality space and an attached bakery so you’ll be spoilt for choice when you stop by.

While each venue brings something interesting to the table, the real marvel of the venue is the huge wool store it sits within. The space at Grana ties your dining experience to the history of the building, while the pasta and bread is made in the building’s combi mill. Downstairs at Apollonia, the cocktails reign supreme, with the negronis holding a special place in the bar staff’s hearts.

Tucked away among the chaos of the CBD and hidden through a nondescript Clarence Street door, Burrow Bar is hard to spot. So you could be forgiven for not having visited yet.

Burrow Bar is the brainchild of four friends with a hefty dose of hospitality experience between them. The cocktail menu is switched up regularly, utilising boutique spirits, seasonal ingredients and house-made liqueurs. Light bar snacks are available if the drinks spur on a hunger, with the bar’s renowned nut mix well worth the hype.

An old garage down a service laneway doesn’t sound like a spot for a bar, but that’s exactly where this 20-person mezcal bar has took up residence in 2019. Cantina OK! is located down the non-street that is Council Place and is run by the experts behind Sydney’s favourite tequila joint, Tio’s Cerveceria. It also recently scored a spot on the 2021 World’s 50 Best Bars list — just below Maybe Sammy at 23, to be exact.

There are mezcals from regions all across Oaxaca, Michoacán and Jalisco, as well as drops of tequila, raicilla (an agave distilled spirit from Jalisco) and sotol (non-agave distilled spirit from northern Mexico). If all that sounds a bit intimating, turn to the well-trained staff, who are eager to get into the “nitty gritty” of mezcal drinking with you. But you don’t have to go high brow — the place still has the casual, laid-back Tio’s vibe where you can just pop in for a damn good margarita, too.

Image: Kimberley Low.