The Best New Sydney Bars of 2021

The highly awarded Maybe Sammy family was joined by a couple of sister venues this year, including sky-high hotel bar Dean & Nancy On 22 and Sammy Junior, a CBD outpost slinging cuppas by day and mini cocktails by night. With pistachio hues aplenty, the latter is a sleek espresso bar offering coffee that’s been specially crafted for the venue by coffee connoisseur and Maybe Sammy Co-Founder Martin Hudak. Aussie breakfast eats are on the menu as well.

Once the evening rolls around, the mini cocktails come out. Highlights include the coffee negroni, eucalyptus gimlet and an espresso martini made with rum and coconut water, all of which you can enjoy alongside sardines or the daily aperitivo board.

Image: DS Oficina.

Like much of its clientele, Freda’s has grown up — but it hasn’t forgotten how to have fun. After the closure of the beloved Chippendale nightclub last year, owner David Abram didn’t sit on his proverbial hands for long, opening the doors to the new iteration of Freda’s — Cafe Freda’s.

As is clear from the name, Cafe Freda’s isn’t a nightclub. That said, it isn’t really a cafe, either. It’s a restaurant, neighbourhood bar and creative space. Like its predecessor, it’s a haven of expression, art and music. The pastel-covered bar sits below an art gallery and hosts some of Sydney’s most exciting DJs on the regular. Unlike the OG Freda’s, however, here there’s a stronger focus on food and wine. The kitchen is helmed by chef Xinyi Lim, with a continually changing menu that’s always driven by seasonal and locally sourced produce. In short: it’s unfussy and nourishing.

Image: Cassandra Hannagan.

Named after co-owner Giorgio De Maria’s beloved dog and the Italian meaning of Popolare (“of the people”), Paski Vineria Popolare is bringing rare and different wines to Sydneysiders in a welcoming way. From the minds of three hospitality mainstays, the Oxford Street spot boasts two distinct areas. Downstairs you’ll find a 25–30 seat wine bar, with all wines available to enjoy onsite or take home for a romantic evening in. Upstairs, the goal is to pair vino with dishes made with under-appreciated Italian ingredients.

Keep an eye on the venue going forward, with weekly wine tastings and collabs with Oxford Street favourites Cafe Freda’s, Dimitri’s Pizza and Fabbrica Pasta Shop on the horizon.

Image: Nikki To.

Since launching its XPA four years ago, Philter has become a mainstay in Sydney bottle shops, pubs and bars. That isn’t its only recent achievement; earlier this year, the beer merchant took its Marrickville brewery up a notch with the addition of an 80s-inspired rooftop beer garden.

The Marrickville-meets-Palm Springs venue comes equipped with the full range of Philter brews, summer-ready frozen cocktails and bar snacks. Plus, Marrickville Springs is fitted out with pastel tiles, white breeze blocks and a neon bin chicken. It’s a no-fuss spot for a beer in the sun, and a perfect beer-drinking place for inner west residents to flock to.

Bars and restaurants are increasingly taking sustainability into their own hands. The latest hospitality venture pushing towards a more environmentally-friendly future is Re, one of several openings to arrive in the new South Eveleigh precinct.

Hospitality stars Matt Whiley (Scout) and Maurice Terzini (Icebergs Dining Room & Bar, Ciccia Bella) are at the helm, and the bar’s interior and its cocktails are based around creating less waste and having minimal impact on the environment. The central bars and tables are created from recycled bottles and tupperware, structural features are made from plastic bags and milk bottles, and the vibrant drinks are made with ingredients sourced from local suppliers and unwanted produce. Whiley’s signature taste for creative tweaks of simple cocktails is on display here. Also a highlight: a menu of luxe bar snacks that turn a quiet drink into an extravagant affair — from wagyu crest to kangaroo tartare.

Owned by award-winning hospo veteran Jules Bouillon (NOLA, Love Fish and Mr. Wong), this 50-seat inner west spot draws inspiration from the deli counter and adds in a dine-in aspect, with a large share table at the centre of the space. But, the best seats at Pistou look out through the floor-to-ceiling front window and onto bustling King Street.

In the kitchen, former Glorietta head chef Katie Morris is serving up a weekly changing selection of seasonal share plates — but it’s the cheese and charcuterie that are the stars of the show. On the drinks side of things, Tilly Sawrey (Buffalo Dining Club) has created a succinct wine list that focuses on minimal-intervention wines and includes a mix of Australian and international labels. During lockdown, the bar kept locals spirits high with wine specials and hot mulled wine, but the real charm of Pistou is settling in for a drink and some nibbles with friends.

Image: Cassandra Hannagan.

Hidden underground in the basement level of new four-storey Sydney venue Hinchcliff House is Apollonia, a cocktail bar with an affinity for negronis and romance. The dimly lit bar is named after a character from The Godfather and looks to embody the stricken nature of Apollonia and protagonist Michael in the film.

Whether you’re swinging by to grab a drink or heading downstairs for a nightcap after your meal at one of the building’s other venues, you’re going to want to start and end with the cocktail list. From wheat vodka and Italian honey liqueur creations through to the Chinoto Manhattan made with rye, pepperberry, chinito vermouth and juniper amaro, the cocktails are flavoursome and pack a punch. If you stick around until midnight on a Friday night, you’ll be treated to The Thunderbolt. This weekly tradition at Apollonia is a toast to what’s important: friends, life, love and negronis.

Image: Jiwon Kim.

Located on Foveaux Street just down from Excelsior Hotel, Bar Suze offers a cosy, candle-lit wine bar experience with impressive food inspired by co-owner Phil Stenvall’s Swedish heritage. The venue’s central trio of Gregory Bampton, Brenton Hassan and Stenvall bring years of experience from Sydney favourites like Pinbone, ACME, Vini and Johnny Fishbone.

At the heart of Stenvall’s menu is the combination of Australian seafood and Scandinavian flavours, while Bampton’s drinks list showcases interesting wines, farmhouse ales and a house-made apple wine. Open until midnight Tuesday–Saturday, the bar promises after-work and late-night snacks and drinks five days a week. And, by late, it means late. Bampton promises “we’re not going to be one of those places that says we’re open late and then close the kitchen at 9pm. If you walk in at 11.30 at night, we’re still serving the whole menu”.