The Best Places to Drink Natural Wine in Sydney
Where to find the funkiest skin-contacts, pét-nats and minimal-intervention wines.
We realise this title is contentious. There's been much ado about what exactly natural wine is, but to us it's this: the minimal-intervention bottles, the pét-nats, the orange wines, the skin-contacts, the bottles with plenty of sediment floating around. The funkier it is, the more we love it.
Luckily, its prevalence has grown leaps and bounds over the past five years. A slew of local wineries are now producing diverse natural varieties, with some of our favourite producers basing their entire brand around the funk. These days you can find it at fried chicken joints, renovated pubs, all-day cafes and a slew of the city's best wine bars. So here are our favourite places serving up glasses and glasses of these imperfectly perfect natural wines.
Recommended reads:
The Best Wine Bars in Sydney
The Best Bars in Sydney
The Best Pubs in Sydney
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RestaurantMaybe Frank Randwick
69 Perouse Road, Randwick
Serving pizza and award-winning cocktails up the hill from the beach.
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BarThe Old Fitzroy Hotel
129 Dowling Street, Woolloomooloo
A classic old English feel, a toasty fireplace and charming regulars meet fancy French feeds and natty wines at this Woolloomooloo pub.
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RestaurantDimitri's Pizzeria
215 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst
The beloved inner-city pizza joint has huge new digs on Oxford Street — and the pizza is the best it has ever been.
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BarMary's Underground
29 Reiby Place, Sydney
As well as a full French-style bistro menu, this CBD restaurant from the Mary's crew has a seafood bar and jazz running six night a week.
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RestaurantBabyface Kitchen
179 Keira Street, Wollongong
This Wollongong restaurant is committed to Aussie produce, native ingredients and natural wine.
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BarArms Length - CLOSED
648 Bourke Street, Redfern
You'll find hand-rolled gnocchi and $6 wines at this Redfern bar.
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RestaurantRagazzi Wine and Pasta
2-12 Angel Place, Sydney
A CBD wine and pasta bar from the Love, Tilly Devine crew.
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BarThe Duke of Enmore
148 Enmore Road, Enmore
This Enmore Road mainstay has woodfire eats, natty wines, heavy metal and picklebacks aplenty.
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RestaurantSt. Alma
20 Albert Street, Freshwater
The Alma crew has arrived in Freshwater with al pastor pork belly tacos and fermented chilli octopus.
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BarPaski Vineria Popolare
239 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst
This two-storey wine bar in the former digs of This Must Be The Place hosts weekly wine tastings and boasts food from a former Ragazzi and 10 William Street chef.
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RestaurantCafe Freda's
191-195 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst
The Chippendale nightclub has moved to Darlinghurst and swapped late nights and neon lights for natural wines and pastel hues.
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RestaurantLa Salut - CLOSED
305 Cleveland Street, Redfern
The Love, Tilly Devine and Ragazzi crew's latest venue is bringing brilliant bar food and Spanish vermouth to Redfern.
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RestaurantPorcine
268 Oxford Street, Paddington
Swine and dine at this French bistro perched atop a Paddington bottle shop.
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BarThe Oxford Tavern - CLOSED
1 New Canterbury Road, Petersham
This Petersham pub has reopened with a leafy beer garden and focus on craft beer.
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BarOdd Culture Newtown
266 King Street, Newtown
An exciting Newtown wine bar with cracking French-meets-Japanese fare from the team behind the Old Fitz.
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RestaurantBelles Hot Chicken Haymarket - CLOSED
7 Steam Mill Lane, Haymarket
Darling Square's outpost of the super-popular, Nashville-style fried chicken chain.
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BarThe Dolphin Hotel
412 Crown Street, Surry Hills
Across three floors, The Dolphin boasts a revamped dining room, public bar and lounge, open-air terrace, side bar and some street side seating.
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BarThe Unicorn
106 Oxford Street, Paddington
This friendly, unpretentious pub from the Mary’s gang is well-loved for its cold beer, homegrown wine list and food menu.
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BarWhere's Nick
236 Marrickville Road, Marrickville
Try natural wines from around the world at this cosy Marrickville bar.
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BarLove, Tilly Devine
91 Crown Lane, Darlinghurst
One of Sydney's first small bars, this Darlinghurst wine bar never gets old.
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BarDear Sainte Éloise
5/29 Orwell Street, Potts Point
Snack on mussels on toast and choose from over 350 wines at this Potts Point bar.
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Bar10 William St
10 William Street, Paddington
This lively Paddington stalwart is a portal into some of the best wine, pasta and snacks this city has to offer.
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RestaurantBad Hombres
40 Reservoir Street, Surry Hills
The team behind Ghostboy Cantina has ditched the food court tacos for refined vegan Mexican fare.
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BarEast Village Hotel
234 Palmer Street, Darlinghurst
The three-tiered Darlinghurst pub gets a new life with an upstairs sports bar and rooftop terrace.
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RestaurantMonopole
20 Curtin Place, Sydney
This Sydney institution's third iteration is a love letter to the rich haute cuisine traditions of France with an epic wine list to match.
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RestaurantEster
46-52 Meagher St, Chippendale
With a woodfired oven as the restaurant's core, Ester's hearth produces food with heart.
