Bars & Pubs
The best places to drink in Sydney
Time Out Bar Awards 2018: Winners
We have been propping up bars in this town for as long as it takes to age a medium range whisky, and it has been a wild ride. In our tenth annual Time Out Sydney Bar Awards, we once again take stock of our city's incredible scene and the professional tastemakers who keep the party in your glass. Sydney's bars are a force to be reckoned with, with fortitude to spare, but these are the veenues that are at the top of their game in 2018. Without their hard work, palates, creativity, diversity and dedication to our nightlife every night would be Netflix and chill. Emily Lloyd-TaitNational Food and Drink Editor in association with Venue Partner
The best bars in Newtown
A bar crawl in Newtown is the ultimate pick'n'mix for a parched Sydneysider. It's also great for anyone who would like the minimum travel time necessary between venues. Newtown's bars are all conveniently spaced along King Street and Enmore Road like some sort of boozy daisy chain, which means you can go from dog-friendly brewery bars to some of Sydney's best cocktail dens, neighbourhood wine bars, indie boltholes and rock-n-roll burger bars in no time at all. What's more you'll find a bunch of great bars in Enmore, which is (technically) past Newtown, but is only a hop-skip-and-jump-away and very much worth checking out. Want more late night drinks? Check out our guide to bars and pubs without a lockout. RECOMMENDED: Our guide to the best Newtown restaurants
The best rooftop bars in Sydney
We're all for a late night hootenanny, but sometimes there's nothing better than bending the elbow with the sun on your back and a cool drink to keep things chill. And we're not alone. Sydney's rooftop bars account for some of the most popular, and hard won, seats in the city, so get in quick for the glory spots with the best views. For more al fresco drinking try one of Sydney's best beer gardens, or waterfront bars. RECOMMENDED: The 50 best bars in Sydney.
The best beer gardens in Sydney
Sure, we're good at swimming and rugby, but what Australians excel at is kicking back in the leafy courtyard of our local, sinking some beers and chewing the fat with our mates. Beer garden sessions are basically our national pastime, and here's the best places to participate.
Where to drink right now
Late night bars and pubs without a lockout
Lockouts may rule much of the CBD, Cross and Darlinghurst, but just outside of the Sydney lockout map you'll find a handful of bars and pubs ready and waiting to let you in after 2am. We've rounded up a bunch of them, from swanky cocktail haunts to local pubs. What time is lockout in Sydney? These laws mean that all venues within Kings Cross, Darlinghurst and the CBD 'Entertainment Precinct' cannot take new customers after 2am, and must call last drinks at 3.30am. State-wide, you cannot buy takeaway alcohol after 11pm. There are a few exceptions to these rules for specific venues, but on the whole it's what you'll find at most licensed venues within the lockout zone. RECOMMENDED: The 50 best bars in Sydney.
The best waterfront bars in Sydney
We are a city blessed with a truly ludicrous amount of waterfront real estate. Between the harbour, the coastline and the rivers that snake back through Sydney we have ample spots to sit a while and watch the waves. But when those places also have a bar for cold drinks and seaside snacks, you know you've hit the jackpot. These are our favourite places for drinks with a water view.
The best underground bars in Sydney
There's a lot of good reasons to head down rather than up when you're feeling parched. Underground it's always party o'clock, because even if it's 2pm, it feels like after dark. Plus you have no external cues as to the lateness of the hour so a quick drink can turn into a big night very easily. Drinking below street level is also deliciously climate controlled so on a blazing hot summer's day, or a torrential downpour, your best bet is posting up in one of Sydney's best booze cellars.
Sydney's finest
The best pubs in Sydney
A lot of beers were drunk, schnitzels eaten and trivia answered in the search for the best pubs Sydney has to offer. We honed our pool skills, got surprisingly accurate with darts, and busted some PBs at Big Buckhunter in the pursuit of the venue that ticked all the boxes; welcoming, great beers, good food, games, entertainment, inclusive and relaxed. There are a lot of rock-solid pubs in this city, and these are the pick of the bunch. RECOMMENDED: The 50 best bars in Sydney.
The best first date bars in Sydney
No one is saying first dates are easy – there’s the reasonable fear you might insult them, bore them or that they may turn out to be secret racists. And it’s worse still if you think you might like them – so many expectations to manage. Do yourself a favour and pick a location for that first meeting that matches your vibe, be it low key and local or a litmus test for how they feel about the things you love best – namely wine.
The best cocktail bars in Sydney
No one is pretending that cocktaisl are a cost-effective way to relax or party in Sydney. In a city where $20 a drink isn't an uncommon price tag, you really want to know that what's in your glass has been shaken and stirred by the best in the business. These are the places that you can always trust to give you a truly outstanding drink in exchange for your hard-eraned.
The best pick up bars in Sydney
In these days of app-based dating the idea of meeting someone in the real world can sound fanciful, but we swear, it happens. Of course there's an argument to be made that any bar with alcohol has the potential to be a pick-up bar, but that's not very helpful, so we asked every single person we knew, and a few we didn't, for their favourite fishing spots in Sydney and this is what they told us.
The best beer gardens in Sydney
Sure, we're good at swimming and rugby, but what Australians excel at is kicking back in the leafy courtyard of our local, sinking some beers and chewing the fat with our mates. Beer garden sessions are basically our national pastime, and here's the best places to participate.
The best bar snacks in the business
The best toasties in Sydney
Two slices of bread, cheese and butter are the building blocks of the most comforting snack of all time, the toasted sandwich. From there you can stick to the classics – baked beans, tinned spaghetti, savoury mince, or the infallible combination of ham and tomato with cheese – or get crazy and wild with the fillings. There's basically nothing that doesn't taste good inside a hot pocket with cheese. If you're craving the simple pleasures of a jaffle, these are our favourite places to get them.
The best bar snacks in Sydney
As the line between restaurant and bar becomes increasingly blurry, it's now possible to make a whole meal out of the excellent bar snacks flying over the counter at our favourite haunts. These are the places we head when we're not sure if drinks is going to turn into dinner, but we want to keep our options open.
The best places for cheese and wine in Sydney
The Sydney venues for days when all you want to do is graze on a luxurious cheeseboard and put a solid dent in a bottle of wine while you catch up on the last few years, days or minutes of someone's life and discuss the age old question: washed rind vs hard cheese.
The best schnitzels in Sydney
Crumbed chicken breast or veal hammered out flat might sound like an incredibly simple dish, but there is an art to getting schnitzel right. The shell needs to be well-seasoned and to stick to the meat instead of falling off like an ill-fitting jacket. The meat needs to be cooked through but remain tender and juicy. And the quality of your sauce is a linchpin to the whole enterprise - good gravy is everything. We ate a lot of schnitzel to bring you this list – may our stomachs and waistbands have mercy on us.
Best bars by area
Darlinghurst
In Darlinghurst you're spoiled for choice when it comes to excellent boozing options. Maybe you feel like nautical cocktails and a lobster burger? Or would a Boilermaker and a bowl of monkey nuts suit you better? The one thing we can all agree on, surely, is that when top notch cocktails are the order of the day, you want a five star bar with the best in the business mixing your drinks. You can find in all in this boozy pocket of the East.
The CBD
There was a dark time, not so many years ago, when after work drinks were limited to huge booze barns with no soul and pubs. Those were your options. Fast forward less than a decade and the CBD now possesses an exceptional collection of bars, from underground tropical hideaways to booze attics with cocktail maestros at the helm. You can drink life-changing wines, the freshest ales and fruity elixirs made from seasonal harvests, and sometimes you can do it all in the same place. It's a big part of what makes Sydney awesome.
Newtown
A bar crawl in Newtown is the ultimate pick'n'mix for a parched Sydneysider. It's also great for anyone who would like the minimum travel time necessary between venues. Newtown's bars are all conveniently spaced along King Street and Enmore Road like some sort of boozy daisy chain, which means you can go from dog-friendly brewery bars to moody cocktail dens, neighbourhood wine bars, indie boltholes and rock-n-roll burger bars in no time at all. To make it even easier we've mapped out the best way to cram in all of Newtown's best bars in one hit.
Inner West
Not only is the Inner West home to many of the eccentric, creative and proudly rainbow tribes of Sydney, it's also where you'll find some of the best small bar action. Tiny little haunts slinging great drinks and keeping the vibes lively and local. If you don't have one already, your home-away-from-home is probably on this list.
The best pubs in the city
The best pubs in Sydney
A lot of beers were drunk, schnitzels eaten and trivia answered in the search for the best pubs Sydney has to offer. We honed our pool skills, got surprisingly accurate with darts, and busted some PBs at Big Buckhunter in the pursuit of the venue that ticked all the boxes; welcoming, great beers, good food, games, entertainment, inclusive and relaxed. There are a lot of rock-solid pubs in this city, and these are the pick of the bunch.
The best beer gardens in Sydney
Sure, we're good at swimming and rugby, but what Australians excel at is kicking back in the leafy courtyard of our local, sinking some beers and chewing the fat with our mates. Beer garden sessions are basically our national pastime, and here's the best places to participate.
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These 8 Sydney bars are experimenting with caffeinated cocktails in May
Sydney’s thirst for coffee cocktails seems unquenchable. Luckily, Mr Black – a Central Coast-based distillery and coffee roasting house – is keeping caffeinated cocktail lovers satisfied this month, with their cold brew coffee liqueur inspiring Caffeine Festival on May 25-27, dedicated to the buzzy elixir (tickets are on sale here). And if you need to build up your caffeine tolerance in preparation for this weekend of boozy masterclasses, fine food and spiked lattés, there’s more delicious cocktails on the horizon. Mr Black is joining forces with hospitality group Merivale to wake up Sydney’s bar scene. Spirits specialists across eight much-loved Sydney venues have concocted drink recipes to honour the caffeine gods, brought to life with Mr Black’s delicious cold brew coffee liqueur or coffee Amaro. Why not take a tasting tour of imaginative coffee-drenched cocktails? Get all fired up for the opportunity to nab one of 20 double passes to Caffeine Festival. To go into the draw, take a snap of your favourite Mr Black cocktail at participating Merivale venues, jump on the ’gram with the hashtag #mrblackXmerivale and tag @mrblackspirits and @merivale. Bottoms up and happy snapping!
Little Creatures Live at GABS
The GABS Beer, Cider and Food Fest, presented by Dan Murphy's, was dreamt up by Steve Jeffares and Guy Greenstone over a drink in 2011. Now, the beer and cider extravaganza is back for another year, of street food snacks, one-off brews, and sideshow entertainment. In addition to the beer stalls from local and international brewers, the SpecTAPular beer festival will also have 170 different beers and ciders on tap – brewed exclusively for the festival – which is the most it has ever showcased. That means you'll get to try kooky one-off brews, from bone marrow-infused ales to salted caramel porters. All the brewers will also be on site, ready to talk you through their specially crafted beers. Little Creatures Live will be taking things up a notch with thrilling entertainment including bendy contortionists, hula hooping queens and beer bottling maestros, all led by ringermaster Liz Skitch. Want to get to know even more about beer? Make sure you head to one of the Craft College sessions. Over at the Dan Murphy's Marketplace you can meet the who's who of brewing. Holy Moley will be onsite bringing mini golf antics while Ariston will be hosting gastronomic food, beer and cider pairing talks. You can also check out Jameson Caskmates Boilermaker Bar and the Milwa Cheese and Prosecco Bar. GABS will also be stacked up with snacks, with food trucks and street stalls. Enjoy pizzas by Happy As Larry, fried chicken from Dirty Bird, tempura shirmp from Prawn Stars, brisket sandwiches fro
20 great Sydney dishes for under $20
You can easily drop your week’s wages on dining out in Sydney but there’s no need. The city’s hot dining destinations have plenty of satisfying and scintillating stuff on their menus for less than a lobster. And when it comes to settling up you can use your American Express® Card with confidence. How about a complementary side dish with your meal? Check out the offers at Side with Amex.
23 highlights of Sydney Film Festival 2018 to book right now
It's Sydney Film Festival time again, and as per usual there are way more great films on show than any one person lacking the power of time travel can get to see during the 12-day film binge – let alone a person who has other things going on in their life. Chill. We have done a comprehensive sweep and come up with a shortlist of movies we are most excited about, as well as some secondary suggestions should these ones be sold out. We've chosen 23 films in 23 different thematic strands. Be sure to book your tickets early, and once that's done, if you're hankering for a movie tonight or this weekend, may we suggest these ones. If you need somewhere to eat try our best restaurants in Sydney, and for a drink after the movie, select from Sydney's best bars.
