1. Photograph: Daniel Boud
    Photograph: Daniel Boud
  2. Photograph: Daniel Boud
    Photograph: Daniel Boud
  3. Photograph: Daniel Boud
    Photograph: Daniel Boud
  4. Photograph: Daniel Boud
    Photograph: Daniel Boud
  5. Photograph: Daniel Boud
    Photograph: Daniel Boud
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    Photograph: Daniel Boud
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    Photograph: Daniel Boud
  8. Photograph: Daniel Boud
    Photograph: Daniel Boud
  9. Photograph: Daniel Boud
    Photograph: Daniel Boud
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    Photograph: Daniel Boud
  11. Photograph: Daniel Boud
    Photograph: Daniel Boud
  12. Photograph: Daniel Boud
    Photograph: Daniel Boud
  • Bars | Wine bars
  • price 2 of 4
  • Sydney
  • Recommended

Review

Fix Wine Bar and Restaurant

4 out of 5 stars

A true pioneer in the Sydney wine bar stakes that’s stood the test of time

Matty Hirsch
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Time Out says

Nowadays, there seems to be a European-style wine bar with inventive share plates on every other corner. But back in 2006, there wasn’t a single one. Fix was the very first, and it’s a testament to owner Stuart Knox’s vision that it still stands tall today.

You might well be an after-work regular, but there’s every chance you’ve walked by the place a thousand times without even knowing it or haven’t heard of it at all. That unassuming, unpretentious nature – and the fact that it still feels like a well-kept secret – certainly has something to do with the joint’s remarkable staying power, but mostly it comes down to the unrivalled hospitality and the incredible wine selection.

This is an oenophile’s paradise: a wine bar for people who are deeply interested in drinking it, regardless of whether they’re a certified sommelier or a curious neophyte. The deeply personal list spans 38 pages, and it’s packed with anecdotes, musings and bits of random humour – like an empty page that proclaims it’s been “intentionally left blank (for now)". There are 100 (!) drops by the glass, which start at a surprisingly reasonable ten bucks – and you’re not getting plonk. Instead, it’s a fresh and fragrant 2014 grenache blanc from the Côtes du Roussillon. Make it two, please. 

Given the prime CBD location, you’d be forgiven for thinking this might be a rip-off merchant, but Fix is really anything but. Most glasses tend to hover in the low-to-mid teens, but nobody’s stopping you from indulging in a $95 75ml pour of a Penfold’s Grange back vintage. Regardless of the budget, no detail is spared. Even a $13 glass of bright and fleshy King Valley gamay arrives in a gleaming Riedel Burgundy bowl big enough for a goldfish to call home. No trendy tumblers or mini tasting glasses here – this is proper wine drinking, as it should be.

Fix has always done a roaring lunch trade, but the doors swing open at 8am, which makes it just as worthy a morning pitstop for a coffee and a quick flick through the paper. The real magic happens at night, however, long after the happy-trade and the roar of buses on Elizabeth Street have died down. You often feel like you’ve got the entire place – and the city, for that matter – to yourself, and letting Knox wax lyrical about the list is a brilliant way to while away the hours and discover new favourites.

Don’t overlook the food. Plates here – tender kangaroo yakitori with creamy macadamia satay sauce, say, or school prawns adrift in a sea of milky stracciatella and pungent shellfish oil – are versatile and creative. But if that all sounds like a bit much, cheeses and charcuterie are both on point, and the seriously spiced fried chicken is one of the best in town. It’s yet another way Fix proves it’s a jack of all trades, and a master of them, too.

 Time Out Awards

2020Legend Award

2010People’s Choice Award

2009Best Steak

View this year's Time Out Food Award winners 

Details

Address
111 Elizabeth St
Sydney
2000
Opening hours:
Mon-Thu 8am-10pm; Fri 8am-11pm
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