When a suburb features the huge gravitational force of a sprawling multi-venue like a mall or a casino, you can sometimes forget about all the little guys down on the street level. But that would be your loss, because after-work drinks in Pyrmont just got a whole lot more chill thanks to the addition of a pirate bar on Pyrmont Bridge Road with a Spanish accent and a taste for seafood.
Slide into one of the freshly lacquered timber booths by the open windows and watch the sun go down as you cool your heels with a Riders ‘Easy Rider' golden ale or a glass of the super approachable De Alto Amo tempranillo grenache from Spain. Or for something that’ll put a little pep in your step order up a Single Origin, a festive mix of rum, Fernet-Branca, black coffee and cacao syrup that comes served over ice and has the boozy, chocolate-orange flavour that we can’t help but associate with Christmas.
The soundtrack is not sea shanties but an easy-to-drink-to mix of Dylan, Vedder and a string quartet playing Metallica, and the menu features all the fruits of the sea on platters – pan fried, grilled, and salt and peppered. On Mondays they do a little snack of mussels in a salty tomato broth and bread for a fiver, or they’ll deep fry a lamington for you anytime, because they can. If you're hanging on this side of the harbour during daylight hours, they put away the booze and operate as a café.
Until now, the Star has been shouldering the lion’s share of the drinks slinging in Pyrmont, but reinforcements have arrived in the form of a skinny cocktail bar that likes its vibes nautical, its cocktails laced with rum and a little fish for supper.