Sydney bar and pub reviews

✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.  Back in an ancient time known as 1980s Sydney, craft beer was but the eager dream in Chuck Hahn’s Camperdown brewery. After decades of creating breweries (Hahn, James Squire and Eumundi, to name a few), as well as a stint as head brewer at Lion Nathan, Chuck is back in the family-owned craft game at independent brewery, Chuck and Sons Brewing Co. The Vibe Beneath the roar of the flightpath, Chuck and Sons is tucked away just shy of industrial Marrickville in St Peters. Huge and homely, the 230-capacity venue features four seating areas: the casual and comfortable main bar, a family-centric dining room, a sunny courtyard and front terrace for both two- and four-legged guests.  The pool room of your dreams, the main bar is lit with felt green lamps, an adults-only pool table (sorry, kids), decorative copper piping and a whole lot of exposed brick. Throughout the brewery are framed photos that tell the story of Chuck Hahn, his beer and his family. It feels almost like a museum – but you’re allowed to carry a full schooner as you take the tale in. The Drinks With a track record as proven as the earth is round, there was no way Chuck and his son, Scott Hahn, were going to brew any beers that were not remarkable. (Yes, scandalous: there is actually only one son...

✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.  No website. No phone number. Not even an Instagram. Just a clutch of glowy, slick-haired, well-dressed Sydneysiders sipping wine and waiting for a table with the determination of a 10-year-old chasing a Labubu. That’s when you know you’re onto something good. And Paradise, the new wine bar on the corner of Roslyn Street and Ward Avenue in Potts Point, is better than good. That’s because it’s the latest from two people who know what they’re doing: Gio and Enrico Paradiso – the brothers who, alongside Marco Ambrosino, co-founded Sydney staple Fratelli Paradiso back in 2001, before going on to open another hit, 10 William St, in 2010. Just a few months in, Paradise is already humming with big European energy and Potts Point cool. Groups of friends spill onto the sidewalk, glasses of orange wine in hand. Couples snack on crusty baguettes and nutty cheese. There’s a vibey buzz in the air. I don’t know if there’s a better street corner to be on come Saturday night. Though, a waitlist would be good. The vibe It feels cliché – even lazy – to write I’m in paradise at Paradise, but that’s really how I feel with salty snacks, chilled vino and great conversation backdropped to a golden peach sky. As well as alfresco seating, inside you can opt to sit at the bar or at...

August 2025 update: Three things are front and center at Bar Copains, the eternally pumping wine bar on the corner of Albion Street in Surry Hills. And those are extremely delicious plates of food, a strong wine list and all-round good times. Sure, it’s hard to get a seat, but if you do, those crisp nuggets of shredded pork topped with a zingy sauce gribiche and pickles will make all the effort worthwhile. I mean, I love Bar Copains so much I came here on my most recent birthday. Make sure you also check out its sibling venues Bessie's and Vin-Cenzo's. But come here first. Read on for our review of Bar Copains  ***** ✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here. It’s about as difficult to define 'cool' as it is to pin the tail on the donkey blindfolded after a coupla Negronis. Crocs were not but now they are; laughing emojis are (apparently) not; and even the humble burrata looks like it’s on its way out (RIP). If it’s difficult to define, it’s even more challenging to manufacture, as the action of trying to be cool is very much uncool. When you see cool, you just know. And that’s exactly what will happen if you stroll into Bar Copains, Surry Hills’ new friendly neighbourhood wine bar. 'Copains' means 'friends' in French, which is an apt name for this gem by longtime mates and chefs Morgan McGlone...

✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here. When’s the last time you enjoyed a proud Australian rissole burger? That long, hey. Thankfully, one Sydney chef has done the right thing and made them available seven days a week at a Redfern pub. That pub being The Norfolk, freshly reopened after changing hands for the third time in four years. For almost a decade, the place was run by Drink’n’Dine, beloved for its upstairs seafood shack, House of Crabs. In 2021, it was reopened by The People – which brought with it the excellent (and now-closed) wine bar La Salut by the Love, Tilly Group in the front room. Then, with its next owners Public Hospitality facing financial collapse late last year, hospo giant Solotel swooped in and added the century-old pub to its packed stable of Sydney boozers, stretching from the Opera Bar to Parramatta’s Albion Hotel. But the latest iteration is so easy going you’d be forgiven for thinking life at The Norfolk has always been this way. It’s laid-back and unpretentious. There’s no fancy decor, no dramatic rebrand. Cover up the sports screens and you can almost imagine how it could’ve been when it first opened in 1921. And dogs, yes dogs, are welcome inside. Mexican joint Rico’s Tacos has survived the rejig, retaining its spot at the back of the building after moving in last...

✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here. 40Res is the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it small bar of our dreams. I blinked and I did miss it cycling past in a blur on my e‑bike after finishing work on a recent Friday evening. Despite consulting my map app, I found the darling little wine bar thanks to its atmospheric outdoor lighting festooned between the branches of a tree, just like ornaments. It also gets a glowing report for its soft sepia‑toned lighting inside. You'll find 40Res tucked away down a side street (40 Reservoir Street, for those playing along at home) in Surry Hills just a short stroll from Central Station, away from the hubbub of Crown Street and the wow factor of the new Wunderlich Lane. And it’s all the better for it. Low‑key. Lo‑fi. Laid‑back. Lacking pretension. Luverly. A proper little neighbourhood wine bar Josh Raine was executive chef at Tetsuya’s for six years and was recently the inaugural chef‑in‑residence at the acclaimed Canvas at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art. 40Res is the first venue owned by Raine alongside general manager Keliann Zellman, and together they’ve recruited Michael Tran (ex‑The Bellevue and Clove Lane) as head chef. Both chefs honed their skills in Michelin‑starred restaurants in England, so it’s no surprise the wine bar has quickly become a fixture for...

✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here. The lingering question of whether you can sip on a Japanese Slipper under a ceiling made of 750 upturned sports trophies somewhere in the vicinity of central Sydney has finally been settled. The answer’s yes. Behind a pale yellow window that beams onto a dark corner of Cleveland Street, Baptist Street Rec Club sits inside a former heritage bank building, a floor up from sister venue Island Radio. It’s one of several hot new venues to open in Redfern and Surry Hills’ new mega precinct, Wunderlich Lane. The retro cocktail bar is the latest venture from House Made Hospitality, whose footprint in this city already includes the likes of Promenade Bondi Beach, Martinez, Easy Tiger and The Carrington, as well as four levels of bars and restaurants at Circular Quay’s Hinchcliff House. Through the lemon-lit entryway, a wooden staircase climbs into a small bar room with a spongy orange carpet and walls jammed with vintage movie posters, gig flyers and framed photos of Aussie icons. To one side there’s a DJ nook with a swirling disco ball and shelves of amber-tinged vinyls. The venue then twists left through a corridor of chattering leather booths before opening up into the ‘Trophy Room’ – a boisterous shrine to local glory days, where hundreds of sports trophies...

Update: One of Sydney's best breweries, Marrickville stalwart Batch Brewing Co has been going strong since 2013, loved for its small-batch beers and friendly community vibe. Crowd favourites include Elsie the Milk Stout, Marrickville Original Pale Ale and the funky Pash the Magic Dragon Sour – all of which you can get in cans or growlers to enjoy later at home. You can also check out their second venue, the Darling Square Taproom, located in Sydney’s CBD. - Avril Treasure  ***** This bare bones brewery down in Marrickville is keeping things simple with a brewery operation out the back of their Sydenham Road warehouse, and a tasting bar out front. Set up by two American gents who started out with an American West Coast pale ale and then swiftly moved onto experimental brews, Batch is beer nerd Nirvana. Depending on when you visit they might have a milk stout made with Campos coffee for an extra kick, or perhaps a few bottles of their Christmas in July porter brewed with star anise, allspice, vanilla and ginger. Haven't yet developed a taste for dark beers? Try the Alice, an American-style wheat beer that is light, bright and just a little cloudy. The base of operations is a big, breezy space with a few comfy couches and some tall tables. Find a pew, grab a $5 jar of beer and watch the world go by through the open roller door. In the big double door fridges they have longnecks and growlers chilled and ready to go home with you for round two, or you can settle in, grab a...

✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here. The Guildford Hotel has been on the main street of Guildford (about a 12-minute drive from Parramatta) for almost 100 years and, prior to recent renos, it was a fairly no-frills pub – a place for a beer while watching some sport. Western Sydney hotel group Sonnel has recently developed the suburb’s only pub to make it more of a community-gathering spot, an inclusive place for families and the whole community. Their mantra is “community spirit and safety at the forefront, with a dedication to family values”. The vibe There’s a sports bar with pool tables and screens on the left-hand side of the bar as you walk in, and a big, welcoming bistro on the other side, lined with comfortable, family-sized booths – the perfect place to settle in for a pub lunch or a night out with friends. There’s also a cocktail bar section these days, designed by mixologist and distiller Peter Clarke. Yep, if you came here before the glow-up, you won’t recognise the place now. There’s more dining room if you keep walking straight ahead, and everywhere you go, you’re greeted with colourful illustrations of a cockatoo – including in the beer garden, where there’s a mural painted by artist Nico Nicoson and students from Western Sydney Uni. The service is a stand-out – super-welcoming,...

Update: Surry Hills' you-can-make-friends-with-salad-here stalwart, Yulli's, is now completely vegan – and they even have vegan wines. They also offer a separate gluten-free menu, making it a solid choice if you're dining with a big group of friends. The menu draws inspiration from South East Asia and the Mediterranean – we're fans of the fresh and crunchy san choy bow, and the steamed leek and ginger dumplings with plum sauce. – Avril Teasure  ***** There seems to be two approaches in Sydney’s vegan dining scene. The first tries to replace and replicate the meat, dairy and egg with faithful recreations. The other school of thought seems to go along the lines of ‘vegetables are fucking awesome’ and lets plants take all the lead roles in the dish. Yulli’s approach is the latter. This long-standing vegetarian eatery on Crown Street also has a dedicated, and expansive, vegan menu, including vegan wines. Order the coconut and edamame moneybags: $14.50 for three golf-ball sized crunchy parcels densely packed with shredded coconut and mashed soy beans means they’re not the cheapest snack in town, but they are so damn delicious we do it every time. Follow it up with a clutch of flash-fried asparagus with a black sesame dressing, fresh tomato slices, pine nuts and tempura saltbush; or a big horseshoe of roasted pumpkin with cashew cream, charred cauliflower florets, crisp, fried capers and a mild, funky cabbage kimchi.  – Reviewed in November 2016 Stay in the loop: sign up for...

✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here. It’s just after 9pm on a Monday and three thoughts come to mind. First, Joji shimmers as much as the jewellery found below in the Cartier flagship store. Second, the DJ’s seamless transitions from funky house to disco beats are on point. And third: wow, there’s a line of people waiting to get a seat inside the city’s newest rooftop bar. On a school night. I suddenly feel an urge to tell everyone who thinks Sydney’s nightlife is dead that they couldn’t be more wrong. Joji opened in the second half of 2024 at 388 George Street, on level five. It’s the first foray into the bar world for the Esca Group, though their CV is strong, with Middle Eastern, Martin Place-diner Aalia, pretty-and-pink Nour, modern Japanese spot Ito and pan-Asian restaurant Lilymu under their wings. The inside is polished and glamorous, with warm lighting, earthy tones, a shiny silver DJ station, sleek wooden bar and plush curved booths. There’s indoor seating and a wraparound terrace, and on this warm evening, I reckon that’s the ticket. It’s also apparent that Gucci may be out of stock because every bag in Sydney is here. The cocktail menu draws from the Japanese principles of simplicity, imperfection and creativity. My pick is the Geisha, made with fresh yuzu gin, nashi pear, passion...