The best bars in Newtown

Go here for: Cocktails that are expertly made

Once you've graduated from smashing jugs of beer at your local it's time to crank up the drinks quality substantially and order some of the best cocktails in Newtown at this low-lit bar with a New Orleans voodoo vibe. Earl's Juke Joint is all class. It's built to outlast all the Saturday nights Newtown can throw at it, the drinks list is spectacular and the vibe stays at a potent simmer.

Go here for: A late-night boogie and wild time

Pleasure Club is a late-night entertainment venue, cocktail bar and debauchery den by the Odd Culture group (also Odd Culture Newtown, Spon). It's the first Newtown bar to be granted regulatory approval to trade until 4am, seven days of the week, in more than 100 years. This purple-hued, disco-ball-lit bar located in a grungy basement just off King Street is a place where hedonism in all its forms is encouraged. The mix of entertainment (live music and other types of performers) will ensure a different type of experience every single night. Come get your freak on.

Go here for: World class Martinis served from a height

From the industry legends that brought us Sydney institutions Tio’s, Cantina OK and the Cliff Dive comes the next great nocturnal adventure: Bar Planet, a psychedelic Inner West dive-bar re-imagining the world's most divisive cocktail, the Martini.

Go here for: A crash course in the art of sake

If you walked straight past Ante on the first attempt, you probably wouldn't be the only one. Double back and look for an understated, chic façade. The words SAKE & SOUNDS adorn the glass in gold lettering and while that’s the general premise, there’s plenty more to discover behind the door.

Go here for: Cold cuts and a tinned Martini

The only people who don’t like this place are your wallet and your waistline. But that’s the price of true love, and it’s one we’re more than happy to keep paying so long as they keep the drinks coming.  

Go here for: One of Sydney's best beer gardens

The beautiful thing about this old boozer is that it’s a pub designed to facilitate a good time on your terms. Want to sit up at the bar with a huge plate of fish and chips and watch back-to-back AFL games? This is the best place for it. Prefer to sink your tip money in pinball machines while you annihilate jugs of Stone and Wood Pacific Ale and Young Henrys Newtowner? Right this way. 

Go here for: Rare, funky and eclectic drops

Created by the Odd Culture group (also The Old Fitz, Odd Culture Newtown), Spon is a hybrid bar and bottle shop. Each day they feature 12 new wines, ales and ciders to try, with two of them chosen by the team, and the rest is up to you. So if you see a bottle that you like, you can take it home. And if you want to park up there with a glass for the afternoon, you can also do that. How good.

Go here for: Quiet time with excellent wine

With the right little bar in your neighbourhood, ‘me time’ can also be ‘wine time’, which is certainly the case at She Loves You, a tiny hole-in-the-wall wine bar in Newtown. A swing jazz soundtrack pairs excellently with a very serious wine list which makes a lot of sense when you find out that one of the owners was once the sommelier at Billy Kwong. 

Go here for: A howlin' ride through middle America

By the look of this dive you’d expect peanut shells crunching under foot. Regulars – like birds on a wire – perch at the bar and a American accent comes from behind it. The worn-in, down-home atmosphere, though, belies expert cocktail, beer and wine chops and sophisticated bar bites. 

Go here for: A rowdy glass of wine with everyone in town

Natty wine and funky ales are the go at this Newtown spot, but we love its food just as much. If you’re in the hood and looking for a killer feed and a drink, come here.

Go here for: Confident, old school hospitality

After 30 years behind the stick around the globe, Jason Crawley has finally opened a place of his very own with industry heavy-weight Dylan Howarth. You’re in good hands at Fortunate Son. The bar itself is an unpretentious haunt for good times, great music and exceptional drinking. It feels effortlessly cool, with a custom made Jack Daniels sign, 300 bottle strong back bar, and, of course, more than a few Creedence tracks filling the air. Old school service and a clear obsession with quality make this drinkery as good for a mid-week date as a weekend knees up, and with only a dozen or so vinyl stools lining the dark wood bar you get a sense of intimacy without feeling crowded.

Go here for: Total beer hall vibes

The expansive venue (a former second hand furniture warehouse) can seat 155 patrons and on a Friday night they're busting at the seams. Nordic chic with a serious Newtown flavour, Mountain Goat is laid back and has one of the friendliest bar teams in town. There are 12 taps lining the bar and a kitchen for when you need a foil for all that foamy refreshment.

Go here for: Kitchy and killer cocktails

There used to be a time when everyone was happy drinking sugary shots with suggestive names and average beers. Then small bars hit and profoundly changed Sydney’s tastes. Now we scan wine lists for skin-contact whites and funky pet nats and confidently go three rounds with a barrel-aged cocktail. But, somewhere in among all the positive growth and taste development, we lost some of the fun. Enter, Jacoby's, a Twin Peaks inspired tiki bar that is determined to make you party, whether or not you meant to.

Go here for:  A cold beer and a laid-back vibe

Buddy’s has a laid back, almost house party-like feel. There are no bartenders. Instead, the Buddy’s staff provide you with a card that you load up with your funds ($30 should get you started). Peruse the glorious wall of taps until you find a beer, wine or cocktail that tickles your fancy, grab an appropriate glass, tap your card on the scanner above and pour yourself a cold one.

Go here for: Daytime drinking with dogs

Kick things off in the early afternoon with the freshest beers in town, and a hangover-busting cloudy cider if you need a little gentling back into the saddle. In fact, given this brewery bar shuts at seven, the earlier you get here the better your chance of securing a table with prime sausage dog patting potential.

Go here for: Ace burgers and natural wine

If you don't want to queue outside this burger bar that's more popular than a pop-up puppy party catered by Messina, timing is everything. Get in early for any chance at a table, or wait until the dinner rush has worn off – well after 9pm, but there are still no guarantees. Territory is hard won here so barricade yourself in with baskets of fried chicken and bottles of natural wine (ask for the list from behind the bar) once you get a seat.