There's no denying that Parramatta's cultural star is on the rise. As more skyscrapers go up with each passing day, Sydney's second city centre has been clocking a series of wins for the west, including the return of the Plot music festival in November featuring Tash Sultana, the Bennies, Allday, AB Original and Montaigne; becoming the site for Tropfest for 2017; and signing a whole host of ace food and drink operators for new projects in Parramatta. It's a good time to live in the 2150.
And in yet another bit of good news, there's a new small bar opening beneath a carpark in the heart of the city. Uncle Kurt's owner George Makram was inspired by the collision of the old world and the new when he saw Jewish delis in Brooklyn, New York, opening at night as small bars. Upon returning home he decided he wanted to create a bar in Sydney's west that would rival any of its inner city brethren.
While a little concrete room at the base of a carpark might not have been a very inspiring spot for a legal office, as a 40-person cocktail bar with heavily graffitied walls, pressed tin features from an abandoned warehouse in the Inner West and a hip hop soundtrack it works a treat.
Makram recruited Gerome Delosreyes (ex-Merivale, Darlo Country Club) and Bobby Aydogan (ex-Bennelong, Rockpool Bar and Grill) to perfect the menu of eight seasonally changing cocktails and eight American classics, all built from a back bar that will lean heavily on the shoulders of American whiskies and local gins. For quick-fire thirst quenchers they'll have Young Henrys and Riverside brews available, and on the eats front you can expect New York deli-style eats including a brisket burger and a pastrami on rye.
Uncle Kurt's, Horwood Place, Parramatta 2150. Opening mid-late Oct 2016.
Want some more small bar action before Uncle Kurt's opens? Check out the Inner West's best small bars.