
Best of 2024
Sydney’s Best New Bars of 2024
Including a rebooted pub with cocktail bar smarts, an underground Cantina from a team of mezcal masters, and Neil Perry’s “first real bar”.
Words by Broadsheet·Wednesday 4 December 2024
Oh, how we love a good bar. This year, we got a bunch of ’em. We got a jazzy champagne and oyster joint from a drinks historian. We saw a young team transform an old pub into one of the city’s finest. And the Cantina OK team continues to mess with the Margarita in delicious and surprising ways.
But of course, a drink in this city usually involves some serious snacking. And with top chefs Paul Faraag and Neil Perry having recently entered the bar chat, that’s never been more true. So, here are our favourite new openings of the year, in alphabetical order. Cheers everyone.

The Bat & Ball Hotel, Redfern
Anyone who’s ever worked in a bar has dreamed about one day breathing new life into an old pub. But ask anyone who’s done it and they’ll likely tell you it was a waking nightmare. Council woes, licence dramas, heritage approvals, staffing issues, rats. If the all-star cast who revamped The Bat & Ball on Cleveland Street are having a tough time, you wouldn’t know it. Sydney’s best new boozer is a place where the pub grub is elevated (but not too much), the retro-ish cocktails rock and the happy hour literally never ends. Big smiles all round. – Dan Cunningham, acting features editor (food & drink)
Bobbie’s, Double Bay
Neil Perry’s been dancing around the idea of having a bar for years now. And whether it’s people stopping by Margaret for a glass of wine, or back in the day the business crowd hitting up Rockpool for a liquid lunch, people have long treated his restaurants as such. But Bobbie’s, the cocktail-focused downstairs counterpart to the multistorey Cantonese restaurant Songbird, is Perry’s “first real bar”. As you’d expect, this partnership with Linden Pride and Nathalie Hudson – who own revered New York Bars Dante and Caffe Dante – is a knockout. Visit for peerless Martinis, a sumptuous clubby feel, and some truly excellent snacks (Perry just couldn’t help himself). – Callum McDermott, contributor

Centro 86, CBD
While Cantina OK is the centre of Mucho Group’s tequila-verse, this spacious underground den might realign the stars in a year or two. Hidden below Pitt Street, it’s got the Mucho calling cards in spades. Classic and occasionally bonkers Margaritas poured over snowy hand-hewn ice. Bags and bags and more bags of spicy popcorn. And of course, hundreds of agave spirits sourced from the group’s legendary research trips to Mexico. But it’s the very green aesthetic my Irish roots are crushing on the hardest. I’ve never been to Mexico, but Centro weirdly feels like home. – Dan Cunningham, acting features editor (food & drink)
Joji, CBD
Although the larger-format dishes at Nour, Alalia and Ito are no slouches, there’s always been something about chef Paul Farag’s knack for snacks. At Joji, that talent for small bites that go wildly well with a drink is given pride of place. This rooftop bar, with its three menus – raw, not raw and robata – is broadly Japanese-ish, but it’s less concerned with categorisation and more interested in good times (case in point: the “sloppy Joji” burger). Drinks, supervised by the former bar manager of London’s acclaimed Happiness Forgets, are memorable. If you haven’t made it to Joji yet, that’s a situation that needs fixing. – Callum McDermott, contributor

Little Cooler, CBD
Ever had someone who’s vaguely in your social group, that you know if you got to spend a good chunk of time with you’d become best friends? That’s how Maybe Sammy’s Stefano Catino and Vince Lombardo felt about working with Matt Whiley. So they decided to make that right, and see what opening a bar would look like, with pop-up Little Cooler. The new bar, in the basement that once housed good old Grandma’s Bar, is an ode to the ’80 and ‘90s, from cocktails like Pornstar Martinis right through to the musical stylings of INXS and Run DMC. We can only hope, when the building comes down and Little Cooler is forced to vacate, that it lives on in a new location. – Callum McDermott, contributor
Mountain Culture, Redfern
Anyone who’s even vaguely into craft beer in this country will have crossed paths with Mountain Culture at some point. Since the Blue Mountains brewery launched in 2019, it’s raked in every industry award possible, picking up legions of loyal fans in the process. But with the launch of Mountain Culture Redfern, its first inner-Sydney venue, the brewery is ready for its mainstream crossover moment. This spot, in the former Atomic space, has plenty for ardent beer nerds to geek out over, whilst being fun and crowd-pleasing enough to appeal to any thirsty punter in Redfern that needs a drink. Bonus points for the food menu, where the star is meatloaf and late-night kebabs. – Callum McDermott, contributor

Pleasure Club, Newtown
There’s nothing quite like Pleasure Club. A bold statement, but one we think holds true. As with any watering hole worth visiting, the drinks are a focus – look to the riff on Passion Pop (where passionfruit marigold joins clarified passionfruit juice, yuzushu and lemon myrtle Campari) and the “everything” Martini. Then, drink in hand, watch as creatives of all sorts take to the stage. Perhaps it’ll be Frank Sultana or a flares-wearing band dedicated to ’70s rock. No two nights are the same at the club, but all of them will be pleasurable. – Grace MacKenzie, Sydney food & drink editor
The Hook, Kings Cross
Why is The Hook on this list? Simple: we love it. We love the horseshoe bar, the oysters and the vintage champagne flutes. We love that owner David Spanton is loudly proud of its Kings Cross postcode. The third (and biggest) in Spanton’s stable of neon-lit bars (Vermuteria, Piccolo Bar being the others) completes a little trio of drinking dens. It’s got live piano nights, a theatrical shucking bar and a kitschy collection of oceanic curiosities across the walls. It’s reeled us in hook, line and sinker. – Grace MacKenzie, Sydney food & drink editor

The Magpie, Enmore
I’m not really a sports fan – but I’m a big fan of this ’80s sports-bar fantasy on Enmore Road. Players from Jacoby’s, Earl’s Juke Joint and Cliff Dive are involved, and it shows on the drinks list. Chablis by the glass. Grifter and Guinness on tap. An Irish coffee spiked with Shanky’s Whip I’m currently obsessed with. But everything else about The Magpie is decidedly un-serious, from the daggy RSL carpets to the TV screens blaring god knows what footy code. But I’m not parking at the ’Pie to watch State of Origin or see some UFC fighter get their head kicked in. I’m just swooping in for a good time. – Dan Cunningham, acting features editor (food & drink)
The Wine Bar, CBD
The International is the flashy, three-storey situation Martin Place was missing. And while it felt like The Wine Bar was in danger of being overshadowed by the monogrammed silver trays at The Grill, the former stands tall, and proudly so. Inspired by a loose “international” theme, the versatile menu gets you a bit of everything: alt pastas, steak frites, woodfired pizzette, you name it. But really, this is a place to try fun and frisky wines you’ve never bloody heard of. Harry Seidler’s weird and wonderful mushroom building is the perfect backdrop for a cellar as intriguing as this. – Dan Cunningham, acting features editor (food & drink)
Sydney’s Best New Restaurants of 2024 Including a pasta palace in the suburbs, a Southeast Asian party diner and a swanky CBD grill.
Sydney’s Best New Cafes and Casual Eateries of 2024 Hit a vegetarian-leaning Palestinian spot, a Filipino cafe turning out excellent brekkie burgers and multiple new Japanese cafes.