We have a thirst, Sydney. First it’s quenched, then it returns. Taking us to wine bars and pubs, Martini bars and… motels, if the new bar on Enmore Road (with PS40 DNA) has anything to do with it. The new bars 2025 has brought us do many things, but, most importantly, they deliver us something different – a new style or new energy, a teeny dance floor or live Japanese jazz.

We continue to do the bar-or-restaurant dance, we continue to sip on Enmore Road and we’re flocking to a Potts Point corner that’s keeping the vibes offline.

The next 10 bars are the best newcomers this year, Sydney. Drink up.

Silver’s Motel, Enmore

The Ice Magic Old Fashioned at Silver’s Motel tells you everything you need to know about what the Enmore Road whisky bar’s trying to do. I bet you’re picturing a glass loaded with foam – maybe even ice-cream – under a mountain range of solidified chocolate sauce. But it isn’t that kind of drink, and Silver’s Motel isn’t that kind of bar. Instead, it looks like a regular Old Fashioned, aside from the thin threads of a house-made whey and cacao-packed caramel, which crisscross across your ice cube. 

Even though it’s inspired by the glory days of Australian motels, Silver’s isn’t a ridgy-didge Australiana fever dream fuelled by kitsch, cultural cringe and upsold sourdough fairy bread. It’s much more ambitious – and interesting – than that. Just like that Ice Magic Old Fashioned, the winks and references to Australia are all over Silver’s if you care to look for them. But at the end of the day, the drinks are much more important. No wonder everything Silver’s touches turns to gold. – Callum McDermott, Hot List editor

Paradise, Potts Point

Paradise is, literally and figuratively, a paradise. That is, of course, if your heaven is a poky little Italian wine bar with a no-menu, ask-what’s-best approach to drinking. And the kind of people-watching only Potts Point offers. And no social media, unless Google Maps counts. The Paradiso boys’ newest is, just like Fratelli Paradiso and 10 William St, an instant win for Sydney. An always-changing menu is snacky if you like, or enough for dinner if you want to stay. People smoke on the corner and stand at the bar. There’s a flow from Piccolo and Caravin on either side, and special little features if you look, like the pastel stained-glass nameplate by Duck Ragu sparkling above the door. – Grace MacKenzie, Sydney food and drink editor

Deadwax, Enmore

I think I speak for all of us when I say: I just want to have a little dance. More and more, I find that I’m missing a laid-back place where I can drink and snack and dance. Deadwax delivers.

The new vinyl bar took over the old Enmore Country Club space, arriving in a wave of hot new bars (also on this list). The space is tight but fits an acoustic ceiling, a psychedelic bar, a long banquette and low stools at low tables – and yes, room to dance.

And unlike most vinyl bars, Deadwax doesn’t take itself too seriously. You’re as likely to groove to dad rock and classic hip-hop as you are Miley, The Veronicas and Sabrina, or folk and country. And it’s set to get better – a 12-person karaoke room is planned for out back. – Lucy Bell Bird, national assistant editor

Sakura House, CBD

I wonder how people will treat Sakura House. Will they decide that it’s a restaurant or a bar? I’ve seen places that were supposed to be restaurants become party bars. But I’ve also seen plenty of “nightclubs” putting tables over the dance floors. You never know how the public will respond, so I’m keen to see what happens to Sakura House, the CBD follow-up to The Waratah (another restaurant-or-bar situation) beyond its first few weeks. Its owners have put a lot of effort – from a healthy live music program (Japanese jazz!) to intricate cocktails and a stacked spirit list – into it being a bar. But I don’t know… 

Head chef Nick Sherman’s snacks are very good indeed – and who doesn’t love dinner and a show? For now it’s a bar, and a bloody excellent one at that. And unlike so many Japan-themed places, which make you feel like you’re in a theme park facsimile of the real deal, you’ll genuinely feel transported to Japan here. Bar, restaurant – I don’t care. Whatever it ends up being, I won’t want to leave. – Callum McDermott, Hot List editor

Bar Herbs, CBD

When you think of going to Herbs – you must! – remember it is no longer a spot for Negronis. No, the Mucho team listened to the people. The bitter red pours weren’t getting the all-in “yum” the team holds itself to, so they changed the brief. This mentality is why its bars (Bar Planet, Cantina OK, Centro 86 and Tio’s) remain Sydney sweethearts for years – 14, in Tio’s case.

So now it’s Martinis. Fun ones that powered Carrie Bradshaw’s jaunts around Manhattan. Purist ‘Tinis join granita-topped Cosmos and NY-style pours garnished with skewered pickles. It’s capital-F fun. And with that deft team behind the bar, the transition’s been seamless. There’s the same red-lit va-va-voom, the same glitzy disco ball and walls wrapped in painted mirrors. But most importantly, selfishly speaking, you can still order the Herbs Taverne Americana. That zingy, fizzy tall pour is my top drink of the year. – Grace MacKenzie, Sydney food and drink editor

40 Res, Surry Hills

When Tetsuya’s closed, its kitchen staff scattered around the city, many in the Prefecture 48 kitchens. But perhaps the biggest zag came when former exec chef Josh Raine opened a wine bar in lower Surry Hills with his life and business partner Keliann Zellman. The low-lit unfussy 40 Res does the wine-bar-or-restaurant dance we love so much, and Michelin-credentialled Michael Tran leads the kitchen. We know the share-ready small plates bit is a winner, so the team hasn’t messed with it, but expect polish and a low-waste focus with excellent produce. The food’s all in service of a compelling wine list, heroing small producers from Australia and Europe. Just 300 metres from Central Station, it’s as ready for a pre-commute glass as it is for a whole night. – Grace MacKenzie, Sydney food and drink editor

Bar Freda’s, Chippendale

I’m nostalgic for the sweaty nights in my early twenties spent bopping around the old Freda’s warehouse. Whether it was Mariah night or a line-up of local DJs, being on that dance floor felt like you were part of something. So when the team announced it was returning to the neighbourhood as Bar Freda’s, I was excited. Then worried. My expectations were impossibly high – it marked the return of the great, and I was ready to feel 22 again. Well, no worry needed, because when Dave Abram and Carla Uriarte Freda-fied The Abercrombie, they drenched the space in the very same feeling. Local up-and-comers (or friends of Freda’s) are on the decks, while the dance-friendly food and drink menu is now looked after by Solotel. You feel like you’re at a house party, with a pickled Freda’s or frozen Espresso Martini in-hand – especially since 24-hour parties have energised Chippo. While an all-nighter would test my stamina now, Freda’s is where I’ll be doing it should I get the urge. – Grace MacKenzie, Sydney food and drink editor

Baptist Street Rec Club, Redfern

I mercifully wasn’t alive the first time Midori was in vogue, but I’m assured that it was a very daggy, sexy and green period for all involved. I’ll have to take their word for it. Except when I go to Baptist Street Rec Club. Because it’s one of the only places in Sydney where the Midori dream never died. Where the Japanese Slipper, in all its Midori-filled, watermelon-sphered glory, isn’t just on the menu but the only cocktail I ever see anyone drinking. The first time I ordered it, I’m ashamed to say I was being ironic more than I was excited to drink it. But then I took a few sips and I ended up liking it. A lot. And I feel like the same can be said of Baptist Street Rec Club. It just tries so hard for you to have a good time in there, from the Elle Macpherson and Shane Warne dedications in the bathroom, to the ocker soundtrack and the stalactites of suburban glory (a ceiling studded with a collection of vintage trophies). And you know what? It succeeds. Like its bestselling Japanese Slipper, Baptist Street Rec Club is corny but immaculately executed. And you’ll want more. – Callum McDermott, Hot List editor

Bar Demo, Enmore

It’s hard to stand out among the Enmore Road hotties. The street’s cocktail bars and old school boozers are a cut above, and they just keep coming. But Bar Demo is not to be underestimated – the small-but-mighty bar keeps up with its neighbours.

From ex-Double Deuce bartenders Claudia “Beryl” Morgan and Olly Churcher there are a string of sexy cocktails like a hot-and-cold Colada and freezer-door Martini. The sexiest sip, though, is undoubtedly the Full Bush. The bourbon-fuelled short pour is warm rather than spicy, crowned with a “bush” of red silgochu.

No kitchen means no “real food”, but there are plenty of snacky bits, and the well-connected team hosts monthly menu takeovers, welcoming the likes of Cafe Paci, Mister Grotto and Kurumba. – Lucy Bell Bird, national assistant editor

Mixed Business, Enmore

There’s no way we’re the only people to scratch heads thinking where to drink after a meal at BYO darling Emma’s Snack Bar. Yes, Enmore Road is there, but if it’s not on your way you could be tempted to take your fattouche-filled tums straight to bed. Enter Mixed Business, the snackier, cocktail-focused bar just upstairs in a space that’s been in the Sofy family for generations. Wood-panelled walls dressed in family photos hold space for flaming shots of arak (the milky white Lebanese spirit served on ice after the fanfare) and cocktails on a retro bent – Vesper Martinis! Amaretto Negronis! Plus there are plenty of snacks ready to eat with your hands: fried chicken sangas, salt and vinegar scallops, and simple plates of olives and sliced cucumbers. This is where you drink after Emma’s. – Grace MacKenzie, Sydney food and drink editor