Door Knock Bar

The challenge of drinking at Door Knock is finding it in the first place. Enter a fire door next to a sandwich shop on Pitt Street and follow a corridor so long you’ll wonder if you’re lost. Then you’ll see a polished brass pineapple doorknocker. Knock three times, and you’re in.

The bar is a throwback to speak-easys that were colloquially known as “knock knock” bars, and the pineapple is about welcoming people into the space. A Pineapple is a sign of hospitality, apparently.

Door Knock is homey; like stepping inside a mate’s house for dinner. The cocktails are all about unexpected ingredients. The refreshing Kiwi As spritz is made with kiwi-infused bianco vermouth, gin, garnished with lemon thyme and finished with a dash of apple cider vinegar. The Caskhopper is a coconut milk and espresso-infused whisky drink with a chocolate-mint flavour. For the wine list, the focus is on natural, and there’s an impressive list of fortifieds and sherries.

The food menu is succinct and approachable. There’s a miso eggplant finished with puffed wild rice to give it a smokiness and crunch. And macaroni and cheese croquettes are served with a dollop of hot English mustard to act as a foil to the deep-fried, creamy pasta.

If the bar has the feeling of being underground, that’s because it is, although the space feels more cosy than claustrophobic. The space is dimly lit with four distinct areas that flow together, and the design is tactile; there is greenery, rope, corrugated metal and plenty of timber.