Capybara Bathing Doubles in Size, Adding a Bigger Sauna, a Cloud Bath and Events to Its Sydney Block

Capybara Bathing landed on Commonwealth Street in early 2024. Led by a group of friends – Natalie Cheung, Rebecca Qin, Justin Lo, Daegeon Song, Nicholas Souksamrane and Sebastian Tsang – who are architects and ceramicists between them, the space is as beautiful as it is functional. It’s all high-ceilinged, exposed-beam charm, with large-format art pieces and plants throughout its bathhouse offering. Now, after two successful years, the team has expanded sideways, opening The Other Side in the space next door.

The team describes the expansion as “more theatrical and dramatic”, while sticking to the ethos of Capybara. The new sauna is a centrepiece: a traditional offering but much bigger than the original, with staggered steps and plenty of room to stretch out. Here you’ll also find a fresh program of “rituals”. Find aufguss sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, where steam scented with essential oils is moved through the space by a sauna master rhythmically whipping a towel. Then, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, it’s guided stretching integrated with yoga principles and acupressure elements, the heat deepening the experience. Then, in “the cave” – a new studio space with a warm stone floor – you’ll find guided experiences moving to and from the cool grotto.

The “cloud bath” is another of the four new experiences. Staggered seating surrounds the bath that leans into the milky waters of Iceland’s Blue Lagoon. Teeny bubbles are behind the colour, with waterfall spouts pouring water from the wall.

All of The Other Side’s magic is included in the 90-minute bathing sessions you know from Capybara – the team has simply added more heft to the mineral bath, steam room, hot stone sauna, ice-scrub bench and lounge area. The Capybara experience continues as an ode to wellness experiences from across the planet: the sento and onsen of Japan, Russian banya and Moroccan hammam, as well as Mayan temazcal, Jewish mikveh and Korean jjimjilbang.

When Capybara debuted, Sydney was ripe for a bathhouse just like it. Somewhere design-forward and artfully curated, with a strict no-phones policy and a detail-oriented eye on every aspect of the experience. Proof we wanted it? Melbourne-transplant Sense of Self is opening next week, at the other end of Surry Hills. Smaller recovery-geared bathhouse spaces continue to open, too, and infrared studios are now found throughout our suburbs.

Along with Capybara’s expansion, there’s more newness for the block: co-founder Tsang has collaborated with friend and fashion designer Sean Tran (of Shhorn) on a tiny natural wine bar: L’Massif Cave. It sits in the street-facing slice next door to Capybara, fronting up The Other Side. Open on Fridays and Saturdays, it’s inspired by the pair’s love of natty drops, the parties they’ve been throwing for years, and the standing bars of Tokyo they return to. While the venues are completely separate, with different founding teams, they’re a perfect match: soak, sweat, rehydrate, then find a new favourite glass.

Capybara Bathing expands with The Other Side at 235 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills.

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