Just off Bondi Beach’s main strip you’ll find the suburb’s newest bar, Chuck Trailer’s. But it’s far from your typical polished, Mediterranean-inspired Bondi venue. Rather, co-owners Brendan Darcy and Ben Campbell, who also own local favourite Neighbourhood Bondi, have gone for a “thrown together”, “defurb” look to match the new venue’s “anything goes” vibe.

There’s a mix of recycled and reclaimed materials, including corrugated roofing from a Western Australian cattle shed that wraps the bar, rock ‘n’ roll posters covering the walls, and taxidermy toads for additional character.

After buying Neighbourhood Bondi nearly three years ago, the duo felt it was time to create something that was more “them”.

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“We just thought, where would we drink – and all the places that we drink kind of have that inner-west vibe similar to the bars in Manchester, where we’re from, so we’ve taken a lot of inspiration from our hometown. It’s just about fun parties at dive bars,” Campbell tells Broadsheet.

To keep those parties fuelled, the venue has a six-foot-tall bar fridge stocking more than 50 beers, including well-known American labels such as Pabst Blue Ribbon, and craft brews by Sierra Nevada and Hawaii’s Kona Brewing. For something more local, there are tinnies by the likes of Stockade and Feral Brewing.

Besides beer, Chuck’s back bar is stocked with more than 100 bottles of bourbon, plus a handful of American-style single malt whiskies. “We want to slowly tease people’s palates. I think the average person who says they don’t like whiskey doesn’t actually know why … We’d like to educate people in the same way that we’ve educated people on rum at Neighbourhood. This is going to be the next step for Bondi,” Campbell says.

But if you can’t choose between beer or bourbon, Chuck’s is pairing the two to make boilermakers. There’s even a list of “baller-makers” using top-shelf bourbon such as limited-release Woodford Baccarat.

“It’s a well-known American-style way of drinking whiskey, so we thought we’d pair a handful and try to open people’s eyes to a few different whiskies and beers,” says Campbell.

The bar is also mixing up a cheeky list of ’90s disco drinks, such as their version of Sex on the Beach called Sumac My Beach Up featuring vodka, sumac-infused rhubarb liqueur, grapefruit and pineapple foam. Other concoctions include From June to Cancun, which is a mix of coconut tequila, Midori, banana liqueur, pineapple and lime, and My My Miss American Pie with vodka, cinnamon liqueur, biscuit syrup and fresh apple.

To top off the American-style dive bar vibe, the kitchen at Chuck’s is doing $1 wings all day, every day. Choose to have them “saucy” – smothered in hot sauce, Dr Pepper barbeque glaze, boozy maple, or sticky Asian-style honey soy; or “dry” with salt and pepper, jerk-style, Old Bay or mango “Chuck-ney gunpowder”. And for those up for a spice challenge, there’s the “ring sting idiot wings” served with a glass of milk for good measure.

Other than wings, there’s a handful of burgers, including the “Blame Canada”, where deep-fried buttermilk chicken and bacon are sandwiched between toasted Belgian waffles. There’s also a veggie burger that can be made vegan.

Chuck Trailer’s
Shop 7, 152 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach

Hours:
Mon 5pm–midnight
Fri 5pm–midnight
Sat 12pm–midnight
Sun 12pm–10pm

chucktrailers.com
@chucktrailers