First Look: Lights Up on Folio, a Swish New Theatre Bar in Walsh Bay

When the main course is a star-studded production from Sydney Theatre Company, it’s hard to go wrong. But so often pre-theatre dining in Sydney’s Walsh Bay is marred by panicked sprints from Barangaroo, mad dashes along the interminable corridor at Wharf 4/5, or perilously timed orders at nearby restaurants, made with heightened anxiety attuned to the ding of the Roslyn Packer Theatre bells.

But now Folio’s here, putting you right in the heart of the action. In the lobby of Roslyn Packer Theatre, you’ll be close enough to time the final bell to your final sip and slip upstairs just in time for curtain. Right now that’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, starring real-life couple Kat Stewart and David Whiteley.

Bar consultant Charlie Ainsbury – the award-winning bartender behind the now-closed This Must be the Place – created Folio’s drinks list, and he relished the challenge of creating a proper theatre bar.

“When we say ‘theatre bar’, we mean the kind of bars of Midtown Manhattan or West End London,” Ainsbury says. “Sydney alone doesn’t really have that. Is there a bar that’s next to the theatre where we can drink? There’s plenty of those. But there’s no place that celebrates the theatre. No place that embraces the culture of the theatre.”

The man is certainly leaning into theatrics. Martinis are ice-cold, poured tableside and served with a flamed orange twist. An eau de vie number invites you to the bar to find out the joke of the day. House Bellinis made with seasonal fruit sorbet are whisked to order at the bar, arriving frothy and sweet.

The Infinity Old Fashioned changes with every glass. Guests select their own whisky as the base, which is then mixed with a “mother blend” of every whisky behind the bar. It’s borrowed from world-renowned bartender Angus Winchester’s Infinity Daiquiri, served at The Dark Horse in Bath.

Speed is the name of the game in pre-theatre dining, so ordering snacks to share is the way to go. LP’s cured meats arrive with house pickles. Yamba prawns are served with curry mayo for dipping. And there are two types of chips: poutine and chicken salted.

Bigger mains, which are hearty enough to share, include a Wagyu lasagne, a burger with scene-stealing smoked bacon from Pino’s, and a salad.

The dramatics are back for dessert with big scoops of chocolate mousse served tableside from “the big bowl”, then drizzled with miso-whisky caramel.

Rouda Taouk of Like Minds Studios has designed a warm, low-lit space with plummy red velvet banquette seating and curtains skirting the walls. But the focal point is a swish marble bar with a glowing back bar, for those theatrical drinks.

Walsh Bay’s scarcity of late-night venues has meant the area is quickly vacated post-show. Folio’s late-night offering changes that. A snacky menu runs from 9pm for your nightcap needs, with a rotation of DJs, live jazz, comedy and more to keep you entertained.

But, after catching STC’s captivating rendition of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, simply debriefing over an Infinity Old Fashioned will do.

Folio
Roslyn Packer Theatre, 22 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay

Hours:
Wed to Sat 5pm–late
(Also open at other times to coincide with STC performances.)

foliobar.com.au
@folio.bar