17 Sydney Bars Have Dropped Value-Packed Happy Hours for Dine Out

With a name like Dine Out, you might be forgiven for thinking that Broadsheet’s winter festival is all about eating, but this year’s Sydney program has worked its way into plenty of the city’s hottest bars.

We tapped 17 bars across the city to create a special one-off deal for the duration of the festival, from July 27 to August 2. Some venues offer substantial discounts, and others will serve meals that pair their venue’s most popular drinks with serious snacks. Here’s what’s happening around town.

CBD

• Bistecca Martini at Bar Bridge: It pays to have good neighbours. For Dine Out, Bar Bridge is collaborating with Bistecca around the corner on a Martini special ($27). The teams lean into the richness of the winter months with a black truffle Martini, made with a hybrid of local gin and vodka, combined with champagne vermouth. It’s paired with truffle popcorn, which will be served from 4pm. (Even more exciting? One of those popcorn bags contains a $1000 Mucho voucher.)

• Grandfathers MSG Margarita at Centro 86: When Grandfathers opened last year, its MSG Martini instantly had tongues wagging. Centro 86 has given it a Mexican twist with hand-shaved ice; come for the MSG Marg ($25) with its deep umami hit. (Centro 86 is also taking part in Mucho’s golden ticket giveaway.)

• Whisky Thief at Prefecture 48: During Dine Out, Prefecture 48’s Whisky Thief Japanese whisky flights will be 50 per cent off between 5pm and 7pm. It’s the first time the flights have been offered at half price. The team is also expanding the existing happy hour line-up to include $11 Japanese highballs, while all other happy hour cocktails are reduced to $12.

• Tokyo Lamington Yuzu Margarita at Cantina OK: Sydney’s yuzu obsession takes on a new form with a two-way collaboration between Cantina OK and Tokyo Lamington. During Dine Out, the tiny cocktail bar will serve a Marg topped with torched yuzu meringue ($25). Meanwhile, Tokyo Lamington offers a spiked take on its signature yuzu lamington filled with smoky mezcal jelly. It’s a real “have your cake and drink it too” situation.

• Westmont Pickles Martini at Bar Herbs: In collaboration with Southern Highlands producer Westmont Pickles, Bar Herbs brings the brine to Dine Out. The team has a $12 mouthful Martini made with Westmont’s signature brine and served with a skewered pickle as garnish. Bar Herbs’ popcorn also gets extra zing courtesy of dill pickle seasoning.

• Old Love’s: You can’t put a price on a good time and the Old Love’s team knows that. During Dine Out, the CBD bar will discount its Vintage Mai Tai from $2999 to $1999. It’s made with 25-year-old Wray & Nephew rum, one of the only known bottles in the southern hemisphere. The original Mai Tai was made with a 17-year-old Wray & Nephew in the 1940s, which means this is as close as you can get to the original without a time machine. The drink comes with a certificate of authenticity and a hand-blown Japanese glass to take home.

• Bar Bruno Daiquiri at Razz Room: We all love a Sgroppino. For Dine Out, the Razz Room and Bar Bruno teams have joined forces to put their own twist on the drink. For the entire week, Razz Room will serve a Daiquiri with a scoop of Bar Bruno’s seasonal sorbetti ($25).

• Letra House: During Dine Out, Love Tilly group’s Spanish spot will add two new snacks and a cocktail to its happy hour menu. Get a Schengen Sour (brandy, blackberry, baking spices, egg whites, citrus) for $16. Plus, tarama toast with mussel escabeche and bottarga for $18, and potato skin gratin topped with tartare de fuet (a chopped Catalan cured pork sausage) for $12. Available from 4pm to 6pm.

Enmore Road

• Deadwax: From 7pm to 10pm from Tuesday to Thursday, the Deadwax team discounts its signature Wax Blossom cocktail and Wagyu sando. It’ll be $30 for the pair, a discount of $21. The Wax Blossom is made with a house-blended gin, saké, dry vermouth and lemon-sesame oil. The grilled Wagyu pastrami sando comes on a Hawaiian bun and is seasoned with dijonnaise, stacked with Swiss cheese, and served with house pickles.

• Bar Demo: The pint-sized cocktail bar keeps things tiny with a two-sip Gilda-tini. For $20, it’s made with Tanqueray gin and served at a frosty –15 degrees Celsius with a Gilda on the side. The Gilda is perfectly salty with a speared guindilla, blue cheese-stuffed olive and an anchovy, then topped with lemon oil.

• The Duke of Enmore: For Dine Out, the team is serving “Hot Ones: the Spicy Marg edition”. Inspired by the fiery interview show, The Duke offers five different Spicy Margs ($25 each) laced with hot sauces that gradually climb higher and higher on the Scoville scale. Brave punters pick up a stamp card at the start of the week, which is stamped for every drink they down. Manage them all and you score the title of  “Lord of the Scovilles”.

•Jacoby’s Tiki Bar: The team is serving a special rum cocktail: Royale Pineapple ($20). The drink is made with Red Mill rum, pineapple, lime, orgeat, ginger, bitters and orange blossom. There’s also a Jamaican beef patty served with mango-habanero salsa from the spice-forward food truck Uncle Ay-Jay’s for $6. Or, grab both as a happy meal for $25.

Potts Point

• Ezra: For Dine Out, the Ezra team slashes the price of the “Let’s Party” set menu in half with a massive 50 per cent discount, which takes it from $105 to $52.50 per person. The deal is available for groups of six or fewer people. Just book online and include the code “BROADSHEETDINEOUT” in the booking notes.

• Arms Length: Adding to its already impressive happy hour, Arms Length steps things up during Dine Out with a mini meal. From 4pm to 6pm, the venues offers a Strawberry Negroni and a lasagne bomb for $15.

• Bar Hernandez: During Dine Out, anyone ordering a 750ml bottle of Inedit Damm – the beer designed by Spanish chef Ferran Adrià – gets two free Gildas, stacked with olives, anchovies and peppers.

• Jude’s: New basement bar Jude’s is turning down the price on its signature cocktail, Hey Jude – a hybrid of a Lychee Martini and a Spicy Margarita – to $14. The Limoncello Hugo Spritz is also coming down to a cool $14 for the duration of the festival.

• Piccolo Bar: Head to Piccolo Bar any time between 4pm and 6pm during Dine Out and order two 1757 Dirty Truffle Martinis and the team will throw in a complimentary plate of prosciutto, pickles and crackers.