“We had a beyond standing start – we couldn’t get in or do anything,” Neil Perry tells Broadsheet. “We were supposed to do two weeks of events and training, all sorts of stuff. We had to cancel two weeks of Bobbie’s at 4.30 in the afternoon.”

That’s less than ideal when you want bow-tie-wearing bartenders stirring Martinis and fluffing up Margaritas, then serving them on elegant silver trays to boothfuls of diners in your new Double Bay basement bar. Especially when you’re opening neighbouring restaurant Song Bird simultaneously. “It was a massive, massive, massive opening couple of weeks, but we’re kinda over the hump of it now.”

Perry, together with his wife Samantha, opened Bobbie’s with longtime friends – and owners of New York’s spectacular bars Dante and Caffe Dante – Linden Pride and Nathalie Hudson. As you descend from Bay Street, towards a neon-lit Bobbie’s sign and through a dramatic curtained doorway, the New York-ness of the space is undeniable. The lighting’s soft (but you don’t have to squint), the cocktail list is far-reaching (but not stale) and, importantly, the food menu’s made for drinking.

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“We’re focused on snack and cocktail-y offerings,” Perry says. “It’s really an attempt to make it a real bar and try not to turn it into a restaurant – cos we’ve got plenty of those in Double Bay. We just want a place for people to drink and enjoy.”

Pride is based in NYC, committing to a FIFO arrangement while the Sydney team gets comfy. But the crew has also welcomed Weston Lou, from Dante New York, whose expert, old-school hospitality is guiding the ship.

The house Martini – one of eight ‘tinis – has the sweet edge of clarified green apple with Sydney-made Hickson Road gin and a whole pickled onion. As is the Dante way, there’s a clutch of excellent Negronis (the Dante Negroni is a classic iteration; there’s also a watermelon-laced number and one with coconut pisco). Then there are the fluffy drinks: a Margarita, Garibaldi and French Martini.

“I quite love the Watermelon Garibaldi, which is a play on the Garibaldi that they make at Dante,” Perry says. “[The bar team put] orange juice and Campari in the Breville fountain. It changes the texture of it and makes it very fluffy.” The extra-aerated drinks have a whipped – not slushy – feel. Perry’s other pick is the Chocolate Old Fashioned, but he’s partial to a knock-off Brandy Alexander. “I went in there the other night after work, at about 10 o’clock, and I had [it for] dessert.”

Oysters, Spencer Gulf king prawn cocktails, Gildas and a “fantastic” raw big-eye tuna – from Australia’s largest wild-caught tuna fishery Walker’s – with a zesty green-olive salsa give the menu an oceanic start. And there’s a pate, chicken finger sandwiches and a patty melt with Copper Tree beef and gruyere cut with pickles.

Bobbie’s arrives with the triple-storey Song Bird upstairs, joining the Perrys’ other Bay Street beauties Margaret and Next Door, with Baker Bleu just around the corner. And with that array of restaurants, a “real” bar and a bakery, Perry’s got one Double Bay block locked down.

Bobbie’s
28 Bay Street, Double Bay
(02) 9068 8888

Hours:
Wed 4pm–midnight
Thu 4pm–2am
Fri & Sat 2.30pm–2am
Sun 4pm–10pm

themargaretfamily.com/venues/bobbies
@bobbies_doublebay