The Crix inspires devotion, and plenty of its hardcore followers would call it the very best pub in Sydney, no contest. The public bar and grungy little courtyard downstairs are classic, while Chez Crix upstairs dials in the French bistro vibe. Pool comps and jazz quartet jams by the fireplace are regular features here.

A good-times bar devoted to tequila, mezcal and the Margarita. Don’t let the laid-back energy fool you – some of Sydney’s best bartenders cut their teeth here. Otherwise, the popcorn is free, the music is loud and the Margies are strong and smooth.

Opened by a legendary publican and former cabaret star, this iconic corner pub is a Sydney institution. The dimly-lit front bar – with its swirling mirror ball, comfy booths and Hollywood memorabilia – is one of the best spots around to chew your friend's ear off on a Saturday night.

Bar Copains is the result of a decades-long friendship between top Sydney chefs Morgan McGlone and Nathan Sasi. Here, they’re sharing a deeply personal and vast wine collection, and a harmonious menu of elegant snacks to explore it with.

Cocktails, salty snacks and niche cinema, all in one place.

A world-class beer bar. Enough said.

This petite, 20-person wine bar is all about embracing life’s simple pleasures: good company, sleek design and great wine. There’s a focus on low-intervention drops, plus pre-batched Salt and Vinegar Martinis on the cocktail front. To eat, it’s charcuterie and very good fried chicken.

An ironbark-fuelled hearth works magic at this buzzing, subterranean wine bar and restaurant from the same crew behind Ester. Expect a long wine list of both classics and genre-busting naturals, plus an innovative, ever-changing snack menu focused on woodfire flavours and eating with your hands.

This Surry Hills pub got a shake-up in 2020 – but it’s still one of Sydney’s best all-in-one wine bars, restaurants and boozers.

Inside a former storage space used by St Mary’s Cathedral is Sydney’s best – and only – dedicated rum distillery. It also packs in a South American-inspired kitchen with tacos, burgers and more.

This Crown Street classic feels like a wine bar and a pub had a lovechild. It has all the energy of a good neighbourhood boozer, but with a menu that’s leagues ahead of the average bistro.

Craft beer is the focus at this Surry Hills pub.

The sister venue to Lennox Hastie’s Firedoor is a celebration of the vibrant pintxos bars of northern Spain. The menu offers Australian ingredients with Basque-inspired touches, a taste of Spain via imported jamon iberico, and a drinks list that’ll change the way you feel about sherry.

A sexy wine bar and restaurant from the team behind Nomad. Enter via the back lane, take a seat on a caramel leather banquette, and order some of the best gamay Beaujolais has to offer, with lobster thermidor on baked tomato-saffron rice to match.

Partway between a Tuscan wine bar and an American speakeasy, this moody bar celebrates the Negroni with around 20 renditions of the classic drink. You’ll also find aperitivo-perfect snacks, and Italian liqueurs so rare they’re hard to find even in Italy.

A low-down, boozy affair with Southern barbeque.

This Crown Street gin hub has a still making small-batch spirits just for Sydney, and a shop selling gin and gin-related goods. To find Eileen’s Bar, look out for the discreet doorway and ascend the staircase.

A compact izakaya like you’d find down a Tokyo alleyway, with hot towels and all. Inside there are more than 20 sakes, plus sake-friendly snacks including yakitori, miso-marinated cream cheese, and scallops in the half shell.