Best Bars in Darlinghurst
It's been just 10 years since state parliament passed the small bar legislation, but what a revolution it's sparked. Tour Darlinghurst on a Friday or Saturday and the streets are alive with happy punters hopping from bar to bar. There are several dozen good places for a drink, each with their own atmosphere and personality. Here are our favourites, from immaculately maintained cocktail bars to grungy pubs.
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Love, Tilly Devine
Sydney’s OG wine bar still hits after all these years. Come for a hefty list of mainly lo-fi wines, excellent snacks and sly laneway seating unlike anything else in the city.
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Bitter Phew
A world-class beer bar. Enough said.
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The Taphouse
It’s all about “taps, tunes and Chinese” at this legendary 130-year-old pub. Head in for 17 local beers matched with Shandong-style chicken and prawn wontons from a Hong Kong chef. Don't miss the breezy open-air terrace on top.
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The Flinders
A refurbished live-music favourite, with pizzas and pool tables.
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Club 77
After a makeover inspired by New York’s dive bars, this late-night icon is open till 4am seven nights a week. Head in for after-work drinks and topnotch hot dogs, or party till the wee hours to five-hour sets by local and international DJs.
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The Cliff Dive
A pumping hip-hop nightclub from the team behind Cantina OK. A weekly line-up of DJs spins the best of the genre till super late on Friday and Saturday. This place also has a killer cocktail game, with signature drinks going for a steal before 9pm.
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The Long Goodbye
Inventive cocktails served fast.
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Sir Allen Taylor & Co
An alfresco bar from the owner of Tuxedo and Kansas City Shuffle.
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The East Village
An upmarket, three-storey pub from the Goodtimes Hospitality Group.
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Ching-a-lings
No sign, no fancy cocktails, but lots of locals at this Oxford Street hideaway.
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Middlebar
The gin flows freely at this Darlinghurst venue that tips its hat to Old Havana.
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Apothecary
A cocktail-only establishment offering a three-course drink experience.
Restaurant
Paski Vineria Popolare
A bar and bottle shop styled after the enotecas of Italy. And a colourful upstairs restaurant with pasta and panache. Paski is a three-part stunner by wine importers Giorgio de Maria and Mattia Dicati, and chef Enrico Tomelleri.
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Nomidokoro Indigo
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.
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Amuro
This polished sake room is inspired by a popular Japanese manga – hear the story behind each sake as you sip, and don’t hold back on the nostalgic snacks. We can't get over the Kewpie mayo-shaped chopstick rests.
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The Waratah
On a sunny Darlo corner, this double-decker pub is all about Australiana, weekly-changing cocktails and reimagined pub classics. The highlight? A showstopping burger by Iceberg's executive chef.
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AP Bread & Wine
Every location of this innovative bakery is different, but this is the most different of them all – it serves dinner. Grab your usual morning pastries, then return for wines by the glass, creative snacks and house-made pastas.
