Consider yourself fortunate – lucky even – to get a seat at the bar here. This neon-lit inner-west boozer gets rammed most nights, and it’s easy to see why. It’s laid-back in all the right ways, but is dead serious when it comes to classic cocktails.

Record store by day, bar by night – this New Orleans-style juke joint oozes cool.

A David Lynch and tiki-themed cocktail and natural-wine bar. That description could cause a mass outbreak of cringing but Jacoby’s is exciting and genuinely great. The bar is not just one of the best in Enmore but in all of Sydney. Part of that is down to how eccentric and weirdly honest the theme is, but also the progressive menu of minimal-intervention wines and theatrical cocktails. It also has Jamaica’s Red Stripe on tap, late-night toasties and the occasional guest chef on the weekend.

A rare good example of pub gentrification. The things you don’t want to change (the pub feel and the prices) remain while everything you do want updated (the quality of drinks and meals) has improved radically. There are natural bottles in the bar fridge for around $10 a glass. Commercial brews still flow through the taps, providing a cheaper option for locals of the old joint. The menu involves burgers and parmies but serves porchetta and deep-fried enoki mushrooms next to them.

A classic sports pub in the city’s inner-west that revitalises a legendary space for the next generation of Sydney’s drinkers.

It’s all about the Martini at this cool inner-west bar. Bartenders pour them theatrically from beautiful Spanish decanters, spritzing with lemon peel as the liquid hits the glass. Needless to say, the flavour is out of this world. Come thirsty.

A little Australiana, a tad retro dive bar, this rambunctious joint by the duo behind Sunshine Inn and The Little Guy is pouring natural wines, fun cocktails, and house-made cherry cola with a slug of booze.