Jimmy Liks
Long, dark and handsome, Jimmy Liks is an old Sydney stager that still sizzles on date night.
By Rhiannon Elston
Like Noah's Ark, visitors come through the doors of Jimmy Liks two-by-two, in all shapes and sizes, hoping for shelter from the urban storm. And because of its location, snuggled down a side street seconds from the nomadic haven of Kings Cross, they tend to come from all corners of the globe as well.
Long, narrow and dimly lit, Jimmy's single row of tightly-packed counter seating forces intimacy whether you like it or not (JL's concept king Rob Sample applies the same touch to Longrain), and unless you've snagged one of the few available couches, it's practically impossible to squeeze in with a big crowd.
Here, as low-riding electro pulses from the sound system in a room teeming with pairs of punters engaged in conversation, you peruse the cocktail list with the aid of a penlight and make important decisions. Wine? Japanese beer? A fiery Mekong Mary cocktail, perhaps?
Expensive enough to impress without being overly awkward, this environment is date-maker's heaven.
But while it's just a little pretentious for those who like their Sydney bars hard, fast and up-front, it's easy to look past (or revel in) one factor few punters could complain about: the fleet of impossibly good looking, model/actor types behind the bar. They are surprisingly well-trained in the ways of the jigger and personable enough to lead curious types through Mr Liks' jungle-like cocktail menu.
After downing a few you'll visit the bar's painfully small bathrooms. The, er, intimacy of the Gents in particular seems to cause some aggravation.
Proclaimed hot stuff by the beautiful people when it opened in 2002, Jimmy Liks might have been usurped as Sydney's watering hole du jour, but it manages to keep the coffers full on the strength of its cosy, sleek interior, dark corners and exemplary cocktails. To put it another way, the sizzle might have slowly fizzed out, but the sausage is still there.
Although the bar is comfortably busy and buzzy most nights, the days/nights of hour-long queues snaking from its sliding doors, are over - thankfully for the punters.
The same can't be said of the adjoining restaurant which, it could be argued, is Jimmy Liks' main attraction. On the night Time Out tottered in, it seemed half of those sipping drinks behind the bar were waiting to be seated around the corner.
And the wait is worth it. A contemporary Asian menu designed to be shared, with such delights as chicken betel leaf with smoked eggplant chilli, and the signature salt and pepper cuttlefish matches well with a wine list pocked with crisp Gerwertztraminers, a young Riesling and a good selection of Cab Savs.
But if you don't fancy loitering with intent, stay at the bar and opt for the snack menu. There's less to choose from, but the quality is much the same - and that's high, come hell or Noah's high water.
Jimmy Liks 186-188 Victoria St, Potts Point 2011. (02 8354 1400) Open daily 5pm-12pm.