Sydney's Most Stylish Bars
Sydney's bars are home to intriguing and beautiful elements of design - from Victorian era vibes through to 22nd century style saloons. Myffy Rigby pin-points the coolest
Keeping the area Clare of kegs... Spraypainted walls give the beer garden a lunatic cartoon feel
The Clare
Bar mode Couture courtyard
A genius ploy for publicans with no smoking areas in their bars, The Clare uses its outdoor space as a puffer’s plaza by financing it with artistic commissions. Famous Sydney pub architect Sidney Wardon didn’t have uni students choofing fags in mind when he designed the ex-Kegroom Tavern to sit shotgun by the old CUB breweries on Broadway. The Clare changed all that. “We never really had the space open before,” says bar manager David O’Callaghan, “but when the new smoking laws came in, I got my artist mates Daniel, Simon and Tristan to come in and spray-paint the walls. We update the art pretty regularly, actually... just had it done on the weekend, in fact. We had a barbecue and everything.” It’s all pretty low key for the punters too. “We just get people to sit on empty kegs,” he grins. 20 Broadway Ultimo, 2007. (02 9211 2839).
Bar Cleveland
Bar mode La-de-da light shades
“These are called oversized lights,” says the bar’s designer Arthur Koutoulas. “They’re designed to be large enough to contribute to the overall look. I started to think about old world pubs and the feeling they gave us. I did some research on how some of these old Sydney pubs were being refurbished and a lot of what I thought was bad design was going on. So I wanted to inject a new type of aesthetic without being too different and also being sympathetic to the heritage value and the existing patrons who drink there. The door handles were an existing item that we liked – a classic art deco door handle – really solid and futuristic at that time. A direct reference was that handle and you can clearly see that. And having said that, we wanted to design a light that would make people ask that question, ‘Is this light a new item or an old existing item?’ They were coated in a brass finish because it tapped into that old world pub feel and also because it tapped into this new modern world of surface finishes. And brass is pretty cool looking at the moment. I tend to use local manufacturers – local backyard people who are quite talented but aren’t given the chance to fabricate things. I try to incorporate that in all the design and fittings with everything I do.” 433 Cleveland St,? Redfern 2016. (02 9698 1908).
Marble Bar
Bar mode Best bar none
Erected in 1893 by builder and lottery promoter George Adams at a then staggering £32,000, this is still one of Sydney’s most beautiful and opulent bars. The bar itself and adjoining counters are American walnut completed with ornate cedar joineries put together by Camperdown woodwork designers Stuart Bros, and feature a series of unique flourishes: intricate knots, curls and flowers. Apart from the bar itself, 100 tonnes of Belgian and African marble along with elaborately stained glass frames combine to create arguably the most extravagant and beautifully designed bar ever constructed in Australia. In fact, 1968 saw the Marble Bar become Heritage-listed by the National Trust, ensuring it remained intact when it was carefully dismantled, refurbished and rebuilt inside the Hilton Sydney. Sydney Hilton Hotel, 259 Pitt St, 2000. (02 9266 2000)
The Oaks
Bar mode The oak tree
Back in 1900, the Anthony Hordern Super Emporium (now defunct) existed just up the road from the QVB on George Street. To celebrate their centenary, they gave out oak seedlings specially imported from England for the task with the slogan ‘Where I live, I’ll grow’. One of these seedlings was planted in northern Sydney soil by Kathleen McGill (née Furlong) in 1938 and has now become the sky-scraping centrepiece of perhaps the most famous beer garden in Sydney – the grandly dappled courtyard of The Oaks. The Furlong family held the license for this Neutral Bay neck nectar nook from 1918 and 1975 but the oak remains. It’s a tradition at the pub that luck comes to those who are struck by an acorn in Autumn (so long as it doesn’t fall in your beer, that is). 118 Military Rd, Neutral Bay, 2089. (02 9953 9856)
Toko
Bar mode The light sculpture
“The idea came in London,” says Toko bar’s artist and designer Reni Küng. “I started making them on a small scale and it grew. I met one of the Yazbek brothers (owners of Toko) and we clicked. They had several ideas and we went through glass, plastic... I came up with different versions. I thought the light sculpture suited the space and the Japanese feel. Of all features (especially in a bar) it’s just about being drawn into it and being calmed by it. “I used wood the size of matchsticks placed on Perspex – each one is individually laid in place by hand. Making it was a journey. Like a painting, you can’t ask or delegate and it takes on a life of itself. My base is repetition and if you follow repetition in an organic way, something happens – it’s the creative process. You have an idea of what may work and you need to just go with it – if you plan it too much, something like this can do your head in! It took three months to make – it was a pretty full on. I always use found materials and I work with everything – plastic, glass, lentils… I really like seed pods. Somehow the wood lights stood out more than anything else though. People seem to notice them the most.” 490 Crown St, Surry Hills 2010. (02 9357 6100)
Hero of Waterloo
Bar mode Get Stonework
Even before you step inside The Hero for a coldie, you can feel the history of The Rocks in those old Sydney sandstone walls – rough-hewn, pocked and cool to the touch, it’s a bar with a wonderful limestoney, slightly musty smell. Built in 1843 by owner George Paton, stonemasons created The Hero from buttery “Paradise” stone carved from the Argyle Cut (the tunnel that connects Sydney Cove with Darling Harbour and Millers Point), a huge slash through rock and bush hewn by lice-ridden convicts with hammers, chisels and bare, bleeding hands. 81 Lower Fort St, Millers Point 2000. (02 9252 4553)