Sydney's 10 best summer bars
Time Out brings you the best bars in Sydney for summer fun - from beachside to harbourside. By Myffy Rigby
Cream Tangerine Bondi
This new bar from the folks that brought you The Rum Diaries is set to change the face of Bondi. It's the perfect place for spending lazy summer days - there's a Martini to go with every meal, for starters, and a bunch of cocktails you can share, such as the Sangria for four served in a soda syphon, or the bowl of Pina Colada for two served on fire. The drinks are great and there's plenty on the list no matter what your persuasion. If this is summertime drinking, consider it tapped.
Opera Bar Bennelong Pt
With its unbeatable location – overlooking the Harbour Bridge and next to the gleaming white sails of the Opera House – Opera Bar is well stocked with spirits (their range of gin and vodka is particularly impressive) and beers including Redback (one of the few places in Sydney offering it on tap). They also have their own house pour, OB - an organic brew crafted for the bar by the Red Oak folks. Regular outdoor jazz acts sweeten the deal.
Shore Club Manly
Wander upstairs you'll find canvas and cane lounges and ottomans; a roof that peels down to show the beachfront and let in the breeze; and white tents supporting big Chinese-style lanterns. This is a ripper place to spend the early part of a Saturday evening - the vibe is right and the drinks are great.
Café Pacifico Darlinghurst
Serious about your tequila? Get thee to this all-star Mexican bar where you'll find more than 50 tequilas that range from sippers to shooters. The huge yellow warehouse is hard to miss, while greeting you inside the front door is a diorama of Mexican Day of the Dead figurines playing instruments. Stake a claim at the bar and get busy with the salt and limes.
North Bondi Italian Food Bondi
This beachside bar has something for most budgets. Huge bowls of complimentary peanuts in their shells sit all along the bar - crack 'em open and drop the shells straight on the floor, it's all part of the fun. They also serve Coopers and Blue Tongue beer on tap. But whatever you're drinking, you're in the right part of the world to do it in.
Bondi Social Bondi
Bondi Social is an intimate space with a cracking little balcony overlooking the beach. It's relaxed, the music is as chilled as the cocktails, the staff are good looking, and the fit-out is cool without being try-hard. They have 20 wines by the glass, a good selection of beers such as Coopers and Sapporo on tap, and bottles of Boags, Peroni, Corona and Asahi. As a place to while away a lazy Sunday afternoon, it's difficult to beat.
Safety Wolf Manly
The coolest place to drink in Manly at the moment, Safety Wolf has a modest drinks lists that is well considered and well priced - the cocktails are only $12 a pop and for Sydney, that's a doggone miracle. We love the El Diablo (Herradura silver tequila, chambord, lime juice and ginger beer) - a fresh, fun and frisky way to start an evening's drinking. Don't like cocktails? There's a fair selection of wine and beer by the bottle to choose from, as well as an accomplished selection of spirits if you're after something simple. Order the ribs - sticky, sweet and totally moreish.
Cronulla RSL Cronulla
From the dining room or out on the deck, you'll be looking straight over the beach with natural rockpools and swimming holes dotted all the way down. It's about as close to the subject of a Ken Done as you're going to get without being covered in paint, and a very picturesque spot for a game of lawn bowls.
Firefly Walsh Bay
With room for only 35 guests and a no-bookings policy, you'll either need to get in early or be willing to wait patiently in the sheltered confines of the pier. Once you're settled firmly opposite the floating brigade of yachts bobbing on the water, attack the tapas menu. The house sangria looks like an excellent idea until it's firmly eclipsed by an exotic wine list featuring an exceptional pinot grigio and Rioja. Cocktails? There's a coconut Mojito, if you feel like shaking your maracas.
