Vanilla Room
There's nothing vanilla about this inner west bar
The green apple quickstep a la the Vanilla Room
The problem with Sydney drinking is drunkenness - we, as a city, aren't accustomed to drinking for pleasure, we're too concerned with the business of getting bladdered. Whether this is a hangover from the six o'clock swill (when last drinks was called at six pm which meant that you'd drink as much as you could before the clock struck six) or the result of the big beer barns where boozing often leads to biffing, sophisticate Sydney aint all that when it comes to the tipple.
But in Leichhardt, there's a bar that's putting together perfectly acceptable (if a little sweet) and creative drinks that can be sat on for more than a minute. The laid back little room has been tastefully styled with moody shades of red and a mesh wall doubling as a light box complete with deliberately smashed light bulbs here and there. Very cool.
There's a lot of vanilla on the menu (hence the name) like the very fragrant Vanilla Cactus - a mix of lime juice, fresh mint, tequila, vanilla schnapps, basil and pineapple which is almost like a tequila Mai Tai, only fruitier. And if cocktails don't rock your socks, they've got plenty of wine by the glass as well as some interesting straight spirits like the Agwa de Bolivia which is a mix of coca leaf extract, ginseng, guarana taken shot style with a piece of lime. Very sweet indeed, at $10 a shot.
There are also regular theme nights (there's an 80s party on 6 June) and a restaurant upstairs but for our
dollar, it's all about heading there for a quiet mid-week drink or an aperitif on the way to dinner.
But best not to ask for anything not on the menu - it's more of a set and forget set than molecular mixology, here.
Vanilla Room 153 Norton St Leichhardt 2040. (02 9569 9411).