Bennelong Bar

What a view. Settle back into the lush seats and stare out to the harbour's twinkling lights and worry not, you're in dim lighting, so can't possibly look bad. Share a plate of crab sandwiches - word is chef Guillaume Brahimi has his apprentices pick the meat out of the shell while it's scalding - and a glass of Champagne. Perfect.

Everything about Bennelong Bar whispers quiet luxury. There’s really nothing in the world like sitting beneath the sails of Jørn Utzon’s Opera House, sinking back in curved chocolate seats with a glass of vino in one hand and a crab sandwich (chef Guillaume Brahimi’s signature sambo) in the other soaking in the view. And what a view it is, friends. Sydneysiders often forget how amazing this part of town can be, especially by night.

Forget the pretensions that can come with venues as lofty as this: Bennelong’s staff are as classy as the vista – generous and inviting and professional to a tee.

The bar with its excellent tapas menu is open early in the evening to accommodate pre-theatre crowds, but you don’t need to be a fan of the greasepaint and sawdust to enjoy a drink here.

Award-winning sommelier John Clancy’s menu runs the gamut from Barossa to Bordeaux and everywhere vine-worthy in between. Clancy’s list also includes magnums of 1990 Dom Perignon. You know. Just in case.

Bennelong Bar’s cocktail list is equally formidable. Try the house favourite – the aromatic, cinnamoninfused GB (all the fl air and none of the ferocity if GB stands for what we think it does) or the Madame Butterfly – you’ll be singing like a soprano in no time.

And if you get a bit peckish before curtain call, the tapas menu features freshly shucked oysters, basil-infused tuna and, of course, the crab sandwiches.

Closed for private parties so call ahead.