Park St Social Club

This bar is somewhere you should drink. The first small bar to have opened on the northern beaches, it's owned by Nova DJ Tim Ross, and run by his wife Michelle Glew-Ross and her sister Brooke Glew. Folks sit around drinking longnecks of Coopers Pale or share carafes of wine and read the weekend papers. If it were any more laid back, we'd fall in a heap. The Ross clan designed the space themselves and they've done a bang-up job. The room is skinny (about as wide as a tiny laneway) and hidden between a bank and a credit union. You might walk straight past it if you didn't notice the cool, industrial-style lettering above the door. The interior, with its whitewashed walls, long concrete bar and banquettes lining the walls, is a study in less-is-more. There's a real larrikin undertone to the sophisticated exterior. Their bar snacks are Twisties (cheese only), their longnecks are Coopers (Pale only) and their house pours are simply gin, tequila, vodka. Their shelf spirits may be Bombay, Patron and Belvedere but they are not trying to be a cocktail bar. They're something better: a small bar offering great service and a very comfortable vibe. If you're planning a day trip to the northern beaches and want to set up camp, this is a great place to do it.