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Small bars add twist to city cocktail

Rachel Olding
Rachel Olding

''A cruisy place to have a drink'': Kingston Public Bar and Dining, in Newtown, is typical of the new venues giving locals a place to congregate.
''A cruisy place to have a drink'': Kingston Public Bar and Dining, in Newtown, is typical of the new venues giving locals a place to congregate.James Brickwood

It was a good vintage for the Mornington Peninsula chardonnay but an even better one for the people drinking it.

Sydneysiders were spoilt by a bumper year of small bar openings in 2013 as the city firmly placed itself on the world scene.

Of the 34 hotel, bar and club licenses granted in NSW in the last year, 27 were small bars, the biggest number since new legislation was introduced in 2008.

Catering for fewer than 120 people, the bolthole bars have been acknowledged by local and state governments as promoting a better drinking culture and adding vibrancy to Sydney's neighbourhoods.

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''People are wanting the accessibility of nice things where they live instead of having to go somewhere else,'' said Laura Twomey, who has been pouring Mornington chardonnays and whisky sours at her three-month-old Newtown small bar Kingston Public Bar and Dining. ''We just wanted to create a relaxed, cruisy place to have a drink and something to eat and everyone keeps walking in and saying that they were desperate for something like this in the area.''

Enmore and Newtown had been slow to jump onto the small bar bandwagon but stole the limelight in 2013 with at least eight new bars including New Orleans-themed tavern Earl's Juke Joint and tiny wine shop/bar Cittavino.

The City of Sydney's laneways and small bars business development co-ordinator, Richard Roberts, said Newtown had become the ''new frontier'' as affordable locations in the city became harder to find.

''Newtown was always waiting for great bars, but my understanding is that operators were concerned that customers, given the lower-priced alternatives, would not pay more for drinks in a small bar.''

Innovation and excitement in Sydney's small bar scene has created ripples globally as well, with four bars included in the World's Top 50 list in 2013, the bar industry's equivalent of Michelin stars.

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It was significantly more than the one bar included in 2011 and double the number from Melbourne, the laneway-loving city where the small bar phenomenon began.

''Given we had no small bars to speak of five years ago, it really is amazing,'' said Mr Roberts.

Just months after opening, 44-seater Bulletin Place catapulted itself into the 26th spot. Owner Tim Philips, who creates a daily cocktail list dependent on what fruit and vegetables can be sourced from the markets, said his best is yet to come.

''You want it to be something that people can't help but tell their friends about the next day,'' he said.

Best new bars

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Earl’s Juke Joint
407 King Street, Newtown: Ex-Shady Pines manager Pasan Wijesena’s New Orleans-style tavern is a fine neighbourhood joint with both comfort and cred.

The Lobo Plantation
Basement Lot 1, 209 Clarence St, city: A breath-takingly opulent basement rum bar inspired by Cuban sugar baron Julio Lobo.

Bulletin Place
First Floor, 10-14 Bulletin Place, Circular Quay: Cocktails made market-fresh in a tiny wooden room above a coffee shop.

Mary’s
6 Mary St, Newtown: Brylcreemed bartenders dish out the city’s best burgers with cheap beer and loud music.

The Barber Shop
89 York Street, city: Get a clean shave out the front and an elegant gin cocktail out the back.

Rachel OldingRachel Olding is a reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in the United States.

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