The Sydney Morning Herald logo
Advertisement

Brooklyn Social

Rachel Olding

Hits the spot: Brooklyn Social rocks, even during the week.
Hits the spot: Brooklyn Social rocks, even during the week.Michele Mossop

$$

Everyone has their list of reliable go-to bars, somewhere you know will suit most occasions - a few drinks with a small group, an easy dinner, a decent date spot, a sure-fire bet after work.

I'm predicting Brooklyn Social will become one of those places.

At the moment, however, what it isn't is a place that's easy to get in to. Barhop's first attempt on a Friday night involved queuing in the cold for 20 minutes before giving up. The second attempt was on a Monday, just to be safe. Even then, half the tables were full. Word travels fast.

Advertisement
The Myrtle Ave smash cocktail.
The Myrtle Ave smash cocktail.Michele Mossop

But once you're in, Brooklyn Social is a good, down-to-earth neighbourhood hangout. Scrappy rock'n'roll pictures are plastered on the tartan walls. The menu is fast-and-easy diner stuff. The room is just a few long benches and smaller tables. The jukebox is belting out Velvet Underground. And it's open late every night.

The service and quality vary, depending on how busy it is, but it's hard to get a round of Brooklyn lagers and some curly fries desperately wrong.

On a busy night, it's probably not worth delving into the cocktail menu, which is inventive and intriguing, but has hits and misses even on a quiet night.

It is divided by New York City boroughs. Head to the Bronx for strong, dark cocktails, Manhattan for something sweeter and Queens for gin and more gin (40 of them, in fact, with Hendrick's the house pour).

Advertisement

A Spring St Crusta (Scotch whisky, blood-orange liqueur, cherry jam, lemon, sugar rim, $17) is punchy and delicious, but the mix in the Myrtle St Smash (Fords gin, lemon myrtle liqueur, watermelon, thyme, rhubarb bitters, $17) is somehow wrong. It's too heavy on gin, herbs and lemon, making it less smashing and more soap-like.

Wines include some nice Old and New-World drops from master sommelier Sebastien Crowther and, beer-wise, Brooklyn Lager is on tap year round.

The American menu by former London Fields and Chur Burger chef Mikey Canavan won't surprise any Sydneysider who has been out in the past two years. It's big burgers, ribs, fried chicken and hot dogs, with a heart attack served on the side.

The only salads are a creamy slaw or potato salad and the snacks are seriously battered. Think fried mac and cheese balls (surprisingly good, $6) and onion rings. It's all decent, diet-killing stuff.

The barbecue pork ribs ($28 for a half rack) hit a good meat-to-fat ratio and the quarter pounder is stacked with ground wagyu, American cheddar, dill pickles, onions and Brooklyn Social's special sauce for a satisfying $14.

Advertisement

No one is going to be throwing around ''best food and drink in Sydney'' tags, but Brooklyn Social is an all-round good-time spot. In the coming months, co-owners Ben May, Raul Gonzales and David Freeman, who have manned almost every nightclub in Sydney, from the Back Room to Mrs Sippy, will open the second stage of their ''the Hills'' empire beneath the bar.

Neither District Dining nor Mexico Food & Liquor lasted in this seemingly cursed Randle Street spot, but we're hoping things rock on a little longer here.

THE LOW-DOWN
YOU'LL LOVE IT IF … you want an easy dive bar to rock on at.
YOU'LL HATE IT IF … you come for a sit-down dinner on a busy night.
GO FOR … Brooklyn Lager, Spring St Crusta, curly fries.

Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.

Sign up

From our partners

Advertisement
Advertisement