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Just Open: This Must Be the Place, Darlinghurst

Callan Boys
Callan Boys

New arrivals: Owners Luke Ashton (left) and Charlie Ainsbury at their new bar.
New arrivals: Owners Luke Ashton (left) and Charlie Ainsbury at their new bar.Janie Barrett

Hey, look! It's a new bar that isn't serving whisky-based cocktails in a room full of taxidermy moose heads and prohibition-era paraphernalia.

This Must Be the Place has opened in Oxford Street, helmed by two blokes who know their craft, Luke Ashton (ex Vasco) and Charlie Ainsbury (ex Eau de Vie). In 2013, Ashton won $100,000 to go towards opening his own bar after being crowned Diageo Reserve World Class Australia bartender of the year. Ainsbury was awarded the same title a year later.

The bar is a breath of clean air in Darlinghurst, heavy on blond wood and white walls and looking more like a Scandinavian cafe than a Sydney bar.

This Must Be the Place is open from the early afternoon.
This Must Be the Place is open from the early afternoon.Janie Barrett
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"We're going to be open from three o'clock in the afternoon to utilise the space," Ashton says. "It's a nice, bright, light room. We don't want a disconnect between the bar and the customer.

"We wanted to diverge away from that dark, brooding, speakeasy-style bar and do something fresh that echoes the cocktails we're going to be making."

This Must Be the Place will have a strong focus on lower-alcohol, wine-based spritz cocktails. "We kind of see it as a direction people's tastes are moving in," he says, "wanting all the flavour, but not necessarily all the alcohol that comes with the more classically styled cocktails.

"It also comes down to a better price point as well. One of the things Charlie and I disliked about the industry was people getting priced out of buying cocktails and saying, 'Oh, I'll just have a beer', when that wasn't really what they wanted to drink. They just weren't willing to invest $22 in a cocktail they might or might not enjoy."

The pair have made a conscious effort to steer away from Aperol and Campari at first to broaden the idea of what a spritz cocktail can be. One cocktail is made with watermelon-infused riesling with strawberry vinegar syrup, Ketel One citrus vodka and rosewater. Another creation involves sherry, Tanqueray No. Ten gin, and fresh lemon juice, topped with prosecco and garnished with wild basil. Spritz cocktails are priced at about $14.

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For those who prefer something stronger, such as a sazerac or negroni, Ashton and Ainsbury are "most definitely" happy to accommodate, and a small selection of bar snacks is available, made off site.

A second level, due to open mid-year, will feature heavier concoctions. However, in the meantime, this is definitely the place to see out the last afternoons of summer.

239 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, (02) 9331 8063

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Callan BoysCallan Boys is editor of SMH Good Food Guide, restaurant critic for Good Weekend and Good Food writer.

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