Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Hemmesphere

Address: Level 4, 252 George St, Sydney

It all started here

I know that I should be only posting reviews on bars that I am yet to visit but this one deserves a special mention, as the cocktails from here are some of the best I have had and one is the theme to this page.

I took a friend out for their birthday, we both have a taste for Japanese food and fine cocktails and Hemmesphere was the perfect location as it is on the same floor as Sushi e (a fabulous sushi restaurant).

The first time I came here, was actually with the same friend quite a number of years ago when I first moved to Sydney. This is where my taste for cocktails was born... we had discovered the Lotus Martini. The problem was they were so good we kept ordering them, forgetting the fact that we would get the bill at the end. When we went to close off our tab we realised that while we had enough money to pay for them, we would be eating rice and water crackers for the next week. Luckily for us we have moved on from those times and learnt a valuable lesson… we needed better jobs to fund our lifestyles.

The bar is located in the same complex as Establishment, so ladies when you arrive remember to quickly move past the sleazy suits lurking around the ground floor bar and catch the lift to level 4.

As the doors open you will hear the mellow sounds of lounge and soulful beats. This bar whispers high class sophistication and elegance, the table service is polished and young and the décor – lush and gorgeous, reminiscent of a traditional cigar lounge, furnished with low, comfortable lounges and oversized ottomans making it perfect for cosy conversations.

It’s a bar I dream of owning, just so I can play host, eat sushi everyday and finish the night off on a comfortable burgundy lounge with a Lotus Martini.






Martini rating: 1 – 5 scale




See for yourself: http://www.merivale.com/#/establishment/hemmesphere

Hemmesphere on Urbanspoon

Monday, October 25, 2010

Gazebo Wine Garden

Address: 2 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay


‘Wine is the cause and solution to all of life’s problems’

I received an email from a friend… “keen to have a few cocktails and play some bocce on Sunday?”
Yes. I. Am (well I wasn’t really, I just placed a scarf over the work that had been piling up over the last few weeks and pretended it wasn’t there).

Not actually knowing what bocce was and not having time to google it, I thought it may be wise to downgrade my usual 4 inch heels to 3 – a girl can’t be too uncomfortable if there’s going to be sporting activities involved.

I arrive, it starts to rain, bocce is cancelled (oh well), so my friends and I settle in to this largely alfresco venue. It’s cramped, noisy and rustic but still manages to have a relaxed, friendly ambience.

Gazebo has both an older sister, the Winery bar, and a younger sister, Manly Wine, and like me being a middle child we tend to be a little bit different and need to find our own pride of place. So Gazebo has its own sense of style, with its eclectic furniture settings, from wrought-iron gates, bird cages, oversized roses, live plants growing behind the bar and randomly a shoe wearing fox on the ceiling and collages of the royal family with their heads attached to poodles, which I wasn’t to fond of… they should of at least been corgis.

Somehow though it seems to all come together to be a charming, distinctly French garden bar that is the perfect location for a late afternoon gathering to catch-up, gossip and enjoy the $15 jugs of sangria and Pimms.






Martini rating: 1 – 5 scale





See for yourself: http://thegazebos.com.au/gazebo/


Gazebo Wine Garden on Urbanspoon

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Absinthe Salon

Address: 87 Albion Street, Surry Hills


Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder

I had been looking forward to testing out Absinthe Salon having recently been turned back for not having a booking on a Friday night and my usual effort of smiling and trying to talk my way in didn’t pay off. So I booked for 4 and 2 weeks later my companions and I head down.

I had imagined that the bar would be full of Goths and Emo’s, so I wear black for the occasion. We arrive on a dark corner and ring the doorbell, they let us in, for a moment I feel like I am doing something illegal – which makes it that little bit more exciting. We are then led through the reception out to the back, where tables are scattered around the room, each one with a different absinthe ‘fountain’.

As the name would suggest the only thing on the menu is absinthe, a small selection from France, Switzerland, Germany and Spain is on offer, and with us all being novice absinthe drinkers we let the host decide on our selection.

Our drinks are poured and we are told to take a sugar cube, place it on the slotted spoon, slowly turn the fountain tap on and let the water drip until dissolved, I feel like I am taking part in some 19th century ritual.

For you singletons out there this could make a great first date location as if the conversation stalls you can always focus on the ‘ritual’ you are taking part in… and you are only allowed 3 drinks so if your night isn’t going as expected, just drink quickly and you can make an easy escape.

As with the drink itself the Absinthe Salon will not be for everyone, but as I’m not one for routine and love to try something new, I can definitely recommend a visit at least once.







Martini rating: 1 – 5 scale




See for yourself: www.absinthesalon.com.au

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Water Bar

Address: Blue Hotel, 6 Cowper Wharf Rd, Woolloomooloo

 


Will Bond be there tonight?

I love a good hotel bar, it’s the feeling I have when I walk into one like I am on holidays (even if I have just left the office) or maybe it’s because for a moment I pretend I’m a girl in a classic Bond Movie and a young Sean Connery will approach me in his tuxedo with a classic Martini and introduce himself. So when it was suggested that I go and discover Water Bar at Blue Hotel in Woolloomooloo I instantly clapped my hands together and thought “this will be fabulous!!”

A friend and I jumped into a taxi for a cheeky mid week evening cocktail. Knowing that Water Bar had previously been rated a 'top ten bar in the world' by Conde Naste Traveller our expectations where high.

We arrive, the car door is opened for us, we head to the top of the stairs leading up from the hotel entrance and walk into a stunning open space. I wished this place was my apartment, it's inviting, illuminated by candles and chandeliers and the stylish furnishings are arranged into little living room-like areas. We are approached by an attractive waitress who shows us to our lounge.

 Now, I’m not a fan of looking at menus and in some cases even ordering for myself (I think it is the 1930’s house wife in me, I just need to learn to cook, bake, sew…) so I ask the attractive waitress for her recommendation.

 She sits down politely, “do you prefer a gin or vodka base”, “sweet or sour”, "what type of glass do you prefer”… have I just found my new best friend. The cocktails we have are FABULOUS, however being the civilised people we are, my friend and I leave after a couple (or 3) and I head back to my real apartment.

A downside to the bar, like many hotel bars, is that it lacks a bit of atmosphere but as another one of my “rules” is “sometimes it doesn’t matter where you go, it’s the company you go with” I suggest heading down with a good friend / boyfriend / wife / husband / lover to enjoy the comforts of Water Bar.






Martini rating: 1 – 5 scale

See for yourself: http://www.waterbaratblue.com/

Water Bar on Urbanspoon

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Grasshopper

Address: Temperance Lane, Sydney (off George St between King and Market, Next to RM Williams)


A welcome addition to Sydney's bar scene or just a noisy insect?

With Grasshopper recently being crowned the Best Small Bar in Australia, and a number of great reviews since its opening earlier this year, I thought it would be the perfect location to kick off my bar discovery. So I headed down with a couple of friends for a well deserved after work beverage.

We are greeted by a handsome staff member (points here ladies), who informs us that food is served upstairs and that there is only one beer (Peroni) available, as I am not a beer drinker this is of no real concern to me and my two friends also don’t seem to mind.

We head downstairs to the bar, past the crowds sitting outside on milk crates, I look around as I wait for my drink, I don’t mind that it is crowded, the staff are friendly and the quirky mismatched furniture adds character, however my opinion quickly turns as we are handed our drinks.

Now I tend to live my life with rules and mottos, usually my own set, one of these being “Everything taste better in nice glasses” (in my case preferably a champagne flute or martini glass) so being served a cocktail in a vegemite jar and bubbles in a plastic wine glass, while sitting on a milk crate in a small alley surrounded by rubbish bins may be enjoyable for some… it isn’t for me.

The bar is located down Temperance Lane, unseen from George St. This seems to be one of its better qualities, as being hidden down a narrow alleyway makes it ever so easy to stroll past and pretend it isn’t there.







Martini rating: 1 – 5 scale




See for yourself: http://www.thegrasshopper.com.au/

Grasshopper on Urbanspoon