Daily Edit

Get off the couch or bed and tear yourself away from your Netflix and chill sesh, to check out these bars for your next date night. Whether you’re on your first, twentieth or hundredth date, these places in Sydney’s CBD have the drinks and ambience to add some excitement into your night.

Stitch Bar

61 York Street, Sydney

Hidden along York Street, it’s easy to miss this vintage bar. The entrance is decorated with old sewing machines and a dark wooden staircase that will lead you to a candlelit basement. Enjoy a glass of red, a whiskey or a cocktail accompanied by delicious American style diner food. I recommend the Agua Fresca for some tropical fun or for something stronger, the Smoke Signal – not for the faint hearted.

Mojo’s Record Bar

73 York Street, Sydney

Booze, tunes, and rock ‘n’ roll! Located behind a vinyl store, this small bar is the perfect place to relax with a beer or wine in hand. Decorated with vintage posters and records of the most famous bands and singers in the whole world, this bar is guaranteed to play the best tunes.

Kittyhawk

16 Phillip Lane, Sydney

Be transported back in time to Paris in the 1940’s. This cocktail bar and restaurant combines old world charm, with modern French cuisine, to give you the best Parisienne experience. This bar has an extensive drinks list, there is something for everyone! I recommend the Old Boon cocktail with their baked camembert. Head over on a Thursday or Friday night for some live music – sit back, relax and enjoy the tunes.

Uncle Ming’s

Lower Ground, 49 York St, Sydney

Dumplings and cocktails, need I say more! Enjoy intimate dinner and drinks in this funky basement bar. Inspired by the sights and sounds of China, this bar is the perfect place to start off your night. You can’t leave Uncle Ming’s without trying their famous Japanese whiskey & apple juice!

Opera Bar

Macquarie St, Sydney

Looking to experience something a little more fancy? Head over to Sydney’s iconic Opera Bar. With the best views in the city and a busy atmosphere no matter what night of the week, this bar will have you coming back for more.

The Barber Shop

89 York St, Sydney

Cocktails and gin in a trendy speakeasy bar. This is a bar that you wouldn’t know is bar unless through word of mouth, or some in depth research because it’s hidden at the back of an actual barber shop. To get into the bar you have to walk through the shop of hipster hairdressers and slide open a big, metal door. Once inside, be transported to the Roaring Twenties and have drinks mixed by bartenders wearing suspenders, and sporting a French moustache.

Bulletin Place

Level 1/10-14 Bulletin Place, Sydney

Voted the best cocktails in Sydney, this bar is a no brainer! Friendly bartenders create weekly original and creative cocktail specials that will shock your tastebuds.

Lobo Plantation

1/209 Clarence Street, Sydney

The entrance to this Caribbean-themed bar is rather inconspicuous, as there is no actual sign out the front. Walking down the spiral staircase you will be taken all the way to vibrant Cuba. Try one, or two, or three of their 250 different types of rum!

Grandma’s

275 Clarence Street, Sydney

This hidden kitsch bar offers yummy, creative cocktails like their Peanut Butter Colada. Another selling point is that all the bartenders wear colourful printed Hawaiian shirts, now that’s a sight to see!

Hacienda

61 Macquarie Street, Sydney

Inspired by the hotels of 1950’s Miami, this bar specialises in rum inspired cocktails overlooking the famous Harbour Bridge. Drinks with a view? What more could you ask for?

Words by Tamara Bose