THE CORNER HOUSE
281 Bondi Road, Bondi (02) 8020 6698 thecornerhouse.com.au
Spied: a room of boisterous boys, bottles of beer in hand on a Friday night. Unlike most nights here, they didn’t appear to be locals. The beers, by the way, are craft; the list is changed so frequently it is written up on the wall. About a third of the regulars drink wine, which is ordered into the likes of “safe”, “for the adventurous” and “to impress.” We – my friend Kari and I – couldn’t resist the scrumptious food but chose wisely – vegetarian antipasti – to save our kilojoules for the more important, and even more scrumptious, cocktails from bar manager Ben Blair. He’s a tequila man, so try his incredible Revolucion ($18). We reckon these are some of the best cocktails in Sydney so despite plans that night to go elsewhere, ended up staging a Corner House sit-in until closing.
PLAY BAR
72 Campbell Street, Surry Hills (02) 9280 0885 playbar.com.au
Finally I got to catch up with my friends (MasterChef – The Professionals runner-up) Sarah Knights and (Brooklyn Boy Bagels) Michael Shafran. Gossip – we sure did over a cocktail (or two or three). Playboy (just in the instance of cocktails mind you) was to my liking, before moving on to Hendricks G+Ts. Then Sarah and Michael had a quick spin on the turntables. Open vinyl, Thursday nights are half hour slots for guest DJs – some of whom have never played before. Co-owner Daniel Robertson says that is really exciting, and brings a different energy to the place. Friday night he and his mates DJ with old school 90s NY. Saturday is hip hop, then broken beats, funk and soul. Earlier in the week, Tuesday music is more laid back and Wednesday night is live jazz in the basement bar.
