Bar Fly

HINKY DINKS
185 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6379 hinkydinks.com.au
“I like a good stir,” bartender Jimmy Irvine retorted when I opened with: “I quite like a good muddle.” Then I saw the sign: cocktails first, questions later. So I ordered. First up I went for the classic improved, a Whisky Cocktail (circa 1876) and learned about one of its ingredients: Dubonnet. I liked it very much. People came and went yet the bar stools and booths remained filled. We settled in. It’s very easy to settle here, and to let the vintage cuteness – black and white floor tiles, 50s booths, melamine accessories (classy not kitsch) – take front row. But the standing ovation has to go to both the cocktails and bar food. I’m a devotee, by the way, of Hinky’s famous pan fried olive and Parmesan sandwich, but more so to perching at the bar and watching Jimmy stir.