Oh Beejay's. I really really want to love your guts. I really do…read more But if we are gonna have a good relationship there needs to be a few ground rules. First, teasing me by putting the famous cocktail 'The Aviation', on the menu, and then the very next time and every time after that, never EVER having Maraschino liqueur in stock again, and then taking it off the menu? Well sorry, it just isn't good enough. Sure, I once requested Don the Beach Comber's Zombie cocktail, back when you used to be cool, and would take requests for things that werent written down... and seemingly you liked it, and put a ring on it ( or at least put it on the regular menu) I can totally see why, because you know, It's a really tasty and amazing drink, best served in a Tiki mug... wait a sec... Oh man, you've gone and changed the glassware. I just cant abide it, OK? I have to say, I think it's you, not me. And it was too soon in our romance for you to go and change everything like that. Old Grandad's gold rimmed whiskey tumblers are no place for an espresso martini, and frankly, i think you know it. What were you thinking? Your tables, my God, your tables. If you insist on having your waitresses constantly shuffle from the bar to the Kitchen to the back courtyard, at least give them some room! There is seriously nothing more irritating than having the back of your chair knocked by a butt or a knee by someone trying to take drinks to another table. And what is with the kid's bicycle theme? I give up. I wanted to love you Beejay's. I wanted you to be my place of respite from the madding crowd, Sadly, it's over. Im going to make cocktails at home from now on. I even made my own Violette Liqueur, because I was that desperate. ( Ps: You can get Maraschino from Dan Murphys.. just sayin)

Did Marrickville ever need this. The gentrification continues…read more.. Beejays started as just another cafe. Like there weren't enough coffee shops here now. But it did well, and the young owner was told that an evening wine bar would also do well, so now it does that as well. And it does both well. It's a small space, with a street-facing counter for a quick coffee, a few tables, and a semi-private booth in front; a long corridor past the kitchen and storerooms; and then a small funky courtyard in back. I've been for breakfast and found it fun and tasty. My salsa eggs, with spicy diced tomato-y bits and salty halloumi, were a fine breakfast. I've been for drinks and found it very relaxed, and with a big and interesting list of wines (by glass and bottle), beers (imported bottles), and cocktails (2 for 1 Hendricks gin sours? sure!). Shared with some warm spiced olives, and you've got yourself a very happy hour. We had one incident where coffees were forgotten during a breakfast order, but other than that service has been exemplary: very friendly, and not in a fake way. Super neighbourhood cafe/bar.

Wow, so many great bars in such a small area. This has to be the inner city of Sydney (or…read moreMelbourne, but no, it is Sydney). This is one of those bars, and even though they didn't have a great range of beers, they still have a decent enough selection to make this place worthwhile. I guess it is one of those places that simply have that atmosphere about it that gives it a real electric feel. Yep, this place is actually pretty awesome, and certainly a place I'd have not hesitation in returning to.

Arcadia opened last Friday, and it's already apparent that these guys are pros. Pros with beards…read more One is quiet, one of them never stops talking. He used to run The Old Fitz in Woolloomooloo. After several months of hammering shit together and an injury or two, these two fellas have found their Arcadia, and joined the Sydney small bar scene. Arcadia is right near that really ugly sculpture on the corner of Redfern & Regent. When you walk in, the light is warm (maybe a little too bright?) and the place is decked out delightfully: exposed bricks, rustic metal chairs, stunning glass mirrors (from Rozelle markets), and a back patio area full of well tended plants. It's a gorgeous garden space, and yes, this does provide a spot for smokers. The bar itself is large & wooden), with the bar stools just a tiny bit too low. Like The Dock nearby, this is a place where it's fine to linger at the bar all night, chatting with the owners. It's a spacious place, and we spotted an upstairs - though didn't venture up there on this visit. There are 2 beers on tap (Coopers & a crisp German Larger of some description), and right now they've printed up their wine list, with the cocktail menu still in the works. Actually that's quite good because you can ask the guys for classic cocktails & they're happy to oblige (at approx $12, depending on what you order). The Old Fashioneds were excellent, and mixed with precision & humour. You can order food from Wah Fung (across the road) and eat it in the bar, and they'd probably let you bring in a Vietnamese roll from that little place nearby. It's pretty laid back. All in all, this place is excellent, and will most likely get rather busy on weekends. I almost wanted to give it a bad review just so we can keep it to ourselves.

Came in on a Tuesday night with a fairly large group. Was pretty empty besides us. Super hipster…read morebar with a dark seediness to it. Both bartenders were quick, courteous, and gave awesome recommendations. I usually drink beer but since this was more of a cocktail bar, I started with a margarita. I asked for the basic, but the bartender quickly tried to get me to try the jalapeno margarita. I was quick to decline since I'm not into jalapeno or spicy drinks. The drink was mixed and strained into a martini glass... didn't seem to be as full as it should have been, but I wasn't upset. Drink tasted great, not too strong, too sweet, or too tart. I noticed lots of people getting the freshly pressed apple drinks, so I decided to try one. When in Rome, er, Newtown.... Asked for the Sailor Jerry and apple, but once again, the bartender was quick to recommend something different. He wanted me to try JD Tennessee Fire and apple. I know it's like Fireball, which I hate, but he was very persistent with his glowing recommendation, so I obliged. I'm glad I did, because it was delicious. You could only taste a hint of the whiskey, but mixed in with the fresh apple juice - which had a nice frothy foam on top - it was like cinnamon spiced apple sauce. Yum! If you don't listen to the bartender's advice, listen to mine! Prices? Eh, it's Sydney, not cheap. It is what it is. In the end, very pleased with my visit. Kind of annoying that both times I asked for a drink, they tried to convince me to make me something else (must have been competing on a promo or something), but hey, their advice was sound and if I didn't listen, I would't have had my delicious applesauce drink!

Great little bar to catch up with friends or to kill time!…read more Bartender is very chilled and down to earth, very hospitable. Lots of beer choices as well as wine, fresh apple juice to go with your vodka for those on a health kick ;) First time visit and already I feel at home. If your in the area stop by for a beer and some hot dogs.

Amazing food and service With a great atmosphere. Would highly recommend. Will definitely go back…read moreagain.

Multiple visits for lunch and dinner. It never disappoints! Service, drink and food has been on…read morepar. My favourite dish is the BBQ skewers( see my pic)

This place is fantastic…read more It's a teeny tiny wine bar with a spectacular retro feel. It's all sumptuous vintage, plush antique chairs upstairs, a book case and vinyl records you can play. And of course great wine, and also friendly staff and patrons. Perfection.

I dont know why I havent come in, as a very very local person, to The Temperance society until now,…read moreon a whim as a really half arsed attempt by the husband and I at doing the whole valentines thing. Booze brings us together. Wow. This place is very cool. The staff are rather boisterous which brings down to earth, what could easily be a very snobby little locale ( only because of the the high class booze and all those chesterfields and floor to ceiling bookshelves - sploosh) Not having a good sample to go by, this place seems a go to for girls nights, and the night I visited there was a medium sized group of ladies cutting loose and not caring who heard their hollerin. Wine is a gal's best friend and I watched as they palmed off a would be suitor with nothing more than a glance. Heros. Wine by the glass in big bowled wine glasses with a great selection, and Elvis who I presume is the owner, knows his tipples. My pick of the eve was the Alto Monte - $14 a glass but by George that wine is as delightful as a magical miniature new born fawn prancing across your tongue on a rainbow. Food is basically nibbles. Sharing platters: a cheese one, a meat and cheese one and a Vego one with Cashew cheese. Toasties including one with Brie, cranberry and Rabbit terrine. Delicious. Anyone can google the origin of the name of this place, and I think it does every justice to the moniker. I think this may become my regular hangout.

I have walked past this pub numerous times and honestly, I wasn't really expecting all that much…read morefrom it, but it turned out to be much better than I expected. Okay, it was coming from a pretty low base, but it still ended up being a pretty decent place to grab a beer. Actually, I suspected that it was simply going to be a pokies pub, but it ended up being much more than that, and even had some decent beers on tap as well. This place turned out to be pretty good.

Bar flys rejoice, you'll find a happy home here... with all your brethren…read more Don't be fooled by the decor, the Haymarket is a low brow sports bar styled similarly to Cheers which is a block away up the same street. There's not a great deal to like here. Where Cheers has character, they seem to have gone out of their way here to *not* have it. I literally visited the Haymarket once with a co-worker to have the $12 steak and beer lunchtime special (it's all day everyday which alone is worthy of a star and gets it out of 1 territory), and I never came back. Whilst the price is in the sweet spot, the steak is definitely the lower end of the spectrum and if you choose medium rare, expect to get medium to well. The beer tasted like how beer tastes when lines aren't clean, and you twist your neck and make that funny face as the "not quite right" flavour hits your tastebuds. The staff are too familiar and entitled, which makes things worse because it means the lazy service is ingrained in their psyche - there's no manager training them out of their bad habits. They act like they are doing you a favour, rather than their job, which is arguably the most annoying trait to be found in hospitality staff. Places like this are the reason I am glad we don't have a tipping culture, and why I almost never tip at a bar, even 10 cents. Your job is to pour beer and clean tables, if you do one badly and the other not at all, and you get paid $20-25/hour, why am I tipping you? You should be getting paid $10/hour and working your ass off to earn the tips to make up that extra $10-15/hour. When you don't finish your beer, and don't order another one, it's pretty clear that you didn't enjoy yourself. Lots of work to do double H. Lots of work. Train those staff... ASAP.

I guess the main problem with this pub is that it is so far out of the way, almost bordering on the…read moredocks. Then again, it does have some charm, particularly with regards to the beers on tap, and the beer garden outside. I actually didn't mind this place at all, despite having travelled on quite a few buses to actually get here. Sure, it isn't one of my favourites, and I can't see myself being a regular here, but it is still rather nice.

Botany Bay is iconic. It is the location of Captain Cook's first landing. Since this time and the…read moredevelopment of Australia, the area has seen a lot of buildings rise up in the area. The Botany Bay hotel, close to the ports, was established in 1865 and known as one of the oldest hotels in the Eastern suburbs but it has recently undergone stylish renovations inside by the Publica group (known for Goldfish in the Hunter Valley and Henry's in Cronulla) The bar has plenty of beers of tap, a wide range of wines and they also do a good cocktail. I had a nice espresso martini as well as a wine or two. You can socialize with your friends at the public bar which has sports on TV, and Keno as well as sports bet. There's also a pokies area. The executive chef Raf Tonon has put together a lovely bistro menu with a great variety of food and a brand new pizza oven in a shipping container. From the entrees list they offer foods such as chicken wings, Haloumi, Calamari, Fried Polenta, croquettes as well as some Asian influences in the dumplings and Sang Choi Bao. We ordered mains on this occasion and absolutely loved the gnocchi with confit cherry tomato, buffalo mozzarella and basil. It was extremely tasty and perfectly cooked gnocchi. We also selected a salad that was a picture of art on the plate. Our salad was the beetroot, quinoa, smoked goats curd, sorrel and burnt onion dressing. It was just delightful. If these options aren't your fancy, there are burgers, fish and chips and steaks, just to name a few. There's also a pizza oven serving traditional pizzas made using the Italian method established in 1885. You can order these to eat in or takeaway. We watched these being made, and amazingly they came out in only 5 minutes, with a nice light dough and fresh toppings. We tried the Capricciosa with tomato sauce, mozzarella, mushroom, ham, olives and artichoke. They run weekly specials each night so keep an eye out for that, as well as happy hour and Karaoke on a Saturday night. This has some top food and is perfectly suitable to any guests, including families.

The Charlie Bar is an old friend with a new face having had a complete overhaul in 2009 it is now a…read morepleasant space to have a drink that takes advantage of its location with lots of sunshine, hanging seats and bi-folding doors that can open to take the sea air in. Not that it wasnt before though in this area of beautiful furniture it used to be the tiles that we pounded for live bands. It's a great place to linger and at night it comes alive with music and dancing. The cocktails are great though I advise you get them made at the bar that is near the hotel reception as the young ladies and men in the Charlie Bar can get run off their feet looking for all those numbers on tables who have ordered drinks. Verdict: Sane and classy outfit to enjoy a wonderful afternoon into the evening.

Charlie Bar is a newcomer on the Manly nightlife scene, but has certainly made a place for itself…read morein the hearts of many locals. Located on the bottom floor of the Novotel Hotel Manly, it's what you'd expect in a bar affiliated with a high-end hotel: it's chic and sleek, a definite step up from some of Manly's other night life. The bar is beautiful - white-tiled floors, exposed wood and my favourite, chairs that hang from the ceiling. You've gotta be quick for these bad boys - every person in the bar has a quiet eye on them, looking for an opportunity to pounce! The drinks are pretty standard, and of a pretty normal price. If you're in Manly of an afternoon, head to happy hour for $5 beers, wine and champagne. Charlie Bar attracts a youngish, well dressed and well coiffed crowd who love a drink and a dance - on Saturday nights, what was seating becomes a dancefloor. Unlike the crowded dance floors of elsewhere in Manly, this is the perfect place to have a boogy with your girlfriends!