Sydney

Bungalow 8

Tiki bar meets restaurant meets nightclub. Chill out during the day, party by night.

Cantina OK

Small bar specialising in mezcal and cocktails, which has appeared twice on The World’s 50 Best Bars list.

Cargo Bar & Lounge

Perennially packed waterside bar. Caters for a diverse crowd, from younger party-goers to after-work business types, and tourists. Hard to feel out of place there.

Coogee Bay Hotel

On a summer's day it is a great place to enjoy a relaxed drink or meal. There's an outdoor beer garden which is popular in summer, and kept warm in winter by outdoor heaters. In the evenings, it can get more lively, with live music, and a younger crowd of backpackers, locals and visitors from around Sydney.

Covent Garden Hotel

A local institution. Usually busy, a mix of the after work crowd, tourists, and people in town for a night out. Gets very busy before some shows at the Entertainment centre. It has been renovated in modern style, and struggling a little to recapture the former vibe.

El Rocco/Bar Me

Sydney's oldest jazz cellar once played host to the likes of Sarah Vaughan and Frank Sinatra. Now it has a small friendly bar upstairs and a downstairs room with regular performances of music, cabaret and comedy. Get some pizza from Bash, the Syrian guy next door.

Daily 5PM-midnight

Home

Purpose-built "international super nightclub". Big and international with a cover charge of at least $10 to match.

Imperial Hotel

The Imperial, 5 minutes from the heart of Newtown is a gay and lesbian pub and nightclub which features entertainment late Th-Sa. This pub was featured in the opening scene of 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'.

Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel

Established in 1842 in this very sandstone building on the corner of Kent Street and Argyle Street, just far enough away from the Rocks to avoid the worst of the tourist crush, the Lord Nelson is Sydney's oldest pub that has been continually operating in the same premises. They're particularly well known for their microbrews including their flagship Three Sheets pale ale and Nelson's Blood porter. The downstairs pub is popular and has a decent range of food like pies, while the bistro upstairs has fancier fare. Popular, but usually not so crowded on a weeknight that you can't get a table.

Metro Theatre

The metro, in the cinema district near Town Hall, is a live music venue for Australian and overseas acts. Usually standing room only, and active mosh pit at the front, with an active vibe.

Pontoon Bar

Nice views, good on a summer afternoon or warm evening. Busy on Friday and Saturday nights. Basic Australian barbecue food, not too pricey, sausages and salad, etc. Upstairs from Pontoon is the Wallaby Bar, but there is no wildlife, just tributes to the Australian Rugby Union team all around the room. However don't expect a quiet place to watch the rugger, it is a very busy location, with a young crowd, and queues on Friday and Saturday nights.

Pumphouse Bar & Restaurant

Around 10 beers draught on tap, and around 100 available in total. Modern faux-rustic in style, attracts a young after work crowd. Generally busy, but even more after work on a Friday evening. Balcony restaurant upstairs. Pizza served in the bar area. View out onto the courtyard, good for people watching but no water views.

Noon - late·Beer from $6 to $30 bottle, pizza around $28, mains in restaurant around $30

Pyrmont Bridge Hotel

Simple, no fuss establishment, popular with the locals and hospitality workers in the area as well. Notable for operating round the clock every day; can get quite rowdy at night after other venues close and hardcore drinkers migrate here.

Open now · open 24 hours

Slip Inn

Very popular pub. Serves food as well, but worth making a reservation if you intend to eat there.

Small Bar

The ambience is set up by beautiful fairy lights in the outdoor courtyard. There is a decent variety of craft beers and Australian and international wines.

The Bavarian

Reasonable selection of German craft beers though it gets noisy and crowded at peak times.

Mon-Fri 7:30AM-10PM, Sat 9AM-10PM, Sun 10AM-10PM

The Brewery

Under the Novotel Hotel, corner of Olympic Boulevard and Dawn Fraser Avenue. A pub with a bistro and live sports on 12 screens. Live entertainment on Fridays. Open from 11AM into the night. A quiet and pleasant spot for a drink and a feed on any normal day of the week. On event days, they get out their plastic glasses, security fences, and seats are at a premium. Arrive near to event time and expect a queue to get in.

3 Wise Monkeys Pub

The 3 Wise Monkeys is a very popular pub with a younger crowd, only a block south of Town Hall station in the cinema district. It has live music seven nights a week.

AB Hotel

formerly the Ancient Briton

This hotel has just undergone major renovations and is looking great with a Russian theme inside. The AB claims to have Sydney's coldest beer on tap. It's a large and not terribly crowded local pub with pool tables, couches and a bar made out of a fishtank. Cajun food is served daily, about $15 mains including Jambalaya, fried chicken, fish cakes and sweet potato pie.

Bank Hotel

This is an enormous pub only 2 minutes walk from Newtown train station. Wednesday night is lesbians' night. Look out for half-priced cocktails early in the night and cheap jugs of beer. Level access and lift, disabled toilet on lower ground floor.

Chelsea Hotel

Mostly catering to the after-work crowd and locals, has low priced meals.

Fortune of War

Makes a claim to be Sydney's oldest pub and continuously licensed since 1830. A wide range of beers on tap, including Guinness and a variety of Australian brews. Very popular amongst office workers and can get cosy in the evenings and at weekends, not helped by its small size.

Gilroy's

Friendly Irish pub catering to a mostly professional clientèle. The upstairs restaurant serves large meals, has comfortable seating and TV screens to keep an eye on the current sporting events.

Gilt Lounge Bar

In QT Sydney Hotel, opened 2013. Extensive wine and cocktail list in modern eames-style setting.

From 5PM

Great Northern Hotel

The Great Northern has a friendly outdoor beer garden, and serve generous steak dinners.

Hero of Waterloo

Built in 1843, this sandstone and timber pub has a great colonial ambiance

Hotel Maroubra (Maroubra Junction Hotel)

Another great place for live bands, watching sports and having a drink with your mates.

Maroubra Seals Sports & Community Club

The dining area contains a bar and bistro which sell relatively cheap drinks. It also features the Breezes Bar, which has great views of the beach.

O Bar

Spectacular views over Sydney from this revolving bar at the top of the 1970s iconic Australia Square office tower, a stylish makeover of the old Summit Restaurant. Designer cocktails while the entire level revolves slowly over 90 minutes. Floor to ceiling windows means that you can gaze from your Kubrick-2001-inspired seating and decor to the city below. Consistently highly reviewed. Cocktails average $20 a glass.

5PM-midnight

Oaks Hotel

This relaxed and popular pub has a large interior and beer garden centred around a large oak. You can purchase raw meat to be barbecued, and there is also a pizza kitchen.

Mon-Wed 10AM to midnight, Thu-Sat 10AM to 1:30AM, Sun noon to midnight