Expert recommendations of the best clubs, bars, and other after-dark venues.
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The Basement
“Sydney’s subterranean music hub; somewhere between jazz club and wine bar.”—Andrew P. Street, associate editor, Drum Media magazine. Standout international (Taj Mahal) and local (Vince Jones) performers; also blues, soul, and swing. Tickets from $13. 29 Reiby Place, Circular Quay; tel. +61 2 9251 2797. www.thebasement.com.au
Home
“Shiny, heavily mirrored ‘super club’ with harborside views and bangin’ beats.”—Andrew P. Street. Multilevel, 2,000-capacity club with top-flight international DJs and live bands. Superb sound and light. Admission $22. Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Harbour; tel. +61 2 9266 0600. www.homesydney.com
Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel
“Sydney’s oldest continually licensed pub; thick sandstone walls provide an atmospheric backdrop.”—Peter Dragicevich, author, Lonely Planet’s Sydney City Guide. Dating from 1841; decent bar food; ales and stouts from the on-site microbrewery. 19 Kent Street, The Rocks; tel. +61 2 9251 4044. www.lordnelson.com.au
Opera Bar
Tucked beneath the Opera House concourse on the water’s edge; brilliant for a cocktail or cold beer on a hot Sydney evening. DJs play funk, soul, and jazz grooves nightly. Lower Concourse, Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay East; tel. +61 2 9247 1666. www.operabar.com.au
Slip Inn
“Atmospheric maze of clubby rooms.”—Meg Worby, editor, Lonely Planet’s Sydney Encounter and Sydney & New South Wales guidebooks. All-things-to-all-comers complex of bars; DJs spin funk, Latin, and house. The Crown Prince of Denmark met his Aussie wife here. Admission free-$13. 111 Sussex Street, Sydney; tel. +61 2 8297 7000. www.merivale.com/slipinn
Zeta Bar
Order a grilled fruit cocktail and slip into a white leather lounge suite at the Hilton’s super-cool bar. Dress to impress; expect lines. Level 4, Hilton Sydney, 488 George Street, Sydney; tel. +61 2 9265 6070. www.zetabar.com.au
