Records, a cut-throat shave, homewares, retro video games and tailored shirts are just a few of the side orders in Sydney's bars with benefits.
Some things were just meant to be together: whisky and suits; gin and barbers; wine and gorgeous objets. These and more converge in Sydney's new breed of hybrid bars, where innovators mix and match pleasurable pursuits, adding a new dimension to Sydney's drinking landscape. They're the hospitality equivalent of the showbiz triple threat.
Bars with added layers of retail and leisure offer all kinds of justifications for a tipple. If you've ever envisioned sofa shopping enhanced by a glass of red, considered music purchases best accompanied by a craft beer, or thought a haircut somewhat dull without a cocktail in hand, bars with benefits are your new best friend.
East Coast Lounge and Lifestyle
When sisters Christine Housego and Jennifer Barrett planned their first business, they sought to combine Christine's love of interiors with Jennifer's passion for food and drink – and arrived at a very elegant solution: a high-end homewares store and wine bar. Their East Coast Lounge and Lifestyle opened in the heritage Submariners Depot on the headland at Chowder Bay, Mosman, eight months ago, and Housego describes it as "beautiful space for people to enjoy, where we celebrate artisans". Surrounded by harbour views, East Coast Lounge offers an all-Australian (apart from the sparkling) wine and craft beer list in a two-storey late Victorian weatherboard building decked out like a Hamptons beach house.
The best part: all the desirable, handcrafted objects there are for sale, from the largest furniture to the teeniest salt dish. So you can sink into a Stuart Membery sofa, nibble fresh Brasserie Bread and San Daniele prosciutto served on hand-rolled porcelain plates by Chinchin Trader, and dab the crumbs with European Pure Linen napkins while sipping a glass of Antonio Luce Cortese 2013. Then, if you are so inclined, you can take away the sofa, plates, linen, and glasses and maybe throw in a candle and some soap for good measure. You're paying, of course, but with the added frisson of feeling like a polite house burglar.
"We've designed the two rooms to look like the home of a friend with really great taste," says ex-accountant Housego.
This friend has an enviable cellar, too; among the highlights are a biodynamic Cullen Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Merlot from Margaret River; a Battle of Bosworth organic 2012 Shiraz from McLaren Vale, and the range of two brews from Dad and Dave's local brewery, just a few kilometres away in Curl Curl.
Spawn Point Small Bar
Prefer your Negroni with Nintendo? Better head to Spawn Point, a small bar on Clarence Street in the CBD owned by Ben Mudie and his mate Ben Shute. Mudie and Shute, respectively an IT professional and boilermaker by day, shared a love of video gaming that begged to be liberated from the lounge room and merged with a funky little CBD basement bar. Spawn Point (it's a Minecraft term, that is, a gaming thing), boasts 10 consoles featuring a working, largely retro selection of video games, along with an arcade game and hundreds more heritage video games just for display.
"Some are from our personal collection," says Mudie, "and the rest were sourced from enthusiasts' Facebook pages and market stalls."
Drinks from bar manager Nathan Brinskin work unapologetically with the theme; there's Princess Peaches, a vodka, peach schnapps, Chambord and cranberry juice concoction named for the character in Nintendo's Mario franchise, and a cheeky duo of Player One and Player Two cocktails, one tinted bright red with grenadine, and the other vivid Midori green. Cheese plates, wraps and beef jerky complete the affectionately nostalgic, relaxed vibe. Spawn Point is like a teenager's den, with the angst replaced by a good-natured city crowd looking to enjoy the pursuits of their youth. Some come for the games, some the bar, and others both.
The Barber Shop
No-one knew that Sydney bar luminary Mikey Enright had once trained to be a hairdresser – until he announced two years ago that he was opening The Barber Shop, which combines exactly that and a premium gin joint beneath one roof on York Street, at the heart of the CBD's burgeoning cluster of small bar excellence. The barber shop, offering traditional cut-throat shaves, beard trims and buzz cuts, all with a complimentary pilsner or pale ale, occupies the front of the building, with the bar at the rear through an unmarked door.
British-born Enright, formerly bar manager at Merivale, originally intended the bar to service the barber shop as a holding area for clients. But with the country's largest rare and modern gin collection, the city's first gin tap and a staff of some of the most accomplished bartenders in the business, the back half quickly took on a life of its own and has notched up numerous awards. Enright's barber is kept very busy too, and considered one of the best in the country.
"There's a synergy across the businesses," says Enright. "We aim for the same meticulous service in both; it's the ultimate 'modern gent's experience'. Thanks to the small bars in this part of town there's much more of a community, almost village feel – and I think we contribute to that."
Shirt Bar
While Barber Shop is Madmen from the neck up, Shirt Bar takes the gentlemanly concept down to the toes, mixing a whisky and espresso bar with men's shirts, suiting and accessories, plus a shirt range for women.
Of all the store/bar pairings, whisky and luxury menswear is perhaps the most seamless. Shirt Bar owners Adam Hofbauer and Justin and Louka Marmot had cottoned on (pun intended) to its lure back when Don Draper was still on his first marriage. Shirt Bar opened four years ago.
Hofbauer contributed the hospitality background and his own coffee blend, FAT. His childhood friend Marmot, a second-generation shirtmaker, brought the fashion, including his own shirt labels, Ganton and Benson. A fully stocked whisky bar in a dark leather, timber and brass-dominated interior completed the masculine idyll.
"We were the first to try something like this and initially we got strange looks," says Hofbauer. "People asked us: 'What are you?' But we created an inviting space and they warmed to it quickly."
Mojo Record Bar
As friends often do, Daniel McManus and Jon Rutten used to listen to music together over beers. From this seed, a bar combining both passions emerged three years ago, right across York Street from the original vinyl store they frequented.
Mojo sells vinyl out the back and craft beers and cocktails in front in a warmly lit, come-as-you-are small bar just along the road from The Barber Shop. Bar manager Dan Noble believes that bars with a mixed offering are helping to improve Australian drinking culture. "We're moving things towards the European style of drinking, where alcohol is a beneficial complement to other enjoyable activities, rather than something to abuse," he says. At the same time, bars such as Mojo channel "a romantic depiction of Prohibition-era covert drinking haunts, where bars hid behind innocent facades".
Mojo is set for a baby sibling, with the team about to green-light another venue with an extra element, also in the CBD.
More Sydney bars with benefits
Bowls The Greens, North Sydney, and Bondi Bowling Club combine cool cocktail bars and restaurants with traditional lawn bowls.
Art Tatler in Kings Cross is part art gallery, displaying works for sale from Sara Leonardi McGrath's MCLEMOI; NG Art Gallery and Mission Bar and Restaurant in Chippendale sells artworks, wine and food.
Books Read and sip at Sappho Book Shop's Wine and Tapas Bar and Cafe in Glebe, or Berkelouw Wine Bar in Paddington.
Cinema Golden Age Cinema and Bar in Surry Hills is a destination for drinks as well as movies.
Cycles and motorbikes Deus Cafe, Parramatta, brings beer, engine oil and great bites together in a warehouse space.
