It’s time to leave Surry Hills and visit Darlinghurst. The coolest place in town no longer sits amongst the agencies and junkies. Happily you won’t have to tramp too far Sydney’s newest den of iniquity, walk north along Crown until you cross Oxford and the road falls down the hill into Darlinghurst (or the East Village, if you’re trying to be specific.) Right there on the corner of Burton St, you’ll find Pocket Bar.
It seems like everyone is writing about the fact the small bars are about to spring forth all over the city and we are about to enter a new era of drinking pleasure. Pocket is one of the first manifestations of this phenomenon, along with the Pond, Chingalings and Low 302, just a few steps back up the hill.
Pocket offers a gaggle of Frenchmen, assisted by a few great floor staff and an engaging and polite doorman (a real surprise for this city) I loved the cocktail list, where the Manhattan was listed with three base bourbons, at three price points encouraging a level of experimentation and education that has been ignored at most bars. The originals on the list make interesting reading as well, after a short perusal, I went for Cherry Aviations for the boys and the Rossini, which bears more than a passing resemblance to my Tokyo Strawberry Bellini.
The cherry Aviations were good, if a little sweet, but that’s the dominant French style, and since the Aviation is a bit of a personal favourite, I was always going to be looking for issues. The Bellini’s were quickly followed by a second round, and the Manhattan was bang on.
The walls are covered in graf styled illustrations. The place feels good, and the door policy keeps it full but not packed. The food looked great and I’ll be back to get amongst some crepes. Everyone in the place seemed to be drinking bottles of Tiger, which in a country with as good a beer selection as Australia seemed a little odd, but maybe its some hipster insider thing that I’m not privy too.
I liked it and I’m definitely going back.
Find pocket on Google maps here.
Everyday Drinking 