Roxy, Parramatta The best-looking nightclub in Sydney, with its fantastic Spanish Mission foyer, cocktail bar and front courtyard bar. The pumping music is often augmented with live percussion.
Its amazing art-deco theatre rivals the Enmore Theatre as the grandest rock venue in Sydney. Pete Murray plays tonight.
Penrith RSL Panthers is dead - long live the Penrith RSL. Since the nightclub known as Reactor One went through meltdown, the self-proclaimed world of entertainment isn't so entertaining. The RSL gets our vote for the best carpet in Sydney: it's like a Ken Done painting on acid. The RSL is getting 2000 punters through the door for its nights on Friday and Saturday, mixing it up with bands and DJs. In October, it plays host to Aussie bands Magic Dirt, Gyroscope and Faker.
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AdvertisementRevesby Workers' Club They must be doing well in Revesby because it has probably the most schmick workers' club in the world. It also brings some of the best live music to south-western Sydney. Saturday it's Oz-rock legends (Darryl) Cotton, (Jim) Keays and (Russell) Morris; next Friday, English soul man Roachford's tour of Sydney's suburbs drops by.
Luna Park Where else can you ride dodgems with rock stars? Management put the two uses of the site together perfectly for the Come Together Festival, which featured Australia's best up-and-coming bands, as well as You Am I. On October 20, catch wacky Americans Eels playing with a seven-piece band, a string quartet and a bloke playing a saw.
LIVE MUSIC VENUES
Metro Theatre, city Who'd have thought that a cinema would make such a great music venue? The layout makes it one of the best in which to see bands. It also gets most of the touring bands. This weekend, English acts Maximo Park and Roots Manuva play (see page 21). The foyer has the best chandelier in Sydney. No swinging, please. 624 George Street.
Hopetoun Hotel, Surry Hills Catch just about every up-and-coming band in Australia for next to no money at the (sometimes too) cosy Hopetoun. Triple J Unearthed winner Sophie Koh plays Friday for $8 (see page 21). Some bands return after they've reached the top. You Am I frontman Tim Rogers plays Thursday.416 Bourke Street.
The Vanguard, Newtown Just as the arse was falling out of Newtown's live music scene, Jon Cass created a purpose-built venue. It has the best food of any music venue and attracts the most intriguing artists. On Thursday, hear Canadian Hawksley Workman (CD review, page 22), supported by Aussie indie rock gods David McCormack and Peter Fenton together. 42 King Street.
El Rocco, Bar Me, Kings Cross The walls of this tiny bar don't just have ears, they have memories, grooving to Sydney's most adventurous jazz through the '60s. Now it mostly hosts cabaret, with everyone so close to the stage you can smell the artist's breath. This week, catch Tim Draxl's best cabaret show yet. Corner Brougham and William streets.
Enmore Theatre The grand art-deco theatre is one of the most beautiful venues in Sydney to see big rock acts. Swedish rock greats the Hives play October 21. 130 Enmore Road.
CLUBS
Home, Darling Harbour Australia's biggest nightclub, the multilevel venue has a wicked sound system and terraces from which to take in the water views. Its flagship night is Sublime on Friday with regular international guests. New York house DJ Junior Sanchez plays Saturday. You can win tickets on page 15.
Kings X Hotel A refuge for Brit backpackers, indie kids and Sydney's goth and metal clans. Thursday nights is indie night Loaded; Saturday is Dogs, with DJs spinning Britpop; Blink on Fridays and Mashed on Sundays cater for the dark-wave crowd with industrial and metal. It also has pool tables and great video games. 248 Williams Street.
Purple Sneakers, Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway For rock and indie punters with nowhere to go after live venues close. Band members spin their favourite rock, soul, pop and indie tunes with guest DJs playing after midnight. With ample lounges inside and a leafy beer garden. Tonight Magdalena Terror from goth-punk rockers Mz Ann Thropik mans the decks. 100 Broadway.
Sly Fox, Enmore Cheap drinks, free pool and a roster of promoters alternating between house, electro, techno, drum and bass, rock and goth. 199 Enmore Road.
Sounds on Sunday, North Sydney The Greenwood Hotel has become a haven for those who want to continue their Saturday night, especially its courtyard. The hotel is housed in an old school, with sandstone chapel, darkened with a laser show and with trance booming from the speakers. Sunday's event features house, trance, breaks and hip-hop from DJs John Course, Bexta and Shamus. 36 Blue Street.
STAGE VENUES
Sydney Theatre, Walsh Bay The Sydney Theatre reverses the trend of demolishing rather than building theatres. A vast brick archway sets the architectural tone and the acoustics and sightlines are exemplary. 22 Hickson Road.
Riverside Theatres, Parramatta The Riverside Theatres' three venues have none of the flaws of the Opera House or Seymour Centre. The main (760-seat) theatre works for plays, dance or concerts and the Lennox Theatre is one of the most flexible spaces in town. Seussical, an all-singing, all-dancing stage version of Dr Seuss, plays until October 8.
Independent Theatre, North Sydney Following its makeover, this somehow remains one of the best-kept secrets in town.
It has just hosted Rosie, the musical about Rose Shaw, the operatic Martin Place flower seller. 269 Miller Street.
Capitol Theatre, Haymarket Now playing is Fiddler on the Roof, starring Topol. 13 Campbell Street.
Old Fitzroy Hotel, Woolloomooloo No one can argue that theatre is stuffy when it's in a wonderful junk-filled pub that has a Thai restaurant and does a deal on laksa with shows.
FILM VENUES
Dumaresq Street Cinemas, Campbelltown The family-owned cinema is one of the cheapest in Sydney. Adults $5.50, under-15s $4.50. Waffle-cone choc tops $1.50, drinks $2.
Randwick Ritz In the age of megaplexes, the Randwick Ritz retains its art-deco charm and cheap prices. Adults $8, students $7. Popcorn, a drink and a choc top for $5. 47 Paul Street.
Govinda's, Darlinghurst Stuff yourself at the all-you-can-eat hippie buffet then flop onto the giant cushions in the movie room. This weekend you can catch Oyster Farmer, Sin City and War of the Worlds. Films just $6 with dinner (total $21.90) or $10.90 without. 112 Darlinghurst Road.
Greater Union Drive-ins Park the car, wind down the window and clip the speaker to the sill. Experience this old-world charm in Blacktown and Bass Hill. Bass Hill screens a dusk-till-dawn movie marathon on Sunday.
Annandale Hotel Where else can you watch films while drinking beer and not pay through the nose? Sydney's great rock pub solved the problem of ordinary Monday turnover by showing cult films for a donation. They're taking a break this weekend, but return on October 10. 17 Parramatta Road.
ART VENUES
May Lane, St Peters Here's a graffiti wall exhibition space you can see anytime or drop in on a street-side opening to toast a freshly sprayed wall. Next up, Sydney artist Mickie Quick's show from October 7, 6-8pm.
Impermanent Audio Who says art has to be visual? Impermanent Audio return on October 9 at the new venue Pelt. Immerse yourself in the electronic blips and beats of artists David Haines, Ivar Lehtsalu, Sam Smith and Sumugan Sivanasan. 8pm, Unit 2, 46 Balfour Street, Chippendale.
The Great Outdoors Next week, Hyde Park turns into a photographic gallery as part of Sydney City Council's annual Art & About event, but there's no better outdoor gallery than the Bondi-to-Tamarama walk for Sculpture by the Sea, November 3-20.
Knot Gallery, Surry Hills Exhibitions, art classes, debates, poetry slams, some of Sydney's up-and-coming indie bands and a more-the-merrier mentality. Tonight, crazy punk cabaret act Mr Bamboo keeps things lively. No bar, but plenty of pubs close by. Room 107, 342 Elizabeth Street.
Danks Street Depot, Waterloo Visit 10 galleries under one roof, then drop into the suave new bar. Danks Street is also having a street party on October 23 with stalls, food and DJs from 11am.
SURPRISING
AMF Blacktown Tenpin The centre, which opened this week, is set to rock, with a cracking sound system, bar and glowing lanes. Freaky. Westpoint Shopping Centre.
The Dome Bar, Surry Hills Above the Crown Hotel is one of the coolest bars in Sydney, when it opens on October 8. Old chandeliers and modern couches the size of double beds. Corner Crown and Cleveland streets.
Rainforest Lounge, Bankstown Sports Club The club has turned a bar into a rainforest, complete with real trees, waterfall and taped bird noise. It also hosts live music on Fridays and Saturdays and karaoke on Sunday.
Melt, Kings Cross The closest thing Sydney has to one of those grungy-looking Melbourne bars with retro couches and fittings. 12 Kellett Street.
Old Manly Boatshed Down a staircase on the part of the Corso still open to traffic, the Old Manly Boatshed is the closest thing Sydney has to an American dug-out bar, complete with long bar and pool table. It's cosy, but there's plenty of depth to catch the great music and comedy that plays here. On Saturday night discover what Bones Hillman has been doing since Midnight Oil wound up.
TIME WARPS
The Rocks There are heaps of old pubs here that haven't been hit with the bleached-wood-and-chrome ugly stick including the Australian, which this weekend hosts the Australian Beer Festival, with more than 200 beers to try. 100 Cumberland Street.
I Love 90s The '90s is the new '80s. Retro clubbers are embracing Oasis and Backstreet Boys at the I Love 90s night. It's having its first birthday party at the Coogee Bay Hotel at the end of the month.
Chequers, Mandarin Club, city Not the legendary '60s venue's nightclub, but the restaurant it opened across the road. None of the swanky decor is left, but it does have Sydney's coolest dancefloor - the type John Travolta busted his moves on in Saturday Night Fever. Corner Pitt and Goulburn streets.
Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill The Francis Greenway-designed 1826 pub is stocked with Australian and Irish antiques. Down the back there's a late-night club called the Woolshed, which looks like the bar the Blues Brothers played their first reunion gig in. The drumkit is safely encased in perspex.
Sir William Wallace, Balmain You can still find some old tile-and-poster pubs. Our pick is the William Wallace in Balmain, where it helps to be an octogenarian to get served. 31 Cameron Street.
Sydney’s Purple Sneakers
Now, we’ve never been to Sydney, but the kids in the photo galleries for Purple Sneakers, a weekly late-night DJ gig at The Abercrombie Hotel, look so damned pretty and happy (and judging from the girl at right, chilly) that we’d like to go.
Sydney’s Arthouse bar, housed in an impecabbly-restored former theater, library, and chapel, regularly changes its theme in a nod to its former roles. It has quickly become a favorite of Sydney’s young professionals, and offers three public bars throughout the space, as well as a number of private enclaves and nooks.
The ArtHouse Hotel employs a full-time curator in order to maintain a strong connection to the arts community, and regularly provides edgy and contemporary exhibitions, performances, screenings, and special events.
SYDNEY BARS (oops, make that PUBS!)![]()
paragonLIVE: Circular Quay.
Formerly known as the Hotel Paragon, this place now seems devoted to live folk music (particularly live Irish folk music) which fits in perfect with the Convict Era ambience of the surrounding streets. Revelate (fronted by Irishman Damien Leith) is currently the resident band and performs every Friday night.
SYDNEY FESTIVALS![]()
Fisher's Gig: Bradbury Oval, Campbelltown.
Fisher's Gig is an annual youth festival as part of Campbelltown's Festival of the Fisher's Ghost. The festival has evolved over the years from a band competition to a large outdoor festival with two stages and, more recently, a hip-hop tent. Which is kind of appropriate, considering how big hip-hop is in Sydney's south-west. The gig is held in the first Saturday of November (I am guessing this, don't sue me if I am wrong!) Entry is free (always a plus) and the show kicks off at noon!
SYDNEY LIVE MUSIC
Bald Faced Stag Hotel: Leichhardt.
It is always good to go to an establishment with a strange name. This place is worth visiting just to swipe the beer coasters.
Bizzo's: 22-24 Mackay St, Caringbah. Phone: 02/9524 7358. Web: http://www.bizzos.com.au.
This is a place on the south side of Sydney -- the real Sydney if you believe the people who live there. Like the predominantly white neighbourhood in which it resides, this venue seems to go in for classic Aussie Rock -- headstrong and hard. One typical week there might feature such bands as The Screaming Jets, Smithtown Riot, The Suns, The Ride-Ons, The Wolves and The Lost. Why is that Australian bands always have to have a name which starts with "The"? I guess it is part of the classic Aussie retro charm...
The Brass Monkey: 115a Cronulla St, Cronulla. Phone: 02/9544 3844. Web: http://www.brassmonkey.com.au.
Featuring live music, Mezza and tapas. There is something going on almost every day. Check the website for more.
Coogee Bay Hotel: Corner Coogee Bay Rd and Arden St, Coogee. Phone: 02/9665 0000.
One of the classic Sydney live venues, with a focus on dance music.
Heritage Hotel: 240 Princes Hwy, Bulli. Phone: 02/4284 5884. Web: http://www.heritagehotel.com.au.
If you need to take a break from Sydney, beautiful Bulli could be just the thing to beat those city blues. But if you actually like blues, you can find that too in Bulli -- at the Heritage Hotel! This place is aclaimed as one of Greater Sydney's landmark blues, roots and jazz venues. It also hosts plenty of comedy, electronic music, Drum'n'Bass, hip-hop, latin, funk, you name it. A bar menu is available.
The Sandringham Hotel: Newtown.
This is one of Sydney's legendary venues, with an outstanding record in live music and the like. You are not a Sydneysider unless you are at least partially familiar with this place.
The Vanguard: 42 King St, Newtown. Phone: 02/9209 4614. Web: http://www.thevanguard.com.
A new jazz, blues and roots venue in Newtown, the Vanguard Suburb (if there ever was one) of the Sydney nightlife scene.
Yallah Roadhouse Shooters Bar and Restaurant: Princes Hyw, Yallah (Wollongong). Phone: 042/622 655. Web: http://www.yallahroadhouse.com.au.
It is always a blast chilling out somewhere with such a mean name as the "Shooters Bar", and this place doesn't disappoint. While it is not quite Sydney, Wollongong is nonetheless an interesting place -- I should know, I lived there for two years -- and the predominant mood in the city is hard as nails. Wollongong is the only city in the world I have ever lived in, where I had a car firebombed outside my bedroom as I slept -- yes this happened back in my Smiths Hill High School days of 1989! If you like explosive entertainment, then perhaps the Yallah Roadhouse will be your kettle of chips. There is a full range of music, comedy and bus transport is available.
NEWTWON RESTAURANTS![]()
Thai Pothong Newtown: 294 King St, Newtown (50m from train station.) Phone: 02/9519 8050.
An award winning restaurant in the heart of Newtown. To make a booking go to http://www.thaipothong.com.au.
Chinese Noodle Restaurant: 8 Quay St, Haymarket.
Phone: 02/9281 9051.
For lovers of bizarre sounding dishes such as
jellyfish salad and the like, this place is a godsend. Just a short walk
from Sydney's Station, this place is cheap and popular with students and
local families. I probably passed the joint on my visit here with the
rapacious Rima in 1994, but that is another story. At this intimate, busy
eatery decorated with grapes and Persian rugs, the noodles are handmade in
traditional northern Chinese style. Be sure to check out the open kitchen
where you can watch the traditional noodle maker at work.
East Ocean: 421 Sussex St, Haymarket. Phone: 02/9212
4198.
Banquet specialists.
Emperor's Garden BBQ & Noodles: 213-5 Thomas St.
Phone: 02/9281 9899.
水槽の生簀があまり綺麗でない中華レストラン.
Dishes from $3.50 up to
$9. This is a popular Chinese eatery specialising in meat and poultry
dishes (marinated duck tongue $6) and has a great little window area where
you can choose your takeaway goodies.
Golden Century Seafood Restaurant: 393-399 Sussex St,
Haymarket. Phone: 02/9212
3901.
生簀の中にはロブスター、あわびなどの高級海鮮食材がいっぱいの、シドニーを代表する海鮮中華レストラン。ロブスター、あわび等をオーダーすればそれなりの料金になるが、その他の食材であれば、手ごろな料金で食事を楽しめます。
Live
lobster and abalone are only some of the gourmet goodies available at this
restaurant. The fish and other assorted sea life are displayed in tanks --
you just have to point and choose. The flavours are exotic and
engaging, the service fast and slick. At least one website has
described Golden Century as "the Ben Hur of Yum Cha."
Hingara Chinese Restaurant: 82 Dixon St, Haymarket.
Phone: 02/9212-2169
Prices range from $20 to $50. Located in the main
street of Chinatown.
Kam Fook Shark Fin Restaurant: Level 3, Market City, 9
Hay St. Phone: 02/9211 8388.
Dishes $11 - market price seafood. Open
10am-5pm (yum cha) daily, 5.30pm-11pm Sun-Thur, until midnight
Fri & Sat. This enormous place can seat about 800 people, and
regularly gets filled to capacity for its yum cha sessions. Ask
the waiter to recommend dishes and you'll be duly rewarded with succulent
offerings. As you'd expect, shark fin is the speciality.
Lam's Seafood Restaurant: 35-37 Goulburn St,
Haymarket. Phone: 02/9281 2881/2.
Entrees $4-23.80, mains $15 - market
price seafood. Open noon-4am. Quick lunch? Luxurious banquet? You can do
both here. Popular with locals, visitors and anyone in-between, Lam's has
an extensive menu and staff who know a thing or two about getting the most
out of the kitchen.
Nine Dragons Restaurant: 39 Dixon St,
Sydney.
観光客でにぎわう中華レストラン.
Likely to be crowded with tourists. As you
would expect, the cuisine is totally Chinese.
Silver Spring: Level 1, 477 Pitt St, Haymarket. Phone:
02/9211 2232.
Entrees $5-15.80, mains $13.80-market price seafood. Open
10am-3pm (yum cha), 5.30pm-11pm (a la carte). The
restaurant has a wheelchair accessible entry. There is no wheelchair
accessible toilet.
For brunch and lunch, Silver Spring attracts a
business crowd; for dinner, families and friends enjoy a more intimate
ambiance. The menu is varied, including dishes like stir-fry king prawns
and suckling pig skin in Chinese pancakes.
Here are some of the fave food courts which can be found in
Chinatown and around:
Dixon House Food Court: corner of Little Hay and Dixon
Sts, Haymarket.
Dishes $5-8. This food court offers a selection of
about 20 vendors, with low, low prices.
Eating World. 25-29 Dixon Street, Chinatown.
I
first stumbled upon this little piece of Asia transplanted on to
Australian soil back in 1996, when I was working at the nearby Daily
Telegraph as a hack. The highlight of my three month stay there was
glimpsing media mogul Rupert Murdoch on a surprise visit to the office (he
was probably trying to shore up his ailing SUPER LEAGUE strategy, but that
is another story.) While working at the newspaper I usually dined on
Malaysian chicken laksa from a nearby takeout shop, but if I was
feeling more adventurous and had enough time, I would head down to
Chinatown. I usually ended up at Eating World which reminded me of some of
the great food courts of Asia.
Eating World is a favourite with
students, large families, groups of teenagers and lone eaters. Expect no
glamour (then again, you wouldn't expect glamour at any of the great food
courts of Asia.) You choose, you wait, they ring the bell, you pick up
your food from the stall, your utensils from one of the stations scattered
around the hall, go to a table and eat. Lingering is not encouraged. There
is a bar in the place and I used to love sucking down those Hahn Ice's and
Carlton Colds, especially if I was eating something spicy at the
time.
If you love Asian food, it's all here, from Peking duck to
Vietnamese pork rolls. It was in fact Vietnamese pork rolls that I ate on
my last visit, in October 2005. And true to tradition I washed it down
with -- a beer from the house of Hahn...
Another regular and
enthusiastic diner, John
Newton, claims some of the better Eating World dishes include the beef
and bitter melon hot pot from Chinatown Gourmet ("tender beef, dried
shiitake mushrooms, ginger and enough melon to satisfy my bitter
cravings"), beef rendang from the Bundo Raya halal stall
and the chilli octopus at the Korean/Japanese hawker's stall. The Yummi
House Taiwanese pancakes are also strongly recommended!
Eating World
was named the best food court in Sydney by one prominent youth hostel
group. Its fame has spread beyond the yellow sand shores of Australia,
into Asia -- showing that Sydney can mash it up on the Asian dining scene.
On one
Bahasa Indonesian website I found a tribute to Eating World. On the
forum a poster, h4nh4n, had asked his Indo brethren: "Hello Guys, daripada
bete and ga ada yang aktif di regional Sydney... mendingan gue nanya deh.
Tempat makan favorite lu di Sydney tuh dimana?"
Sorry to all the Indo
folk out there -- my Bahasa Indonesian skills are pretty basic! I will
hazard a wild guess and make an on-the-fly translation of this
tempat (question) -- "where are your favourite eating places in
Sydney?" A worthy tempat indeed, worthy of a worthy answer.
h4nh4n himself mentions Star
City's all-you-can-eat buffet as a good place for
makan (food). Ming Hai on George St gets a jersey -- "gw recomend
tomato rice crispy chickennya." h4nh4n later adds: "Kalo yang ada nasi
padang tuh eating world tuh... kalo dixon jalan sussex deh kayaknya, ada
di basement gitu deh." And coming back at him from another part of the
world in a completely different language, the GoNavi.Com site reports:
"まわりのフードコートより若干安め料金設定で人気のフードコート。2004年に全面改装されてきれいになった。中国系のタクシー運転手に人気あり。 "
Harbour Plaza Food Court: corner of Dixon and Goulburn
Sts, Haymarket.
Dishes $5-8. Open 10am-10pm. The pagoda-style Harbour
Plaza has a wide range of cheap Asian meals available.
NEWTWON THEATRES![]()
Enmore Theatre: 52 Enmore Rd, Newtown. Phone: 02/9550 3666.
Without a doubt this is Sydney's leading concert venue, hosting in recent times the incredible Franz Ferdinand, the legendary old school Bangles, and so on, and on. If the Arctic Monkeys played there one day I would be really impressed. For more information and booking details go to the website at http://www.enmoretheatre.com.au.
Newtown Theatre: Corner Bray St and King St, Newtown.
Sidetrack Studio Theatre: 122 Addison Rd, Marrickville. Phone: 02/9294 4655.
Akihabara Japan - Christiana Denmark - Kathmandu Nepal - Sydney Dining Challenge - Reykjavik Iceland
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