Must-see nightlife in Sydney

Swinging Earl's serves craft beers and killer cocktails to the Newtown hip-erati. It's hidden behind the down-at-heel facade of the Betta Meats butcher's…

This distillery has made quite an impact with its excellent gins – where better to try them than the place itself? The bar is appropriately industrial…

Right on the harbour with the Opera House on one side and the bridge on the other, this perfectly positioned terrace manages a very Sydney marriage of the…

Tilly Devine was a notorious Sydney madam and crime boss in the '30s, and her namesake bar is hidden down a back alley, in true furtive style. The dark,…

This legendary northern beaches pub actually overlooks not the ocean but the Pittwater side, with bobbing boats and quiet strands the outlook. It's an…

Hidden in the backstreets, this totally unpretentious theatre pub is also a decent old-fashioned boozer in its own right, with a great variety of beers on…

Quite a way down Glebe Point Rd is an excellent independent bottle shop; turn right to find the convivial wine bar it runs downstairs. Staff will happily…

Pouring an excellent range of Sydney craft beers in a quiet corner near the beginning of the Rocks, this historical building has real character. The…

Descend the stairs and you'll think you're in a 1970s pizzeria, complete with plastic grapevines, snapshots covering the walls and tasty pizza slices ($6)…

Downstairs it's a predictably nice old Rocks pub with great outdoor seating, but head to the rooftop and the views are beyond fabulous: the Opera House …

Just along the wharf from the ferry, this remodelled pub is all glass and water vistas, with loads of seating so you've a good chance of grabbing a share…

The 'Shakey' is a classic Sydney pub (1879) with art nouveau tiled walls, scuzzy carpet, the horses on the TV and cheap bar meals. There are plenty of…

A cracking pub, especially at weekends when it thrums with life all day, this is a real eastern suburbs favourite. The beer garden is among Sydney's best:…

Enter this rough-hewn 1843 sandstone pub to meet some locals, chat to the Irish bar staff and grab an earful of the swing, folk and Celtic bands (Friday…

We love the dark romantic opium-den atmosphere of this small bar secreted away in a basement by a shirt shop. It's an atmospheric spot for anything from a…

Look for the unsigned wide door and enter this supremely cool brick-lined speakeasy. Ask the bar staff to recommend a whisky from the huge range on offer,…

One of the great pleasures in life is languoring in the pumping beer garden of the Watsons Bay Hotel, mere metres from the ferry wharf, after a day at the…

A fully formed 18th-century English pub, complete with overstuffed armchairs, roaring fireplace and portraits of blue blooded noblemen. The chatty bar…

Conviviality is assured in this craft brewery bar, where the beer, found on taps all over Sydney, is as fresh as you'll get. Basically, they've filled a…

With numerous indoor and outdoor bars and restaurants, and a large kids' play area, this cavernous complex packs them in, especially at weekends. The…