Field note · 5 addresses
In Sydney's CBD, finding the door is half the point: take a fourth-floor lift, head down basement stairs or slip behind a barber shop's silver door. Old Mate's Place, The Baxter Inn, The Barber Shop and Papa Gede's Bar turn an evening around Clarence, York and Kent streets into a small discovery trail. For the final stop, head north to The Rocks, where Tailor Room sits inside the historic Argyle Stores.
Five make this list: Old Mate's Place on Level 4 of 199 Clarence St, The Baxter Inn in a basement at 152-156 Clarence St, The Barber Shop behind a working barber shop at 89 York St, Papa Gede's Bar off a Kent St laneway, and Tailor Room inside the historic Argyle Stores at The Rocks.
The Baxter Inn and Earl's-style walk-in bars take none — you queue. Old Mate's Place welcomes walk-ins and caps reservations at eight people. Tailor Room is small enough that booking ahead is recommended.
Look for the laneway beside 152-156 Clarence Street, then take the stairs down. There is no street sign; the door at the bottom is the bar. It opens from mid-afternoon seven days and runs late.
Yes. Old Mate's Place, The Baxter Inn, The Barber Shop and Papa Gede's all sit within a few blocks of Clarence, York and Kent streets — a five-minute walk end to end. Tailor Room is the outlier, about fifteen minutes north in The Rocks.
The Baxter Inn for whisky — its back bar is one of the largest in the world. The Barber Shop for gin, with more than 700 bottles and flights of four if you cannot choose.