Maybe Sammy ★ 4.8
Maybe Sammy on Harrington Street, The Rocks, Sydney. Italian-American mid-century cocktail bar, longstanding presence on the World's 50 Best Bars list.
Signature drink: Sammy's Negroni
Food: Bar snacks
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Sydney for grown-ups.
Where to drink
The Baxter Inn ★ 4.7
Whisky basement on Clarence Street, Sydney CBD. Over 1,000 bottles on the back wall; the bartenders dress in arm-bands and braces. Mon-Sat from 5pm.
Signature drink: Whisky flight of three
Food: Snacks
Cantina OK! ★ 4.8
Twenty-seat mezcaleria on Council Place, Sydney CBD. On the World's 50 Best Bars extended list; rare agave-distilled spirits. Daily 4pm-2am, walk-ins only.
Signature drink: Mezcal flight
Food: Mexican snacks
Old Mates Place ★ 4.7
Two-level cocktail bar on Clarence Street, Sydney CBD with a rooftop terrace and Aussie native-ingredient cocktail program. Open Tue-Sat from 5pm.
Signature drink: Wellington 1873
Food: Snacks
Dean & Nancy on 22 ★ 4.7
Top-of-tower cocktail bar on Hunter Street, Sydney CBD. Floor 22 of A by Adina Hotel; harbour view, theatrical martini service, bookings essential.
Signature drink: Martini service
Food: Caviar and bar snacks
Shady Pines Saloon ★ 4.5
Below-street dive bar on Crown Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney. Taxidermied walls, country music, American whiskey and Tecate-and-shot service.
Signature drink: American whiskey flight
Food: No food
The Lobo Plantation ★ 4.5
Cuban-Caribbean tiki bar on Clarence Street, Sydney CBD. Rum-forward cocktails, jazz nights and the city's deepest rum back-bar. Open Wed-Sat from 5pm.
Signature drink: Rum punch
Food: Caribbean snacks
The Roosevelt ★ 4.5
Cocktail bar on Orwell Street, Potts Point, Sydney. Long mahogany counter, a Sazerac on the menu since 1942 and a piano on Sundays. Open 7 nights.
Signature drink: Old fashioned
Food: Bar snacks and pizza
Ramblin' Rascal Tavern ★ 4.6
Cocktail dive on Park Street, Sydney CBD. Dive-bar aesthetic, top-shelf bar program; hot dogs at midnight and a sound system that runs loud.
Signature drink: Espresso martini
Food: Hot dogs
The Caterpillar Club ★ 4.2
Subterranean Pitt Street music lounge by the Frankie's Pizza crew: 10,000-LP collection, DJs deep into the night, dry-aged burgers and tuna melts till late.
Signature drink: Dive bar negroni and a vinyl set
Food: Diner classics, dry-aged burgers, tuna melts
Earl's Juke Joint ★ 4.4
Whiskey-and-beer dive on King Street, Newtown, Sydney. American whiskey-heavy back bar, country playlist, a New Orleans Sazerac on every menu.
Signature drink: Boilermaker
Food: Snacks
The Wild Rover ★ 4.4
Two-storey Irish whiskey bar on Campbell Street, Surry Hills, Sydney. Live music upstairs, 200+ Irish whiskeys behind the bar. Open Tue-Sun from 5pm.
Signature drink: Irish coffee
Food: Snacks
Stitch Bar ★ 4.1
Below-street speakeasy on York Street, Sydney CBD. Hidden behind a haberdashery facade, American-leaning cocktails, peanut shells on the floor.
Signature drink: Pickleback shot
Food: American snacks
Tio's Cerveceria ★ 4.4
Mexican spirits and beer bar on Foster Street, Surry Hills, Sydney. Modelo on tap, micheladas, tortas at midnight, a cult crowd of bartenders.
Signature drink: Michelada
Food: Mexican snacks
The Doss House ★ 4.3
Whisky-bar in 1840s sandstone cellars on George Street, The Rocks, Sydney. Single-malt regional flights and an underground room with stone walls.
Signature drink: Whisky flight by region
Food: Snacks
Low 302 ★ 4.1
Long-running cocktail dive on Crown Street, Surry Hills, Sydney. Late-night daiquiris, the toasted-sandwich menu after midnight, dark room, no fuss.
Signature drink: Daiquiri
Food: Toasties
PS40 ★ 4.6
House-soda cocktail bar on King Street, Sydney CBD. The team distil their own sodas in-house; the rosehip-and-pepper soda highball is the bar signature.
Signature drink: House-made cola highball
Food: Snacks
The Glenmore Hotel ★ 4.1
Rooftop hotel bar on Cumberland Street, The Rocks, Sydney. Wide-open harbour view to the Opera House, pub-grade lunch and pints from midday.
Signature drink: Beer with a harbour view
Food: Pub food
The Rook ★ 4.0
Seventh-floor rooftop bar on York Street, Sydney CBD. Mezcal-leaning cocktail program and a partly open-air courtyard above the city. Tue-Sun from 4pm.
Signature drink: Smoky margarita
Food: Mexican snacks
Bopp & Tone ★ 4.3
All-day restaurant-bar on Carrington Street, Sydney CBD. Italian small plates, oysters at the bar, the city's most reliable after-work spritz address.
Signature drink: Aperol spritz
Food: Pasta and small plates
Uncle Ming's ★ 4.0
Basement Chinese cocktail bar on York Street, Sydney CBD. Tea-infused cocktail program, dumplings to share, dim red glow and lantern-lit corners.
Signature drink: Tea-infused cocktail
Food: Dumplings
Rockpool Bar & Grill ★ 4.3
Bar inside Rockpool Bar & Grill on Hunter Street, Sydney CBD. Long marble bar, dry-aged beef snacks, old-school cocktail program that runs into the evening.
Signature drink: Manhattan
Food: Steak and bar snacks
Burrow Bar ★ 4.2
Underground cocktail bar on Clarence Street, Sydney CBD. Australian native-ingredient cocktail program, intimate basement room with leather banquettes.
Signature drink: Native-ingredient martini
Food: Snacks