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悉尼夜晚消遣的真正好去处，是那些隐匿在大楼地下室或幽静小巷，甚至装扮成编织作坊的酒吧。
说 起悉尼，人们十有八九会想到歌剧院、海港大桥以及邦迪海滩这些最具标志性的景观。但对独具慧眼的游客来说，夜晚消遣的真正好去处却是那些隐匿在大楼地下室、藏匿在幽静小巷、甚至装扮成编织作坊的酒吧。  Gavin Jowitt for The Wall Street Journal 图片：悉尼夜生活 一位来自波茨 点的银行家麦特?汉米尔顿(Matt Hamilton)表示，悉尼的小酒吧大多在边边角角的位置，这些地方如果不开酒吧甚至也不会派上什么别的用场，不信可以看看Grandma's Bar有多偏僻。他说，很多这种地方被从业多年的调酒师开辟出来，当作酒吧，这些人满 热情，但却没钱开个更大的门面。 Gavin Jowitt for The Wall Street Journal Mojo Record酒吧，是悉尼夜生活的新成员，其前身是悉尼最老的唱片店之一。 Grandma's 是否已点燃了你心底温馨的 旧火焰？那么下一站就去谭柏伦斯巷道的Grasshopper吧，这家酒吧就在附近的乔治街边上。看看沿路有规律摆放的垃圾箱，人们很容易将这里误当成垃 圾站。这可能是全悉尼最难找的酒吧了。常有成群的酒客在隔壁艺术品商店的绿色标牌前驻足，或在夏季的户外小桌旁寻找方向。 Grasshopper 的任何一个细节，无论是玻璃器具，还是楼上的手绘幻景壁画，无一不显露出店主的热情。作为店主之一的马丁?奥沙利文(Martin O'Sullivan)还担任悉尼小酒吧协会的主席，他放弃了一份IT职业，成为这家酒吧的创建人之一。他说，在小酒吧里，为你服务的就是店主，所以他们 干起活来会十分认真。这个城市应该提高服务水平、饮品质量以及热情程度，悉尼酒吧业仍不成熟，但正在慢慢成长。 Palmer & Co. Palmer & Co.本来是一间贵宾室，店主梅里韦尔将它改造成了一间禁酒时期的“黑酒吧”。 从谭柏伦斯巷回到克拉伦斯街，然后拐进另一条小巷，到Baxter Inn去转转。从你走进门的那一刻（周末晚上要进来得等上一个小时），这家地下室酒吧昏暗的灯光、乡村风格的音乐就会把你带回到酒精饮品非法经营的日子。 酒吧服务生专会调配威士忌和“狂人时代”（指上世纪六十年代）鸡尾酒。所以，可以来一杯老时尚鸡尾酒(Old Fashion)。如果想要烈度低一些的，那可以点芝城之南(South Side)，一种以琴酒为基酒的爽口莫希多(mojito)鸡尾酒，用马克杯盛放，配有一小枝薄荷。 如果你想来点音乐，那不用去太远的地 方，到附近的Mojo Record酒吧就行。这是悉尼夜生活的新成员，其前身是悉尼最老的唱片店之一，专辑封面贴满墙（店内员工说这些专辑封面经常更换）。店主尼维利?瑟格特 (Neville Sergent)为了维持生意，将业务拓展到酒吧业。他很乐于让主顾们一边浏览他的黑胶唱片收藏，一边品尝当地的啤酒和葡萄酒，其中包括产自悉尼市郊“新 镇”的Young Henrys。 沿着约克街再往前走就是Stitch酒吧。无可争议，这家酒吧有悉尼最好的鸡尾酒。可以尝尝热带风情的 Monkey Magic，由巴西朗姆酒、苹果汁、姜汁啤酒、香草、青柠调配而成，或者更大胆些的，用琴酒、苦艾酒、甜菜根、姜味香精调成的Beetlejuice，这 是酒吧经理马提欧?费柏瑞斯(Matteo Fabbris)设计的。 要想去这家有着忧郁情调的小酒吧，你先要穿过一个看起来塞满纱线的作坊，然后下楼，走进一间地下室，屋里摆放着用胜家缝纫机做成的桌子。如果这天恰好是本月的最后一个星期四，那么当地的编织社团Stitch & Bitch还会来访。 这个社团的组织者艾米?克里斯托弗(Amy Christopher)说，她们会预定好位置，然后坐下来忙她们的活，还可以一边聊天一边喝酒。她是一位销售经理，家住北桥。这个社团的所有成员都是CBD的职业女性，大家来这个地方都很方便。 今 天夜生活的最后一站是Palmer & Co.，在这里，你彷佛置身于悉尼坦克溪的大拱道下。店主梅里韦尔(Merivale)将之前的一个贵宾室改造成了一间禁酒时期的“黑酒吧”。今年早些时 候这家酒吧刚开业时，梅里韦尔的酒吧集团经理麦克?恩莱特(Mike Enright)在社交媒体上为它招聘经理，不惜从柏林、洛杉矶为其广纳人才。他说，这是这家酒吧有别于悉尼其他夜店的地方。推荐鸡尾酒：Welo Venice，由琴酒、蜂蜜和苹果酒调成；烈度大些的Hollywood Sour也不错，由苹果白兰地酒、香草、苦味酒调配，再用豆蔻作装饰。 Enright说，经济形势不好时，那些经营不善的酒吧就会被淘汰，而成功的酒吧会存活下来，因为它们达到了一定层次，大家有目共睹。 玩转悉尼 Grandma's酒吧：克拉伦斯街275号地下室 Grasshopper：谭柏伦斯巷道1号（乔治街389号与391号之间） Baxter Inn：克拉伦斯街152-156号 Mojo Record酒吧：约克街73号 Stitch酒吧：约克街61号 Palmer & Co.：艾伯克龙比巷道 Sydney's Hidden Haunts Ask your average passerby what he associates with this city, and he'll name its most iconic sights: the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Bondi Beach. For the discerning visitor looking for a good night out in Sydney, however, the places to be are hidden in building basements, tucked in secret alleyways or even disguised as knitting shops. In recent years, these intimate bars have increased in number thanks to eased liquor licensing laws, and mixologists have seized upon vacant commercial spaces in the city's central business district to breathe new life into its drinking culture. For Sydney-siders, the change has ushered in a shift from a nightlife that for almost two centuries was dominated by pubs, and later nightclubs, toward the more intimate scene traditionally associated with Sydney's rival, Melbourne. 'Most of the small bars you find in Sydney are in derelict spaces that wouldn't even be used otherwise,' says Matt Hamilton, a banker from Pott's Point, gesturing to the nooks and crannies of Grandma's Bar. 'A lot of these places have been started by people who have been in the industry for years and are really passionate about it, but couldn't afford to open up something bigger.' Hidden in a basement under an otherwise innocuous Clarence Street building, Grandma's 'retro-sexual haven of cosmopolitan kitsch and faded granny glamour'—a description from its website that is hard to top—provides the perfect place to start the night. The cocktail list is largely rum-themed so try the Dark and Stormy, made with Grandma's fiery home-brewed ginger beer, or the refreshing Papa Doble, a white-rum, grapefruit and grenadine concoction also known as the Hemingway Daiquiri, as you soak up the tiki cockatoo wallpaper and midcentury furniture. Once Grandma's has sufficiently warmed the cockles, head to the Grasshopper on Temperance Lane, just off neighboring George Street. Easily mistaken for a rubbish dump, given the bins that regularly line the alleyway, this may be Sydney's most difficult-to-find bar. Look for the groups of drinkers outside the next-door arts shop's green sign, or perched on tiny outdoor tables in the warmer months, for directions. Every detail of Grasshopper, from the retro glassware to the hand-painted dreamscapes on walls upstairs, is a labor of love. Martin O'Sullivan, who also serves as president of Sydney's Small Bar Association, abandoned a career in information technology to co-found the bar. 'In small bars, the people who serve you own it, so they care,' he said. 'It's about raising the level of service, drinks and hospitality in this city. Sydney's bar scene is in its infancy, but it's slowly changing.' Belinda Lai, the general manager, designed Grasshopper's mellow wine list with women in mind. Try the sparkling Spanish Segura Viudas for a refreshing start or the Eden Road Chardonnay, a locally made variety that avoids the heavily oaked flavors usually associated with Australian wines. If you're feeling peckish, go upstairs to try Grasshopper's warming Gallic fare, and the best steak au poivre in town. From Temperance Lane, swing back to Clarence Street and down another back alley to the Baxter Inn. From the moment you walk in, which can take up to an hour on busy weekend nights, the low lighting and honky-tonk soundtrack of this basement-level bar takes patrons back to speakeasy days. The bartenders, sporting braces and moptop haircuts, specialize in whiskey and Mad-Men-era cocktails, so an Old Fashion might be in order. If you'd like to go lighter, order the South Side, a refreshing gin-based version of the mojito served in a mug with a sprig of mint. If you'd like some music but no velvet rope, look no further than nearby Mojo Record Bar. This newcomer to the city's nightlife is the new incarnation of one of Sydney's oldest record shops, and album covers line the walls (staffers say they change frequently). Owner Neville Sergent expanded into alcohol in an effort to keep his business afloat, and he'll gladly let patrons flip through his impressive vinyl collection while sampling local beers and wines, including Young Henrys, from the Sydney suburb of Newton. Farther down York Street is Stitch Bar, which serves arguably the best cocktails in Sydney. Try the tropical Monkey Magic, made with cachaca, apple juice, ginger beer, vanilla and lime, or, for the more daring, the gin, Vermouth, beetroot and ginger flavors of the Beetlejuice, designed by bar manager Matteo Fabbris. To get to this moody little haunt, you'll walk through what looks like a yarn-filled shop and go down to a basement lined with tables built out of Singer sewing machines. If it's the last Thursday of the month, you'll be joined by the local 'Stitch & Bitch' knitting group. 'We can reserve a space to sit and do our 'craft,' have a chat and a drink,' said organizer Amy Christopher, a marketing manager who lives in Northbridge. 'All of the group's members are professional women based in the [Central Business District], so the location is easy for people to drop in.' To finish the night, go to Palmer & Co., nestled under the archways of Sydney's tank stream. A former VIP room, Palmer & Co. has since been converted by owner Merivale into a Prohibition-era watering hole. Mike Enright, Merivale's group bars manager, used social media to recruit managers as far-flung as Berlin and Los Angeles when he opened the bar earlier this year, something he says distinguishes it from the rest of Sydney's 'saturated' nightlife. Recommended from the cocktail menu: the Welo Venice, consisting of gin, honey and cider, or the heady Hollywood Sour, combining Calvados, vanilla, bitters and garnished with nutmeg. 'When it comes to the economy, this is where you'll see bars that aren't well-operated will drop off,' Mr. Enright said. 'The successful will survive because they've got a bit more depth, and people can see that.' Going Out in Sydney Grandma's Bar, Basement 275, Clarence Street Grasshopper: 1 Temperance Lane (between 389 and 391 George Street) Baxter Inn: 152-156 Clarence St. Mojo Record Bar: 73 York St. Stitch: 61 York St. Palmer & Co.: Abercrombie Lane Caroline Henshaw |
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