The city’s wine bars are truly diverse: find an art gallery showcasing NSW-only drops, a Champagne bar offering towers of bubbly, venues with an Indian, Japanese and Middle Eastern focus and much more. BYO thirst.
Aalia Wine Room
Where: Sydney CBD
Enjoy the lavish fizz of big-ticket Champagne, a tiny one-barrel release of Australian merlot or alcohol-free pinot gris crafted from white tea and passionfruit by local producer Bynomeans – “wine without rules” is the mantra here. This spin-off to nearby Aalia shares the award-winning restaurant’s Middle Eastern approach. Here, you can order steak frites with Cafe de Cairo butter and labneh with pomegranate molasses and sumac onion, as well as favourites from Aalia’s menu, like fried eggplant with spiced tomato and medjool dates with caramelised chocolate and ashta (clotted cream).
Aalia Wine Room, Sydney - Credit: Jiwon Kim
The Art Syndicate
Where: Surry Hills
Every drop at The Art Syndicate originates from NSW. From vineyards in New England all the way down to Tumbarumba, award-winning sommelier Lisa Guenther-Strauss covers our diverse landscape in this art gallery setting. She might pour you something from our oldest wine region (Hunter Valley vermentino, perhaps) or present a bottle from a much younger precinct (like rosé grown on the slopes of Orange). Skipping the booze? There’s also apple-ginger cider from Bilpin, yuzu sake lemonade from Bondi and strawberry-basil ice tea from Umina. Her illuminating tasting notes on the menu even describe the tap water served. They read, “no notes or hints of anything ... locals refer to it as the ‘Warragamba Slammer’”.
The Art Syndicate, Surry Hills - Credit: Lexi Potts
Copyright: The Art Syndicate
Paski Vineria Popolare
Where: Darlinghurst
When award-winning sommelier Giorgio de Maria named his dog, he was inspired by a bottle of Paski by Italy’s Cantina Giardino. He also called his two-storey Oxford Street bar the same thing. De Maria opened Paski Vineria Popolare in 2021 with fellow wine importer Mattia Dicati and chef Enrico Tomelleri, stocking the ground-floor bar and shop with over 450 bottles from small-scale producers. Good things are also poured at the upstairs restaurant. Every drop tells a story, whether it’s a vintage from a monastery outside Rome or vermouth produced from well-preserved Italian recipes.
Paski Vineria Popolare, Darlinghurst - Credit: Paski Vineria Popolare
Famelia
Where: Newtown
Female winemakers only comprise 16 per cent of the industry, so owner/sommelier Amelia Birch has dedicated herself to celebrating their vintages at this tiny wine bar on Enmore Road. Each month, her 12 wine-by-the-glass options highlight a particular grape varietal, vintner or region. You can sample various pours, browse the bottle shop, or attend in-store events showcasing diverse female winemakers, such as Leqi Liu (co-founder of China’s Tinnyu) or Emily Spinaze (who started Hunter Valley’s Glover Wines as a uni assignment – and triumphantly scored a high distinction for it).
Famelia, Enmore - Credit: Famelia
Bar Copains
Where: Surry Hills
‘Copains’ is a French word for ‘mates’ and this friendly neighbourhood wine bar has the relaxed vibe of a collaboration between long-time pals (chefs Morgan McGlone and Nathan Sasi). The owners have drawn on personal collections to stock the cellar (including bottles that are decades old) and McGlone even crafted the pasta bowls, dinner plates and water vessels from clay when the bar first launched. Bar Copains has since gained a following for its amaro-flavoured crème caramel and its corner location has become an excellent vantage point for people-watching in Surry Hills.
Bar Copains, Surry Hills - Credit: Bar Copains
Henry G’s Wine Parlour
Where: Manly
Named after the man who established Manly as a tourist destination in the 1800s (he built the wharf and planted the signature Norfolk pines that line beach), this tribute to Henry Gilbert Smith evokes his era: walls are lined with antique books and guest performers tinker on the bar’s 19th-century piano. Browse the menu and you might encounter over 170 bottles, mostly from European vineyards. Try the monthly Pinot & Pages Book Club or a masterclass that transports you to South Australia’s Barossa Valley or vineyards in Chablis, France.
Henry G's Wine Parlour, Manly - Credit: Henry G's Wine Parlour
Tera Bar
Where: Surry Hills
Curious about Japanese wine? At Tera Bar, you might enjoy gris de koshu from Yamanashi or umeshu (plum wine) from Nara. Sommelier Wanaka Teramoto also offers sake by Hououbiden, a brewery from her hometown in Tochigi prefecture. When served warm, the drink reveals sweet rice flavours and a lingering umami finish. She runs this small-scale bar with husband, chef Taka Teramoto. Together, they’ve worked at Michelin-starred restaurants overseas and gained a local following from their time at Kuro in Sydney’s CBD. At Tera Bar, they showcase Australian producers – whether it’s chardonnay, riesling and pinot noir from Australia’s wine regions or wagyu from Suzuki Farm in Evans Plains, near Bathurst.
Tera Bar, Surry Hills - Credit: Yusuke Oba
Meadow
Where: Cronulla
After introducing Bobbys restaurant to this beachside suburb, Adam and Kylie Micola opened Meadow – just a short walk away. Described as a ‘music room’, this bar is home to 2000 vinyl records. The owners gathered them over six months by rummaging through vintage-shop crates and sourcing from various collectors. Meadow also offers live jazz performances and a French-inspired list of predominantly Australian wines. Sommelier Nick Rosa’s extensive menu celebrates local producers – as a winemaker himself, he knows our landscape generates remarkable vintages. To go with your glass, try baked rigatoni with vodka sauce, a cheeseburger rich with Café de Paris butter or the banana tarte tatin dessert.
Meadow, Cronulla - Credit: Jason Loucas
Bazaar & Bar
Where: Brookvale
Owner Kabir Arora describes this Indian wine bar as his “most personal project” after offering beers and curries at Manly’s Sketch for nearly a decade. Bazaar & Bar features over 40 spice-complementing bottles: think lighter, more palate-refreshing drops, like rieslings and pet nats. His wine list celebrates Australian talent with Indian heritage, like award-winning producer Rojer Rathod, who ferments grapes in kothi (Indian vessels) and named his Majama Wines label after the Gujarati word for “fun”. The menu by Adwait Jagtap (Kolkata Social) features dosa with ghee-roast duck, kulcha (potato-stuffed flatbread with cultured butter) and rice pudding brûlée. Like the pepper fry mushrooms? The bar sells house-made condiments and spice blends that have flavoured dishes at Bazaar & Bar since its opening.
Bazaar & Bar, Brookvale - Credit: Bazaar & Bar
Gilda’s
Where: Surry Hills
A gilda is the most famous pinxto (bar snack) from Spain’s Basque region: a skewer that threads a guindilla pepper with olive and anchovy. Chef Lennox Hastie (of Firedoor fame) was so inspired by his time in this area, he created this Surry Hills wine bar. You might come across remixes of the gilda here (like the ‘grillda’, with charred Abrolhos Island scallop or ‘Matilda’ skewered with Aussie ingredients like kangaroo and karkalla). As you’d expect, the wine list is packed with bottles from Spain as well as traditional sherries. Salud!
Gilda's, Surry Hills - Credit: Nikki To
Fix Wine Bar + Restaurant
Where: Sydney CBD
"Who needs a glass of wine?" The sign at the front of Fix Wine Bar + Restaurant is part question, part invitation. Enter this 60-seat venue and explore the cellar of Stuart Knox, once named Sommelier of the Year by the Good Food Guide. His globe-spanning collection of wines is tremendous and well-selected: this is a 20-year-old institution for good reason. Prefer your own picks? The $15 BYO option is always on offer. Sate your appetite with lamb ragu, gnocchi with pumpkin and pine nuts, a cheese platter or classic tiramisu.
Fix Wine Bar + Restaurant, Sydney CBD - Credit: Fix Wine Bar + Restaurant
Poly
Where: Surry Hills
Step into historic Paramount House in Surry Hills and you’ll find Poly. At this award-winning wine bar, sommelier Julien Dromgool focuses on small-scale producers doing interesting things. Guest events have featured talented vintners like Jean-Baptiste Courdesses, who worked at a 350-year-old sake brewery in Japan before becoming a South Australian winemaker. Don’t forget to try Poly’s signature fried potato appetiser, topped with cured salted egg yolk shavings.
Poly, Surry Hills - Credit: Poly
Nick and Nora’s
Where: Parramatta
This Champagne bar gets its name from Nick and Nora Charles, the mystery-solving, cocktail-sipping duo from Dashiell Hammett's 1930s novel, The Thin Man. The interiors evoke the book’s yesteryear New York glamour, while channelling the best of its Sydney location. This 26th floor bar presents a captivating Parramatta skyline view and offers more variations of bubbly than you could think of, from stacked Champagne towers to golden fizz you drink out of a glass slipper (this might be the most refined way to enjoy a shoey in Australia).
Nick and Nora's, Parramatta
Continental Deli
Where: Newtown
This charming slice of Europe, which opened in Newtown around 2015, has since become a local institution. Continental Deli offers plates of meat and cheese, tinned seafood and overstuffed sandwiches, all available with carefully chosen wines. Over the years, it’s been joined by Mister Grotto and other sibling venues next door, transforming this Australia Street strip into one of Sydney’s best spots for outdoor drinking and dining. If it’s a special occasion, the Reserve List has remarkable bottles you’ll never forget. The team here also makes a mean cocktail and is famous for its Mar-Tinny (and its ‘Yes We Can’ attitude extends to other treats: ask for the Neopoli-tin ice-cream).
Continental Deli, Newtown
Love, Tilly Devine
Where: Darlinghurst
One of Sydney’s original laneway wine bars is named after a figure from Sydney's 1920s underbelly and has a suitably speakeasy feel: it’s dark, cosy and the perfect setting for sharing boozy rum and raisin chocolate terrine. Tilly Devine led Sydney’s razor gang wars a century ago, but her namesake bar is driven by a stronger sense of community. Emerging producers are celebrated and you can try Maison Lapalus’ Le Vin de Les Amis, made with grapes donated by friends after a bushfire destroyed all of Gilles Lapalus’s winemaking equipment.
Love, Tilly Devine, Darlinghurst - Credit: Daniel Boud | Destination NSW
Where’s Nick
Where: Marrickville
Where’s Nick is a lively Marrickville Road bar and its award-winning wine list is categorised in conversation-sparking ways: look up Alpine Whites, Ancient Seabeds, A Love Letter to Friuli or browse the Rare & Special section. You’ll find remarkable drops by female winemakers (French rosé by Michèle Gramenon, riesling from Orange by Samantha May), which is apt as co-owner Bridget Raffal helped form Women and Revolution (which promotes gender equality in the industry). If you’re in Darlinghurst, check out the award-winning sommelier’s newest venue, Claret Club, which offers plenty of red wine as well as autumn salad, pineapple tarte tatin and risotto flavoured with splashes of nebbiolo.
Where's Nick, Marrickville - Credit: Where's Nick
The Wine Library
Where: Woollahra
The Wine Library in Woollahra was one of Sydney's first true wine bars when it opened in 2010, and it’s still a dependable place to turn to for a drop. The collection is encyclopedic (with over 900 bottles and many by-the-glass options) and The Wine Library presents a diverse way of enjoying its pours. Events might include a pop-up cellar door, disco night, art exhibition, singles wine tasting or classes that help you understand bottles like a pro.
The Wine Library, Woollahra - Credit: The Wine Library
Coogee Wine Room
Where: Coogee
The Coogee Wine Room sits near one of the most show-stopping beaches in the east. It’s not for the indecisive: there are over 500 wines, touching most continents and covering 50 grape varietals. The events program also highlights singular wineries, like South Australia's Kaesler Wines (its Old Bastard shiraz is made from vines dating back to 1893). With a Mediterranean-inspired menu, The Coogee Wine Room is casual enough for a post-swim glass at an outside table, but appropriately stylish for a long special-occasion lunch.
Coogee Wine Room, Coogee
Annata
Where: St Leonards
For a decade, Annata has blurred the line between wine bar and restaurant. What’s clearly defined: its award-winning reputation and its inclusivity. Food options can be adapted for every dietary situation (whether you’re vegan, pregnant, avoiding dairy or have religious considerations that require accommodating) and wines are available in various pours (glass, carafe and bottle). There are also BYO options for locals, special dinners showcasing various vineyards and a Wine Lovers club offering free attendance to sommelier-run tasting events.
Annata, Crows Nest - Credit: Annata
Bibo
Where: Double Bay
Bibo is named after the Latin word meaning ‘to drink’ and its achievements are nearly as extensive as its cellar. Bibo has been recognised by the NSW Sommelier's Wine List Awards and its collection celebrates the state’s wine regions (bottles from Mudgee, Orange and the Hunter Valley are marked with an enthusiastic “Go Local!” exclamation on the menu). Ask for a glass here and you might also be transported to vineyards across the globe, from Lebanon to Uruguay.
bibo wine bar, Double Bay - Credit: bibo wine bar
Handpicked Cellar Door
Where: Sydney CBD
A day trip to a wine region isn’t necessary to experience a vineyard-style wine tasting: Handpicked Cellar Door offers exactly that in the city centre. On the ground floor of heritage-listed Porterhouse Hotel, you can enjoy flights that pair cheese with various drops, complimentary tastings on Wine Wednesdays showcasing different regions and discover new picks thanks to sommelier recommendations. Still hungry? Head upstairs for Victor Liong’s rightly famous fried eggplant with spiced red vinegar and a yoghurt dessert evoking Beijing at Lee Ho Fook.
Handpicked Cellar Door, Sydney
10 William St
Where: Paddington
Minimal-intervention wines are currently everywhere, but 10 William St helped start the trend. Since its establishment in 2010, this venue has become one of Sydney’s most influential wine bars. Some of the city’s best chefs have spent time in this kitchen and even British pop singer Dua Lipa is a fan of the food, drinks and the feeling that you’re in Naples or Rome, describing 10 William St as “one of those places that just gets it right”.
10 William St, Paddington - Credit: 10 William Street
