Small Bar Tour: Sydney & Surrounds - Two Feet & A Heartbeat

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Posted 2015-08-14 by Gary Brown ⇒ follow

Have you ever been to a small bar?

I thought that I had.

Sure, I have been to a number of bars in hotels, pubs, clubs and the like, but after going on this fantastic Small Bar Tour did I realise that I had never been to a small bar.

That was until I was invited along to go on the Eat/Drink/Walk Sydney small bar tour with Two Feet & a Heartbeat.

Do you know that there are around 100 small bars located in the Sydney CBD and approximately 85 more in the Sydney surrounds.

It was a chilly winter's night when I met up with the rest of the attendees on the Eat/Drink/Walk Sydney small bar tour opposite Wynyard railway station. Nick, our tour guide for the night, had been going to small bars for a number of years and was keen to show up some of his favourite bars along hour approximately two and a half hour tour.

The members of the tour came from a number of different backgrounds. There was a couple from North Sydney, who had been to most of the bars in the North Sydney area and wanted to find out more of where to go in the Sydney CBD. We also had three young girls; 2 from Belgium and 1 from Norway who were trying to find out some small bars that would be great to just go to and chill out for a couple of hours.

We also had a couple of office workers who were also trying to suss out a few different places to go after work. All of the above had been to several small bars over the years, and then there was me who had never been to a small bar.

During our tour we visited three bars. They were the;

• York Lane or YOLA Bar.

Here the menu offers dishes like a mixed grill, a cheese and antipasto board, pizzas and marinated mixed olives alongside beer, wine and cocktails. While we were there, we received two beautiful pieces of pizzas, a bowl of mixed nuts and I had an Orion Japanese beer. Even though it was small, there was still room for the crowd to spill outside and sit on milk crates.
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• Since I Left You Bar.

Just imagine that your brother went overseas and came back and quit his job as a civil engineer and said, "We are going to open a bar in Sydney". Well, that's what Nick did and twelve months later, after plenty of hard work, Nick and his brother opened 'Since I Left You'. While there, we were treated to corn chips and guacamole as part of the tour.
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• The SG Bar.

What I liked about the SG Bar was the how the name came about. The owner was left a set of spoons from his grandmother and he like goats. He wanted to call the bar Spoon and Goats, but wasn't allowed to, so that's where SG originated from.
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So what did I learn about small bars in Sydney? That there are 100 in the Sydney CBD and I reckon that I have walked past at least forty of them and didn't know that they were bars. As a bar can be a bar at night while during the day it can be a coffee and cake shop, make tailored shirts or serve dumplings. After hour two and a half hour tour, I learnt so much about bars that I will be on the lookout as I walk the streets of Sydney the next time that I am in there.

While walking the street of Sydney, Nick showed us a number of other bars that would be worth a look at, even though we never had the time to go into them.

Listed below are some of the places that we were shown by Nick;

• The Fox Hole - A coffee shop by day and a bar at night.

• The Shirt Bar – Where you can get beautifully tailored shirts, superb coffee and great whiskies.

• Small Bar - A great selection of wines by the glass, boutique beers and simple home cooked food.

• Balcony Bar – Sheek and trendy bar that has boutique beers, craft spirits, local and international wines and special cocktails.

• Uncle Ming's - On York St. Look for the Roman Daniels sign and go downstairs. You'll know you've found the right place with the whiff of burning incense.

• Stitch – Food, champagne, wine, cocktails &hard liquor.

• Mojo Record Bar – It has old vinyls and posters on the walls, music and you can order in food from the Chinese restaurant next door.

• Le Pub – A place where you can get a quick meal or a boozy lunch; after work drinks or an elegant function.

• Lobo Plantation Bar - Food, cocktails, beer, wine and of course rum.

Two Feet & a Heartbeat are a team of passionate people who offer premium experiences for those who are genuinely interested in looking at things from a different perspective. There guides will introduce you to cultural, historical, arts, food & beverage and lifestyle scene in a fun, relaxed, informative and conversational manner.

With tours offered every day across multiple destinations in and around Sydney, there is always a unique experience waiting for you and they specialise in small groups. But if you have a large group they can cater for that as well.

So what are you waiting for?