With the feel of Soho and the flavour of heaven, Grandma’s is a basement Sydney bar that warms the heart. Winner of Time Out Best Small Bar, the Clarence St cocktail haunt bills itself adorably as a “retro sexual haven of cosmopolitan kitsch and faded granny glamour”. Although not sure faded fits. It’s anything but.
With its central city location (just behind town hall) and underground edge (beneath a guitar store), Grandma’s is the perfect place to deliciously mix business with pleasure… and passionfruit and mint and Bombay Saphire.
If you like to be looked after in a genuine, cool and expert manner, you’re in the right place. What makes Grandma’s so special is the attention to detail (she writes while sucking on a Swiss chocolate the owner gave her to put in her pocket). This is obviously not simply a money making venture like, sadly, so many bars in this city. True to its name, at Grandma’s it’s about creating a cosy and inspired ambiance.
Not in the mood to wade through the ambitious cocktail menu, I ask our friendly barman (who turns out to be one of the owners- James Bradley) for “something that picks me up while smoothing me out and focusing… with a refreshing edge”. A nod and a smile and I’m sipping a ‘fog clearer’ with pasionfuit, cammemile, gin..
A bit later… “something cheeky and full”.. a rum based vibrant orange cocktail appears…
“Strong, bold and sexy” and I am offered a barman who is passing with a tray of icy drinks and cut, tanned calf muscles…. I wave, thank James for the offer… then settle on an espresso martini and move to the couch to continue business talk, which is getting smoother and better by the minute.
As the caffeine hits at 2am when I’m home in bed, it’s not really so bad as I just lie awake and listen to the rain, smiling at the sweet deal that was made with more than a little help from Grandmama.
Basement 275 Clarence Street Sydney
