Feeling Shady
Posted on 11. Mar, 2010 by Cherry Picked in Eat+Drink
Shady Pines Saloon
Equal parts speakeasy, apothecary and saloon, finding Sydney’s latest dive bar can be a curly ride, but persist and you’ll be rewarded. Discreetly tucked below street level in a nondescript laneway off Crown Street, you could easily miss Shady Pines Saloon and find yourself at Bikram yoga next door instead. Focus on your breathing, and another few steps down the street will find you there.
The taxidermy, American Indian statues, cut glass votives and paper doilies leave the uninitiated feeling like they have stumbled onto a set from Gone with the Wind that has hastily been converted for a scene from a Country & Western film. You half expect Scarlett O’Hara, Blanche Du Bois or Clint Eastwood to saunter down the stairs and take position at the long, wood-panelled bar. Somehow, though, it works.
After a 13-month wait for DA approval and a name-change from “Swillhouse” after it was deemed ‘inappropriate’ by regulators, it’s fair to say management have had time to finesse the details.
Cowboys will relish the eclectic selection of bourbon, beer and other manly drinks. Meanwhile l’il ladies will appreciate the cocktail bar pedigree of the owner/manager bartenders who have done time at North Bondi Italian, Libertine and the Ivy. All of this is turned out to a mellow soundtrack of early rock ‘n’ roll, American folk and blues.
In a quarter of Sydney that is fast becoming known for its quality drinking establishments, with Pocket, The Local Taphouse, Ching-a-lings and Dr Pong just a stone’s throw away, it could be hard to get noticed. But the original concept and genuine talent behind the bar makes it apparent, even after only a week of trading, that Shady Pines has all the makings of a classic.
Shady Pines Saloon – 256 Crown St Darlinghurst (entry via Foley St, behind Oxford St)
Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday 4 – 12am
