MAYBE SAMMY

To describe Maybe Sammy is to discuss an experience. The cocktails are all of the quality you would expect from a bar on this list, the service is attentive, and the Art Deco-inspired design — a palette of pastels and lush greens — is gorgeous, but that is not what makes the bar exceptional.

The owners, Andrea Gualdi, Martin Hudak, Stefano Catino, and Vince Lombardo, have brought together international influences: the great hotel bars of Europe; the swinging sounds of 1960s Las Vegas; bartenders from all over the world; and an Italian way of hospitality that is nourishing and bold, loud, and – most importantly – a lot of fun. Maybe Sammy performs all the duties of a great hotel cocktail bar, but with more vivacity and fun (and without the hotel). Whether you visit on Wednesday or Saturday, you are afforded a getaway from the outer world. Asahi Super Dry may have sponsored Sammy to win the Best Bar in Australasia Award in 2021. And this is one of the best bars in Sydney.