NOW EXPERIENCING:Clam Bar
Drinks Directory|Sydney|Meal and a bev|Date night

Clam Bar

Saturday: 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM
44 Bridge Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000
Phone
(02) 9016 1590
Website
clambarsydney.com
Instagram
@clambarsydney

Read time 4 Mins

Posted 02 Oct 2023

By
David Matthews

Inside Calm Bar in Sydney's CBD

Clam Bar adds fun and flexibility to a tried-and-true formula – the food is classic with a twist, the drinks are reinvigorated retro and the tone is all about enjoyment.

Street view of Clam Bar
Why you goLet’s get it out of the way right now: Clam Bar is not a bar. Not in the pure sense at least, and definitely not in the sense that you can roll up to a counter, swivel onto a stool and have moustachioed cocktail specialists take your order, and shake and bake it right there and then in front of you. But in the sense of it being one of Sydney’s most dynamic and exciting places to get a drink – even if it comes with a side of dinner or, at the very least, snacks – it’s right in the territory. Ignore labels, and instead focus on what a good time you can have with cocktails followed by steak frites, say, or a sparkling rosé paired with a plate of oysters Rockefeller oozing with butter. Visit here safe in the knowledge that you’re in the hands of some of the country’s sharpest operators, with the team behind funhouse restaurants Pellegrino 2000 and Bistrot 916 running the show, and bringing a spirit of cheek and freshness to the stiffer end of town. It also helps that, despite not being a bar in the traditional sense, the cocktails rock. Add the wine list, the apéritifs, the spirits and the sake, and this is the sort of place you can go for dinner and a drink, but is best enjoyed the other way around.
Why you stayThis is a bar and grill for the here and now – one that taps the classic New York tropes for inspiration, then goes its own way with the execution. No detail is overlooked. There’s the wood panelling on the walls, parquetry patterning the floors, vintage cutlery that sits heavy in the hand the way it might at your grandma’s, and shuttered windows that filter the light during lunch or shield you from the street in the evening. Order cocktails from a list that embraces retro classics but updates them, and they come with a small silver clam shell to deposit your garnish skewer into. As much as Clam Bar hits the mark for low-lit sophistication, there’s an undercurrent of fun about the place, seen in the taxidermy marlin mounted proudly on the wall and the scrawled, scribbly strokes of paint on the mirrors (by Melbourne artist Nadia Hernández, mind you). Staff are pros, but service comes with a wink and a nudge, and rather than stuffy business types, the crowd is young and here for it, ready to get just a little wild and see where the night takes them. Follow them – you just might like it.
Inside Clam Bar, which is in the CBD of Sydney
What drink to order

Drinks whiz Andy Tyson runs the show when it comes to wine, and you can have an excellent time digging out affordable aged drops from the old world as much as you can get into the local new-wave stuff, but you’re missing a trick if you don’t dive into cocktails from the get-go. Order a Martini and it’s done properly, served ice cold in a tall chilled Martini glass. With Ketel One vodka or Tanqueray gin as the base, a twist or an olive as the garnish, it’s everything you want it to be. That’s classic, but there’s contemporary in the Spicy Margarita, which is equally polished and holds just enough interest by combining smoky mezcal with tequila, then adding cucumber to the lime and throwing in a dash of hot sauce. 

Old? Tick. New? Present. Outright fun? Try the Blue Daiquiri, a spin on a Hemingway, meaning there’s grapefruit in the mix, tinted bright blue with rum tinged with blue spirulina. It hints at horrible, lurid ’80s cocktails, but makes it extra-special by actually being good. Give that a whirl, or try a Jungle Bird, a tiki classic that somehow feels right at home

The oysters are a highlight at Clam Bar in Sydney
What to pair it withHow much time do you have? There’s nothing stopping you ducking in and making this a drinks-forward affair at lunch or pre-dinner and pairing it with a luxe cheese and bacon burger or a plate of natural oysters Metropole served with Vietnamese nước chấm dressing and miniature lemongrass-infused snags – down an oyster, follow it with a bite of sausage, rinse and repeat. If you’re in it for the long haul, lean into the setting and go for prawn cocktails, a bowl of raw tuna served over truffled rice and capped with an egg yolk, or a riff on a Caesar salad overloaded with anchovies. Add a buttery scallop flashed under the grill, then split a steak, cooked on the bone for extra flavour, and served with your pick of sauce (pro tip: go the Diane, made with seasoned pan juices). And don’t forget sides, including creamed spinach tossed with blue cheese and a killer macaroni in vodka sauce to bring it home.
Why we love itClam Bar feels like what’s next for this city – a versatile venue run by a new generation of talent who get the city and what it means to go out in the 2020s. It’s polished, but never stiff. Fun, but professional. And, most of all, the food and drinks are top-notch. And while it might not have a bar per se, roll up out of peak service times – early, late or post-lunch – and the staff will do their best to find you a seat and serve you a drink or two with snacks to tide you over.
Regular’s tipLunch specials make Clam Bar an enticing prospect during a workday. It pays to be responsible, of course, but there’s no harm in a perfectly pitched, ice-cold Martini at noon to go with a plate of clam frites, the shells popped open and swimming in broth, crunchy fries on the side. Another win? Clam Bar opens on Mondays, meaning that on a day when the city’s restaurant scene typically lies dormant, there’s nothing more “power lunch” than starting the week with a cheese and bacon burger and a Manhattan on the rocks (very New York).
Come for the lunch specials at Clam Bar
Who to takeClam Bar has many options for many times. Go for an ’80s-style business lunch, come pre- or post-theatre, make a night of it with a table of six, or keep things intimate as a couple. Whatever the occasion – as long as it’s just a little fancy – the menu can flex in whatever direction the night (or day) takes you. Just please don’t skip the cocktails.
Authour image
David MatthewsDavid Matthews is a bar and restaurant critic who has written for Australia’s leading food publications, including Gourmet Traveller and Good Food.
Tags
Drinks DirectoryVego Food OptionsTop notch wine listSydneyRestaurantSydney – CBDFancy occasionDate nightNon-alc OptionsKiller cocktailsMeal and a bev
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