Sydney’s best Margarita bar, Tio’s Cerveceria feels like a jam-packed cantina in Mexico where the drinks are cold, the music is loud and the good times never stop.
Tio’s has been doing the Mexican-cantina thing for a decade now, and this Surry Hills staple shows no signs of slowing with age. Out on the street, a glowing neon sign marks the entrance. Inside, it’s a full-blown tequila bar of the kind you’d find in Tijuana, with clay-washed walls, religious iconography, dripping candles and fairy lights bringing life and colour to a room that shakes and rolls with good vibes.
When it comes to drinks, co-owners Jeremy Blackmore and Alex Dowd know what’s up. Since opening Tio’s they’ve launched Cantina OK! in the CBD – a tiny mezcal bar with a huge reputation that saw it placed on the World’s 50 Best Bars list in 2020 – so don’t let the $10 Margarita specials fool you; these guys can shake a seriously good drink. Like tequila? Dipping your toe into mezcal? The back bar is loaded with fine examples. But this is a place that puts fun first so, rather than bore your ear off talking agave or grindstones, the barkeeps will pour shots for you and your troop, then hand you a chaser of verdita – a sweet, spicy, herbal shot – to help put out the fire.
A Margarita, of course. These guys reckon they’ve sold more than 110,000 of them since they opened 10 years ago, but who’s counting? The important thing is they know how to mix them. A classic – balancing tequila, lime and Cointreau – is sweet, sour and punchy, just the way it should be, with a rim overloaded with flaky salt. Then there are variations – a Spicy with jalapeño and pineapple or the Tommy’s, made with a smoky double shot of mezcal and sweetened with agave syrup. Take your Margs more on the frozen side? You can’t go past the Watermelon Margarita. Bright red and extra icy, slushy-style, it adds a hint of jasmine to a watermelon-tequila base, then tops it off with a snowcap of whipped coconut cream. Don’t miss it.
The Micheladas (think a beer Bloody Mary), the salt-dunked Mexican beers stuffed with lime wedges and shots from the back bar are also there to consider.
