Sydney - Australia 2004 - page 174

through Sunday from 8pm to 4am. There's also a free nightclub on Friday
nights. Watch yourself; too much drink and sun turns some people nasty here.
178 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach. & 02/9130 3271.
Cargo Bar & Lounge Thus split-level waterfront bar on the city side of Dar-
ling Harbour (past the Sydney Aquarium) has a large ground-floor bar with
access to an outdoor beer garden. The lounge upstairs features trendy leather and
red footstools (apparently you sit on them). Cocktails and cigars are upstairs and
more casual beers downstairs. Some nice pizzas here, too—if you like them
topped with emu, crocodile, or kangaroo. 52-60 The Promenade, King Street Wharf.
& 02/9262 1777.
The Establishment Another trendy night out is in store if you set foot in this
restored historic building with its 42m (138-ft.) bar, lots of floor-to-ceiling
columns, and pressed-metal ceilings. It's fashionable, and the food downstairs—
fish and chips and the like—is nice but unadventurous. There's better eating
upstairs in the fine-dining restaurant. 252 George St., City. & 02/9240 3000.
The Friend in Hand In the same location as the fantastically cheap Caesar's
No Names spaghetti house, The Friend in Hand offers cheap drinks, poetry
readings on Tuesday evenings from 8:30pm, a trivia night on Thursday evenings
from 8:30pm, and the distinctly unusual Crab Racing Party every Wednesday
from around 8pm. Crab fanciers buy a crustacean for around A$4 (US$2.60),
give it a name, and send it off to do battle in a race against about 30 others.
There are heats and finals, and victorious crustaceans win their owners prizes. 58
Cowper St., Glebe. & 02/9660 2326.
Henry the Ninth Bar This mock-Tudor drinking hole gets very busy on Fri-
day and Saturday nights. They serve up some good ales in an oaky atmosphere.
An Irish band whips up the patrons on Thursday and Friday nights, and a cover
band does the same on Wednesday and Saturday nights. A good-value happy
hour brings beer prices tumbling Monday through Thursday from 5:30 to
7:30pm, Friday 5:30 to 8:30pm, and Saturday 8 to 10pm. In the Sydney Hilton, 259
Pitt St. & 02/9266 2000.
Hero of Waterloo Hotel This sandstone landmark, built in 1845, was once
allegedly the stalking ground of press gangs, who'd whack unsuspecting land-
lubbers on the head, push them down a trapdoor out the back, and cart them
out to sea. Today, this strangely shaped drinking hole is popular with the locals,
and hosts old-time jazz bands (the musicians are often in their 70s and 80s) on
Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 1:30 to 6:30pm, and Irish and cover
bands Friday to Sunday evenings from 8:30pm. 81 Lower Fort St., The Rocks. & 02/
9252 4553.
Jacksons on George A popular drinking spot, this place has four floors of
drinking, eating, dancing, and pool playing, and is a popular haunt with tourists
and after-work office staff. Pool is expensive here at A$3 (US$1.95) a game
(you'll need to ask the rules, as Australians have their own), and drinks have a
nasty habit of going up in price without warning as the evening wears on. The
nightclub plays commercial dance, and there's a smart/casual dress code. Happy
hour is Monday through Friday from 5 to 7pm, when drinks cost around one-
third less than normal. 178 George St., The Rocks. & 02/9247 2727. Cover A$10 (US$6.50)
for nightclub Fri-Sat after 10pm.
Lord Dudley Hotel The best way to get to this great English-style pub is via
the Edgecliff CityRail station (between Kings Cross and Bondi Junction). From