Hunky Dory Social Club

First off, I want to say that Sydney needs more of these gorgeous terrace converted bars like this one, this place transported me back to Cookie/​Rooftop Bar combo in Melbourne, long skinny flight of steps, this gorgeous mid level bar then an outdoor rooftop terrace. Unfortunately, the night we went, a function was taking place on the rooftop so we settled in at the bar on the middle floor.
The great: cocktails, cocktails, Cocktails, which leads me onto the next great, the bar staff. Attentive, polite and perfectionists. Aesthetically speaking, this place was superb, quirky, dark, moody, all the attributes for a great night out.
The bad: the food, unfortunately, let us down. We ordered Arancini, a pizza and chips. Half an hour into our order, the waiter told us they had run out of Arancini, half and hour in? So we ordered chicken wings instead. The food arrived 45 minutes after that, so you can imagine we were Starving, only to be presented with 2 cold dishes (pizza and chips) and 1 hot dish (chicken wings).
I wouldn’t come here for the food, but the drinks are well worth a quick pop in before dinner somewhere.

If you’re coming to Hunky Dory Social Club on a Friday night, you best be dancing.
It’s a chameleon little bar, this one. The first time I went, it was a Saturday mid-​afternoon and we happened upon an engagement party. I don’t know if it wasn’t sectioned off well, or we were just oblivious, but it wasn’t long before we were seated on the lounge out on the front veranda toasting Matt and Mel (who??). But I’m all for marital happiness, so I held my manhattan up in celebration of their love and then high-​tailed it inside where I belonged.
I went again on a Friday night and had quite a different experience. It was standing room only and I had to use my pointy elbows (a good tool, those little guys) to get up to the bar. I found the clientele on that particular evening to be a mixture of locals and travelers, gays, straights, and crazies. Hunky Dory was playing the Oxford Street card, but was even more of a mixed bag.
Drinks were acquired and we headed to the dance floor. This dance floor I speak of is on the tiny side so if you’re a mad twirler like me, twirl with caution. I think I accidently karate chopped the same standerby so many times he relocated. The DJ was «spitting sick jams» and the energy there was great. Despite the fact that the bar grew from packed to packed-​er, it was still a rip roarin’ good time. We left on a high and I vowed to frequent this Social Club again soon. I still haven’t, but I’m keeping it in my back pocket for a rainy day.

So my review of Hunky Dory won’t give you an insight into what’s inside the bar (there’s plenty of those already), but rather give you a piece of advice. If you do book an area there, make sure when you say do you need to pay a deposit and they say no, it’ll be fine… just get them to check! We’d arranged an area for a joint birthday and arrived around 7.30 only to be told that we had to wait outside because they were waiting for people to turn up to fill a reservation that had paid. When we explained that we’d been told that we didn’t have to do that, the doorman explained that if we wanted to be sure, we should have paid. Nicely done reservation staff! The reason I’ll give them 2 stars instead of one, is because the doorman was actually really nice and we had a good chat with him while we waited — plus he looked a bit like Peter Garrett too — but eventually we had to choose to move on as despite being at the front of the queue for 20minutes, as we had others joining who may not have got in before 11pm at that rate.
So if you are planning on having a party there — make sure you pay first!

It’s a cold night out and the streets are deserted, but it’s my birthday, so me and my lady friends are braving the elements. We decide to give Hunky Dory a red hot go. Bricks are exposed, tables are sparse, lighting is soft and there’s moody ambience in t-​lights. ‘Storybook’ menus are presented inside Winnie the Pooh book covers, and Italian food comes from Bruno’s downstairs. We unanimously come to the conclusion that the place feels unfinished. The bathroom bizarrely feels like walking into an exploded mirror ball, and the makeshift cubicles take me back to primary school days. But the bar guys are friendly as, and the cocktails are creatively cool. There’s not much of a vibe most likely due to lack of patrons this freeeeeezing night. But come summer, the balcony and rooftop open up for urban alfresco boozing. Looks the goods for a weekly Sunday session in season.

High (well, a couple of floors) above Oxford St, Hunky Dory Social Club is SOOOO PRETTY! As you climb the stairs you are greeted by a gorgeous mirrored mosaic peacock, and step inside to a bar also adorned with stuffed peacocks and a lovely but small balcony area with a view over Oxford St. They stock a gorgeous range of fruity ciders, I had a raspberry flavoured Rekorderlig with a squeeze of lime and mmm that exactly is the refreshing Summer drink that it sounds like.
Upstairs is a rooftop area with a massive Bowie quote on the wall and a bar and DJ, this is going to be a great place to spend those hot Summer nights…

With no tables available at their dedicated downstairs restaurant, Bruno’s, my friend and I headed up to the bar area for a fast, cheap meal.
The rooftop terrace was totally packed, so we ended up awkwardly squashed onto a skinny wall bench surrounded by a thoroughfare of boozers on the mid level. To be fair it was a Friday night and we didn’t even arrive until after 9pm, so the bustling bar was to be expected. Our pizza had a generous amount of prosciutto and rocket atop, but the base was so thick it was almost like a naan bread. No matter though, as it still ticked the satisfying and sizeable boxes for less than $ 10 each.
Being seated pretty much inside the dancefloor also meant the noise factor was insane. Hunky Dory is an awesome bar with awesome cocktails, but I’d avoid attempting to dine in any of the bar areas by night. Best to stick to the drinking here — we moved straight onto the outdoor balcony, vinos in hand.

Locals are attracted to Hunky Dory’s like tourists are attracted to locals, so therefore bring your friends… It’s a religious experience tracing the 3 floors, little like climbing the staircase of a historic church, seeing the light from the rooftop bar, and inhaling the fresh air (or you favourite liquid medicine) you’ll never want to leave.
A bar with outdoor leather couches, need I say more? HDSC has one of these New York feels to it — All you need is the NYC prices, hopefully that will come one day.
During the day for pre-​drinks, or later at night and into the early morning, the bartenders are always willing to whip you up some afterwork or middle of the day drinks, it’s really up to you. Don’t worry if you can’t manage to find a seat, stand and talk, introduce yourself to some new people, as everyone I’ve ever met here has been a great person.
If you’re getting a bit hungry for nibbles, they’re connection to Bruno’s on the 1^st floor will get your taste buds, gyrating with delight.

Walking along Oxford street there is a restaurant called Bruno’s, yep you spot it. Not hungry? So you keep on walking. Bad move my friend. For those who know what upstairs hold, harbor a very wonderful secret. Hunky Dory Social Club (HDSC) is one of those places that once discovered, instantly wins a place in your heart.
Just to the right of Bruno’s restaurant is a little flight of stairs going to the second floor. Go on, take them.
If you walk straight up and go ahead you’ll find some stylish bathrooms, they will come in handy later. The real goodies are a sharp right turn away. A cute bar with a small balcony playing awesome 1980’s rock ‘n’ roll and grunge. Oh ye, this place got style baby.
Well, that bar is nice, for a quiet drink and chat with friends. However, go up one more flight of stairs and there you’ll be greeted by the true essence of HDSC.
There is a huge outdoor courtyard and live music every night of the week. Except Monday when the bar is closed. Apart from that it’s open everyday until midnight, but I was told that they are looking to get their 2 am license before Christmas 2011, so they may be hosting one heck of a summer this year.
Recommended drinks by the bartenders are the Gentleman’s Code and The Butterfly Kiss. Gentleman’s is made from Jack Daniels, Pear liquor, vermouth and maple syrup and Butterfly from orange marmalade, lemon, sugar, rum, apricot, vanilla and peach. Yummers.
It gets very busy on the weekends so if you want a good time to check out all the art, rest on the couches with a drink and enjoy the live music peacefully, you had better go on a weekday or in the day. If you’re looking to boogie, be tripped out by the amazing toilet coated in glass shards and contemplate how they got bicycles so high up on the walls, then Friday and Saturday nights are for you! Either way the vibe is great.

An afternoon is organised to meet my girlfriend who is visiting from the UK from work. Her hotel is based in Darlinghurst so wanting a venue we could grab a drink and perhaps a bite to eat and arrange to meet at Bruno’s the pizzeria on the ground floor of the Hunky Dory Social Club.
Upon ordering staff inform us that we can have our pizza taken to any level we choose to sit at within Hunky Dory. Great we say make our order and go to the rooftop bar to explore. The battered leather lounges are full with people but we manage to sit small table where we can catch some afternoon sun rays. Unfortunately half an hour later we are informed that a engagement party has booked the whole top floor out — thats ok we say as I quickly think of all the upcoming social functions that could be enjoyed here.
On the 2^nd level there is big stuffed peacock and having had a couple of lemon, lime and bitters I take heed to the lavatory. Walking into the unisex bathroom I feel like someone smashed their disco ball onto the wall and I rather like the mosaic crucifix inlaid into this artwork. Our pizza thin crust arrives on my return which is satisfying and the DJ starts shuffling out some tunes… we settle in for a nice long afternoon/​evening.