Sydney's best small bar - Sydney Bar Awards 2012

This award is for a bar with 90 seats or fewer, offering an intimate, neighbourhood experience. The best small bar is one that captures the essence of doing plenty with little

First published on 4 Oct 2011. Updated on 8 Dec 2011.

The winner is...

Grandma's

Getting a seat in this tiny bar is pretty much the greatest treat on earth, if you don’t count the friendly service Nuclear Daiquiri or the chicken, cheese and Japanese mayo toastie. Sydney 2000. (02 9264 3004). Mon-Fri 12 noon-12 midnight; Sat 5pm-12 midnight.

The shortlist...


	121 BC 121 BC is tiny (and therefore hard to get into) but does something else that sets it apart, and that's to charge tiny prices for some of the best Italian food and wine offerings in the city. Holt St, Surry Hills 2010. (02 9699 1582). Mon-Wed 5-11pm; Thu-Sat 5pm-12 midnight.

	Dry Land Bar Redfern’s first small bar does an excellent cheeseburger, plays a cavalcade of awesome vinyl, and features a very approachable wine list as well as great cocktails. Like any Sydney small bar, get in early or risk missing out. Redfern 2016. (02 9699 3869). Tue-Sat 5pm-12 midnight.

	Love Tilly Devine The tiny Darlinghurst laneway wine bar, run by Matt Sweiboda and Tim Webber, is a haven of crazy-interesting wines and amazing snacks. Darlinghurst 2010. (02 9326 9297). Tue-Sat 5pm-12 midnight; Sun 3-10pm.

	Stitch Stitch, hidden behind a rack of shirts smack bang in the middle of the CBD, is a cocktail wonderland. The dark room is a perfect place to hide from the mean streets of Sydney and enjoy drinks and hot dogs. Sydney 2000. Mon-Sat 4pm-late.