Gazebo Wine Garden

When bars spread their wings and open up outposts, sometimes the original gets left by the wayside. Not so with the Gazebo Wine Garden: while the Surry Hills and Manly satellites have been pumping, the original is good as ever and in fact, might just be the best of the three. There are no lines here; instead you get great service, good cocktails and reasonably priced food. The late twenties and thirtysomething crowd lacks pretentiousness, the wine list is well priced, and the 80s classics over the ivy-clad speakers is, well, music to our ears. On the drinks list, either go for a Mojito, a glass of the 2009 Domain Rd Riesling from Central Otago, New Zealand, or the 2008 Luigi Bosca Pinot Noir from Mendoza, Argentina – which is bang-for-buck even at $66 a bottle. The food list has changed of late, but the Gazebo classics remain, including the seriously good chicken liver pâté and the crisp squid. The bar often has a number of daily specials and that’s highlighted by the roast and jugs of Pimms on our favourite Gazebo day of the week – Sunday.