Bar Ferdinand

A ritzy yet intimate new bar has arrived in the CBD, just above Hunter St. Hospitality’s steak frites restaurant, 7 Alfred. Head up the grand staircase at the heritage 141-year-old building at Alfred Place to find 21-seat cocktail venue Bar Ferdinand, where Victorian-era luxury marries drinks inspired by botanical florals.

The menu could be a coffee table book, each page dedicated to its own cocktail and illustrated with the flower that served as inspiration – a visual garden tour. It’s all curated in part by bar manager Greg Thompson (ex-Apollo Inn, Gimlet).

House martinis blend gin, vodka, Cocchi Americano and freeze-infused apple mint, while a house Japanese slipper nods to the cocktail’s inception in the very same building back in 1984, when bartender Jean-Paul Bourguignon created the drink at the former Mietta’s restaurant.

Drinking snacks include native pepperberry spiced macadamias, oysters, German pretzels with salted butter, and Wagyu pot pies. For a full feed, head downstairs to 7 Alfred for speedy steaks and New York-style cheesecake.

Want to visit this venue? Save it in the Good Food app.