Wind down with a Fairy Bread Fizz at Easy Eight

Good times come even easier now there’s a small bar doing big eats on Clarence Street.

There is a loading dock on Clarence Street that is blessed with the best bar karma in Sydney. You can lose whole nights down in the Baxter Inn’s whisky cave or across the alley at the Barber Shop, a gin palace serving cocktails and cheeseboards. And now Easy Eight completes this triumvirate of inner-city drinking, and they’re bringing ace eats to Sydney’s most compact bar crawl. It’s kitted out like an old soul diner, and food is a big part of their appeal. Chef Harry StockdalePowell (ex-Marque and Rockpool) has aimed high with a menu that includes a 12-hour smoked brisket, roast chicken, grilled king prawns and a whole smoked pumpkin with goat’s cheese. We’re not prone to raving about potatoes, but at Easy Eight you get a bowl of golden crunchy chunks that have been roasted in Wagyu fat and dressed in shards of red chilli and fried sage leaves. Never have root vegetables shone so brightly. Going gung-ho at a plate of split, grilled Yamba king prawns is certainly not pretty, but who cares about decorum when you’ve got tender shellfish marinated in a mix of jalapeños, olive oil and barbecue sauce? If you like your crustaceans a little less hands-on, order a small Le Creuset pot of hot, bubbling macaroni cheese punctuated with a hald dozen sweet, tender pieces of lobster meat. High scores in the kitchen means nothing if a bar doesn't have its drink game sorted, but Adam Hadad (ex-Wild Rover and Keystone) is the bar manager here, and he's all over it. The 100s-and 1000s encrusted Fairy Bread Fizz will be the darling of Instagram, but the Ultima is the cocktail that is guaranteeing our return visit. Tequila, yellow chartreuse, lemon juice and maraschino liqueur strike a perfect four-part harmony with a gentle, herbal, agave lift in the bittersweet?andOr specialbottle maybe finish.Cokeof is a on youronly Wantdry They’vetap Victorian complete after-work somethingfor a got tenner.rosé with Ferneta from somewhereOnce Easy Handpickedyou’ve Eight you scoredfeels want Wines.likea to big linger. comfyeats ’50s-styledcome booth, to floor the you staff, drinksvia the and and sweetthe playlist rock’n’rollmisses of a beat. classicand bluesYou soul, could never alwaysthis over-proofcount on enclavegood timesin the in CBD,in shorterbut the supply good until eats Easy were Eight lobbed in.